Chapter 3Chapter 3
CULTURECULTURE
Culture2
Chapter OverviewChapter Overview
What is Culture?
Components of
Symbolic Culture
Many Cultural Worlds:
Subcultures and
Countercultures
What is Culture?
Components of
Symbolic Culture
Many Cultural Worlds:
Subcultures and
Countercultures
Values in U.S.
Society
Technology in the
Global Village
Cultural Lag,
Diffusion, and
Labeling
Values in U.S.
Society
Technology in the
Global Village
Cultural Lag,
Diffusion, and
Labeling
Culture
C
ulture is: The language, beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors
passed on from one generation to the next
H
ow is this accomplished?
T
wo components Nonmaterial culture
Material culture
3
What is Culture?What is Culture?
Culture
What is Culture?What is Culture?
Belief system, values, behavior, social interactions, language, gestures, and assumptions about the world
Cultural artifacts and objects people create and assign meanings to.
NonmaterialNonmaterial MaterialMaterial
Culture
Culture Within Us
Our speech, gestures, beliefs, customs are usually taken for granted
We assume that they are normal and natural
Cultural lens
Perception of reality
Guides our behavior and helps us make decisions
Culture
Cultural ConsequencesS
ometimes our assumptions are challengedC
ulture ShockE
thnocentrismP
racticing Cultural Relativism
Culture
W
hat is Normal, Natural, or Usual?
W
e believe our ways are “Normal”
C
ulture Shock- coming into contact with a culture that is different from what
we know Cultures are in conflict
E
thnocentrism-the belief that our culture is the “best” or superior to all others• Tendency to evaluate other groups according to one’s own standards
Negative consequences
Positive consequences 7
Ethnocentrism and Ethnocentrism and Culture ShockCulture Shock
Culture
A
ttempt to understand another culture’s perspective and not based on
one’s own perspective
R
efocus our lens so we can appreciate other ways of life instead of
asserting “our way is right and the only way”
E
xamples Hindu diet and US diet
Bull fighting
Values
8
Cultural Cultural RelativismRelativism
Leisure activity is part of a good life
Physical exercise is good for you Develop your mind
Culture
When Cultural Relativism Does Not Apply
Cultural values result in exploitation
Involuntary Inhumane Oppressive
Examples
Honor Killing Female Circumcision
Culture
S
ymbols
Something people attach meaning and then use to
communicate with others.
Nonmaterial culture
Material culture
10
Components of Components of Symbolic CultureSymbolic Culture
Culture
Components of Symbolic Components of Symbolic CultureCulture
Gestures
Using the body to communicate with others to send messages without using words
Universal, but meaning changes completely from one culture to another
Can lead to misunderstandings, embarrassment, or conflict Some universal gestures
Culture
Components of Symbolic Components of Symbolic CultureCulture
Language
System of symbols that can be put together in infinite number of ways to communicate abstract thought.
Five Purposes of Languages
Allows Human Experience to Be Cumulative Provides a Social or Shared Past Provides a Social or Shared Future Allows Shared Perspectives Allows Complex, Shared, Goal-Directed Behavior
Culture
Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic CultureL
anguage & Perceptions Language has embedded within it ways of looking at the world Part of language is not only to learn it, but also ways of thinking and
perceiving. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
The language of each culture does not merely influence how people understand the world it shapes ways of thinking and perceiving
Meaning beyond words EXAMPLES
Welfare Stupid
Labeling or Stereotyping EXAMPLES
Racial profiling Resumes
Culture
Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic Culture
Values
Standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly.
Guide our choices or preferences in life
In modern pluralistic societies, such as the U.S., value orientations are complex.
Culture
Values in U.S. SocietyValues in U.S. Society
15
Romantic LoveDemocracyScience and Technology
ReligiosityFreedomEfficiency and
Practicality
EducationHumanitarianismActivity and
Work
Racism and Group Superiority
Material ComfortIndividualism
EqualityProgressAchievement and
Success
Culture
Value ClusterV
alues together form a larger wholeV
alues do not exist aloneE
xamplesValue Clash
When core values change causing conflict between social groups
Change is viewed as a threat to their life, an undermining of both their present and their future.
Ideal CultureV
alues that society views as important and worth aspiring up to What people "should do“
Real Culture
The values and norms and people actually follow
What people "actually do"
Values in U.S. SocietyValues in U.S. Society
Culture
Emerging Values
A value cluster of 4 interrelated core values
Leisure
self fulfillment
Physical fitness
Youthfulness
Environmental consciousness
Values in U.S. SocietyValues in U.S. Society
Culture
Norms - Expectations or rules for behavior Informal and Formal Norms Norms will change as cultures change Sanctions - Reaction to following or breaking
norms Positive Sanctions Negative Sanctions
Moral holidays
18
Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic Culture
NormsNorms
Culture
F
olkways - Norms that are not strictly enforced Weak social norms
Not a threat to society
Examples
M
ores - Norms, when broken, go against a society’s basic core values Strictly enforced norms
Norms are viewed as essential and everyone must follow
Examples
T
aboos - Norms, when broken, are considered repulsive People who violate these norms are viewed as unfit for society
Examples 19
Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic Culture
Types of NormsTypes of Norms
Components of Symbolic CultureComponents of Symbolic Culture
Types of NormsTypes of Norms
Culture
Subculture: A world within the dominant culture
Groups that share many elements of mainstream culture
but maintain their own distinctive customs, values,
norms, and lifestyles.
The norms and values do not clash with those of the
dominant culture
Countercultures: A world within the dominant culture
Groups whose values, lifestyles, norms, attitudes, and
other behaviors are in opposition to the broader society
The norms and values clash with those of the dominant
culture20
Many Cultural WorldsMany Cultural Worlds
Culture
C
ultural Diffusion: The spreading of cultural characteristics from one
culture to another
W
hy is this happening so rapidly?
C
ultural Leveling: When cultures start to become similar to each other
21
Cultural Diffusion and Cultural Cultural Diffusion and Cultural LevelingLeveling
Culture
Perspectives on CultureFunct
ionalist PerspectiveA
ll cultures are in part practical responses to environmental conditionsC
ultural ecological approach Examines the relationship between a culture and its total environment Example: Hindu culture
Prevents ethnocentrism
Cultural integration approach
Show how the cultural practices of groups tend to “fit together” Changes in one element may have broad repercussions for the culture of any group. Example: Technological changes
Culture
Perspectives on CultureC
onflict PerspectiveT
he values, beliefs, and traditions of a nation or society are not necessarily a product of consensus and “social need”
Culture is highly complex with many strains and contradictions between conflicting group interests and needs.
Groups with power and wealth have the resources to control and influence national culture
Examples: slave era, corporate capitalism
Cultural hegemony
The domination of cultural industries by elite groups
Culture
Perspectives on CultureS
ymbolic Interaction PerspectiveF
ocuses on how individuals and groups use symbols to define and interpret reality.
People everywhere live in “symbolic worlds” that are created and reproduced by diverse social groups
Our daily lives are structured by the symbols and meanings of many groups
If groups define something as real, whether or not they truly exist, “they are real in their consequences”