Warm UP

• Who can define culture? • What goes into culture?

Culture and Culture Diversity

Why does Culture Exist?

• Structural Functionalists• Culture provides order and organization to people- a way to belong to

something

• Symbolic Interactionists• Culture is what people make of it-

They either try to fit in or stand out

• Conflict TheoristsCulture is a way of defining and dividing the haves and have-nots

How to Behave• Norms

• Behaviors that are considered appropriate, “normal,” and accepted in society

• We usually do not realize our society’s norms until someone breaks them

• Taboos• Behaviors that are outside of the

norms in a culture• Acting in this way can lead to

formal and informal sanctions• Ex: Drugs, excessive tattoos, incest

List of various groups

School Church

Scouting

Choir

Family

Student Union

Clubs

Sports

Fraternities

Sororities

Work Force (after school job)

Band or Orchestra

Group Activity

• Take Your list with you and to move into groups of 4 students (or less.) • compare their individual lists with other people in their group. • Identify three things that everyone in their group has in common on their

individual lists.

• On a piece of Chart Paper write down the name of the 3 groups you and your group members have in common

• Name • Purposes of that group (why it is in existence) • The beliefs of that group • The rules of the group • Is membership voluntary or involuntary?

You will share one of the three things you and your group had in common with the class, and state the answer(s) you chose for a-e above.

Reflection

• Would you like to live in a place where everyone:• Is the same? (Homogeneous)

• or• Is different? (Heterogeneous)

What is Diversity?

• Cultural diversity refers to the wide range of cultural differences found between and within nations

• Can be a result of natural circumstances (climate, geography) or social circumstances (technology or demographics)

• Societies can be homogeneous or heterogeneous

Have you ever been made to feel like an outsider?

• When societal tensions arise, people may look for others on whom they can place blame or single out persons or groups who are the “outsider”, who do not belong.

Subcultures• Groups that share many elements of

mainstream culture but maintain their own distinctive customs, values, norms, and lifestyles

• Based on:• Age, gender, wealth, sexual

preference, education, occupation, ethnicity, music, SES, etc.

• Examples:• Residents of China town, circus

people, soldiers in the military

Countercultures• Deliberately and consciously

opposed to certain central beliefs or attitudes of the mainstream culture

• Organize because of:• Inequalities of class, race, age,

gender, etc.

• Examples:• Skinheads, Gang members,

Hippies

Ethnocentrism

• The practice of judging all other cultures by one’s own culture• Based on the assumption that one’s own way of life is superior to all

others• Can be positive or negative

• Culture Shock• Disorientation that is felt when

encountering a radically different culture

• Hand signals• Language• Foods• Ways of acting in public

• Ethnocentrism• Judging all other cultures by your

own culture’s standards• Women’s rights• Dress/ social behavior• Thinking your country’s ways

are the best

• Cultural Relativism• The belief that all countries

should be judged by your country’s standards

Why might this map be considered ethnocentric?

Cultural Relativism

• The belief that the behaviors and customs of any culture must be viewed and analyzed by the culture’s own standards

Types of Sanctions

• Formal Sanctions- Positive or negative consequences that are applied by officials

• Positive• good grade given by a

teacher• Medal of Honor- Gov’t

• Negative• Speeding ticket given by a

cop• Detention given by principal

• Informal Sanctions- Positive or negative consequences given out by members of the group

• Positive• Inviting someone to sit with you in the

cafeteria because they helped you in class

• Negative• Giving someone a dirty look for telling on

you in class• Yelling at someone talking/texting loudly

in a movie theater

High Culture• Tastes and creations used by the

upper classes

• Sets them apart from the rest of society

• Requires:• elaborate training• technical proficiency• considerable resources

• Ex. Opera, ballet, fine works of art

Folk Culture• Tastes and creations used by

working-class and minorities

• Produced for and by ordinary people:

• Spontaneous• Familiar• Practical

• Ex. Quilt making, graffiti, break dancing

Multiculturalism

• Encourages respect and appreciation for cultural differences

• Seeks to reverse centuries of cultural intolerance and oppression of minority groups

• Brought changes to American education and society

• Global languages• Different ethnic literature

and perspectives

Popular Culture• Tastes and items that appeal to the

masses

• Consists of products and items designed for

• Leisure• Entertainment• Mass consumption• Fashion

• Fads- short-lived, widespread items/ideas

• Ex. Baseball cards, Santa Claus, *NSYNC

Complete the Assignment

• Use one of the magaizines to answer the following handout with your shoulder partner