World CulturesUnit 1: What is a culture?

What is a Culture?

• Everyone is born into a culture• Our culture defines everything about us• Culture – all the things that make up a people’s

entire way of life

Examples

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In Eastern Asian countries, it is considered rude to look directly at a person of authority. Instead, they bow their heads and stare at the floor.

Examples

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In the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, it is considered rude to show the sole of your shoe. Shoe throwing is also considered a great insult.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFX-dKpcDz8

Examples

In the Western World, this symbol means “Victory”. If you flip this hand gesture in Australia, it means “I don’t care for you” in other words...

Examples

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Thumbs up means everything is good in America. In Europe, it is the gesture for the number one while in the Middle East it is considered rude.

Examples

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In America when people greet, they shake hands. In Europe and parts of Asia, it is normal for two people to embrace and give kisses on the cheek.

Examples

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When two or more people are talking, the distance they stand from each other differs greatly by country.

Examples

Are there any more you can think of?

Elements of Culture

• Culture is:• a BLUEPRINT for living

or• Learned behaviors that must be

followed by people to survive, socially and physically, in their societies.

• Do animals have culture?• Most anthropologists say:• “They do live in societies, but do not have

culture. Culture is something that people have created; animals live by instinct – they only do what comes naturally.”

• Society – a group of animals or people who occupy a specific spot and rely on each other for survival.

• Three Factors that Affect Culture• Environment• Climate, topography, natural resources

• Heritage• Important people or events

• Values and Beliefs• Cultural norms (folkways, mores,

taboos)

Environment

• People are suited differently for various climates and geography

• An Inuit man from Alaska is going to dress differently and raise his family differently from a Nigerian man

Heritage

• A culture is often deeply rooted in its history• Clashes between cultures may also be

rooted in historical events• Example: Problems in the Balkan

and Israel go back hundreds of years

Beliefs and Values

• Values• “Code of Ethics”• What an individual or group

considers to be important• These are backed up through Norms

Beliefs and Values

• Norms• Actions that are considered to be

standard in a society• “Normal” behaviors

Three Levels of Norms

• Folkways• “Minor” Norms• Informal, unwritten rules of behavior• Generally not universal• Ex: Fashion, etiquitte

• Mores• “Major” Norms• Written customs or rules believed to be necessary

for the welfare of a society (laws)• Many are universal• Ex: Murder, theft, etc.

Three Levels of Norms

• Taboos• Really bad stuff – a person instinctively

knows better• Universal taboos: Cannibalism, incest

Culture is:1. Learned

2. Shared

3. Symbolic

4. Intertwined with Nature

5. All-Encompassing and Integrated

6. Used Actively

Culture is…

• Learned• Newborns are the only people

without culture, but they are quickly bombarded by it

• Culture is learned both consciously and unconsciously• Conscious: The Pledge of

Allegiance, religious beliefs, how to dress, etc…

• Unconscious: Proximity (how close you stand to other people), language

• The unconscious only becomes obvious when you leave your own culture

Culture is…

• Shared• Any one of you could carry on a conversation

with any other teenager in the US – your lives aren’t that different• An American Catholic could follow a Mass in

Italy or the Philippines• The movement of ideas from one culture to

another is called diffusion• Diffusion happens when people migrate to a new place,

when one society conquers another, or today through globalization – the world linking-up via high speed communication

Culture is…

• Symbolic• We have symbols for

everything• Symbols are a way to

represent something abstract with something concrete

Culture is…

• Nature controls culture• Houses are constructed

differently• People worry about

different things in Florida, Kansas, Bangladesh, and Buffalo

• Culture controls nature• Every animal has to make

babies, eat, poo, etc.• Only people have rules

concerning these

• All-Encompassing and Integrated• What does this mean?• Everything we do is affected by culture,

and a change in one aspect would affect every part of our lives• Try to imagine if we:• Stopped speaking English• Stopped eating beef• Started using the metric system

Culture is…

Culture is…

• Used Actively• We are not mindless

robots – we mold and shape culture• Different aspects change

as necessary

Culture is…

• Multi-leveled• International:

McDonald’s is an international company

• National: McDonald’s in India serves lamb, in Mexico: tacos, and in Germany: beer!

• Local/Subculture: • Philadelphia - soda• Pittsburgh – pop• South - coke

Cultural Terms

• Ethnocentrism• The belief that your culture is superior to all

others

• Frame of Reference• The way you see the world• This is molded by experiences and culture

• Cultural Relativism• The attempt to study another culture through the

eyes of that culture• This is something that we are going to practice

this year!