The Meaning of Culture

1. The Meaning of Culture

2. The Elements of Culture • Everyone born into a culture. • Share common characteristics. • Anthropologists divided into 7 Elements

3. #1 Social Organizationsmaller structure-meet needs of people • Family Patterns- • most important • nuclear family • extended family

4. Social Classes • Ranking of people in order of status • Based on what that culture values highly • Social mobility

5. Customs and Traditions • -rules of behavior • cultural rules vary in importance • social pressure to fit in • Social norms-unify or not

6. Arts and Literature • Products of human imagination such as art, music, literature that please and entertain us. • Folk tales-traditions that help pass on a culture’s basic beliefs and values. • A and L help to strengthen a culture’sidentity

7. Language • The cornerstone of culture • reflects a culture’s identity • unify culture (or not) • age

8. Religion • Arts often closely linked to people’s religious beliefs • within a culture, people usually share religious beliefs • Meaning of life

9. Forms of Government • People’s governments provide for their common needs such as order and protection • people organize governments • types of governments: • democracy • republic • dictatorship

10. Economic Systems • Economics refers to how people use limited resources to satisfy their wants and needs. • 3 basic questions: • what goods and services should we produce • how should we produce them • for whom should we produce them

11. Economics cont. • Traditional economy: people produce most of what they need to survive • Market economy:buying and selling goods and services. • Command economy: government controls what goods are produced & what they cost • Mixed-most nations have mixed economies

13. The American Dream

14. Cultural diffusion • spread of culture and the factors that account for it, such as migration, communications, trade, and commerce

16. Ethnocentrism • The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture. • Cultural superiority

17. Cultural Divergence • The restriction of an element of culture from outside influences • Example: government censorship

18. Cultural Convergence Cultural convergence occurs when multiple cultures become more like one another through exposure to traditions, ideals and languages.

19. Questions to Ponder • Describe three elements that help give YOUR culture its identity. • How are family patterns related to YOUR culture? • How do the arts in the United States help to unify the nation? • Which element of culture is most relevant in your life?