Sociology – Chapter 2 - Culture

1. Sociology – Chapter 2 - Culture Miss Hickey Sociology Hilliard Davidson High School

2. What is culture? • culture – language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors and even material objects passed from one generation to the next • penetrates deep into thinking; “taken for granted” • provides implicit instructions for what to do in different situations • fundamental basis to make decisions • moral imperatives (right way of doing things) • can’t exist without culture—we all have it

3. Material Culture • material culture – material objects that distinguish a group of people • nothing natural about it • Example: different fashions around the world • easier to change than non-material culture

4. Non-Material Culture • non-material culture – group’s way of thinking and doing • nothing natural • Example: ability to stand in a line or to push and shove way to the front of group • harder to change non-material culture than material culture

5. Culture Shock • culture shock – disorientation people experience when coming in contact with a fundamentally different culture • coming into contact with radically different culture challenge our basic assumptions about life When have you experienced culture shock? What happened? How did you feel?

6. Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism • ethnocentrism – use of one’s own culture to judge others in their society • all people are ethnocentric • both positive and negative consequences • “One’s group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with it.” – William Sumner • cultural relativism – not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms • putting self in their (other culture’s) shoes/eyes

7. A SHORT Review: Vocabulary • culture • material culture • non-material culture • culture shock • ethnocentrism • cultural relativism

8. Components of Symbolic Culture • non-material culture • gestures • language • values • norms • sanctions • folkways • mores • taboos

9. Communication • gesture – communicating through the body • language • allows human experience to be communicative • provides a social or shared past • provides a social or shared future • allows shared perspective • allows complex, shared, goal-directed behavior • Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - Language creates ways of thinking (Edward Sapir and Ben Whorf)

10. Italian Gestures

11. Gestures… not the same in every country…

12. Values, Norms and Sanctions • norm – rules of behavior • sanction – approval or disapproval for violation of norms • positive sanctions – a reward or positive reaction for following norms • Examples: material success, prize, trophy, money, hugs, smiles, thumbs up! • negative sanction – negative expression of disproval for breaking a norm • Examples: harsh words or gesture, frowning, staring, violence, prison

13. Values in U.S. Society • achievement • success • individualism • activity • work • science and technology • progress • material comfort • humanitarianism • freedom • democracy • equality • education • religiosity • romantic love • racism/group superiority (contradiction)

14. Emerging U.S. Values • leisure • self-fulfillment • physical fitness • youthfulness • concern for the environment

15. Folkway, More, Taboo • folkway – norms that are not strictly enforced • Example: breaking speed limit • more (pronounced MORE-EH)– strictly enforced norms • Example: murder • taboo – extremely strong norm; a norm so strong that it often brings revulsion if violated • Example: incest, cannibalism

16. Pluralistic Society • pluralistic society – a society made up of many different groups • “A society comprised of people from numerous different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Although some integration and acculturation is only natural, a pluralistic society is one that acknowledges and allows for the cultural diversity of its citizens.” –education.com

17. A SHORT Time to Ponder • Who might not like pluralistic society? • Is pluralistic society always a good thing?

18. A SHORT Time to Ponder • Does pluralistic society and politics lead to a decline in religion?

19. Subculture v. Counterculture • subculture – the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguishes its members from the larger culture: world within a world • ethnic subculture – values, norms, food, religion, language and clothing set them apart • professional subcultures – doctors, engineers, teacher, police officers, etc. all have own vocabulary, values, etc. • counterculture – a group whose values, beliefs and elated behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture

20. Values • value cluster – values that fit together to form a larger whole • value contradiction – values that contradict one another; to follow the one means to come into conflict with the other • Example: pro-life and pro-death penalty • ideal culture – the ideal values and norms of a people; the goals held out for them • real culture – the norms and values that people actually follow

21. Cultural Universals • cultural universals – values, norms, or other cultural trains that are found everywhere • George Murdock • The specific customs differ from one group to another • Customs found were courtship, marriage, funerals, games, laws, music, myths, incest taboos and toilet training. • sociobiology – a framework of thought that views human behavior as the result of natural selection and considers biological factors to be the fundamental cause

22. Technology in the Global Village • technology • narrow sense: tools • broader sense: skills or procedures necessary to make and use those tools • new technology – the emerging technology of an era that have a significant impact on social life • technology sets the framework for a groups non-material culture

23. William Ogburn • cultural lag – human lagging behind technological innovations • a groups material culture usually changes first, with the non-material culture lagging behind

24. Diffusion and Leveling • cultural diffusion – the spread of cultural characteristics from one group to another • cultural leveling – the cultures become similar to one another • Example: U.S. culture being exported and diffused into other nations

25. A SHORT Time to Ponder • Why is culture not universal? • How has technology changed in your lifetime in ways that impact culture? • How do you think technology will change in the future, and how will those changes impact society? • What are some examples of cultural lag?