Culture

1. Culture The Elements of Culture

2. Culture • Culture: The way of life of a group of people who share similar beliefs and customs.

3. Elements of Culture These are things that all cultures have in common. What might some of those things be? • Social Organization -When a culture organize its members into smaller groups • What might some smaller groups be in a culture? • Families • Religious groups • Social classes • Occupation • Interest groups

4. Elements of Culture • Social Organization cont. - family: the most important unit of social organization • Nuclear family- husband, wife, children • Extended family- several generations in one household - respect for elders is usually strong in extended fams.

5. Elements of Culture • Social Organization cont. - social classes: a way to rank people in order of status • What can social class be based on? • Money • Occupation • Education • Race • Etc.

6. Elements of Culture • 1. Social Groups cont. • Ethnic group- made up of people who share a common language, history, place of origin, or a combination of these elements

7. Elements of Culture 2. Customs and Traditions - rules of behavior (written and unwritten) - Influenced by its history

8. Elements of Culture • Language • Important for communication and passing on traditions and beliefs • One of the most unifying elements of a culture • Dialects: • Language Families:

10. Elements of Culture 4. The Arts – Literature, Music, Architecture, Paintings, Sculptures etc. - Teach about a culture’s values - Promote cultural pride and unity

11. Elements of Culture • Religion • Monotheism: belief in one god • Polytheism: belief in more than one god • Major World Religions • Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism

13. Elements of Culture 6. Forms of Government • We have already talked about this…remember the chart?

14. Elements of Culture 7. Economic Systems • Four types 1. Traditional: people produce most of what they need to survive 2. Market: basic economic questions are answered by buying/selling goods and services 3. Command: government controls answers to economic questions 4. Mixed: individuals make some economic decisions, the government makes others

15. Elements of Culture 8. Other minor elements of culture: • Food • Clothing • Mannerisms

16. Ways Cultures Change Cultures are constantly changing! • Technology • Cars, telephone, computers, fast food, etc. • Environment Changes • New Ideas (like recycling) • Cultural Diffusion: movement of customs and ideas from one place to another • (can happen because of migration, war, trade, etc.)

17. Be Careful of… • Ethnocentrism: judging other cultures by the standards of your own • Racism: belief that one racial group is naturally superior to another

18. Agricultural Revolution • About 10,000 yrs ago, people were nomads who moved from place to place in search for food and grazing land • Eventually the earth’s climate warmed and they settled in river valleys (permanent villages) and began farming • The shift from gathering food to producing food is the Agricultural Revolution

19. Culture Hearths • Early centers of civilization whose ideas and practices spread to surrounding areas • Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, China, and Mexico

21. Industrial Revolution • 1700s and 1800s: production methods change the way goods can be produced • People left farms to work in the cities in factories • Cities grew larger

22. Information Revolution • End of 1900s: computers make it possible to store information and send it all over the world in an instant • Links the cultures of the world more closely than ever before