1. Cultural Diversity Chapter 2, Section 1

2. What is Culture? • Culture, the shared products of human groups, comes in two forms- material and nonmaterial. • It should not be confused with the term society, which refers to a group of people who share culture and a feeling of unity. • In short, societies are people, and culture refers to the components people create. • Material culture= physical objects such as books, clothing, utensils, etc. • Nonmaterial culture= abstract human creations, such as beliefs, language, ideas, etc.

3. Components of Culture • There are 5 basic components of culture that all societies have some form of. They are: • Technology • Symbols • Language • Values • Norms

4. Components of Culture • Technology • Combination of objects and rules for using them. • Items of material culture, and the knowledge of how to use them. • Also incorporates ideas. • Symbols • Anything that represents something else. • Form of communication between members of a society. • Though the symbols may be different, they are used the same from culture to culture.

5. Components of Culture • Language • Organization of written or spoken symbols into a standardized system. • Values • Shared beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable. • Help determine the character of a group of people. • Norms • Shared rules of conduct that tell how to act in a given situation. • Expectations of behavior not everyone’s actions will be in line with these.

6. Types of Norms • Folkways= socially acceptable behavior that do not have great moral significance attached. • Common customs of everyday life. • Examples: • Eating steak with utensils instead of your hands • Covering your mouth when you yawn • Shaking hands when you meet someone • Mores= great moral significance attached; otherwise, the stability of society would be upset. • Examples: • Dishonesty, murder, fraud

7. Violation of Mores • Societies have established laws for when mores are violated. • Written rules of conduct enacted and enforced by the government. • However, not all laws are established for mores– some are in place to enforce folkways, such as not parking in a handicap spot.

8. Examining Culture • Culture is dynamic rather than static– it changes over time. • Sociologists study culture on three levels of complexity: • Cultural traits • Cultural complexes • Cultural patterns

9. Examining Culture • Cultural trait= simplest level of culture; an individual item, act or belief. • Cultural complex= cultural traits come together to make up a cultural complex. • Multiple items, acts or beliefs. • Cultural pattern= multiple cultural complexes; together they form large parts of a society’s culture.