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CULTURE. CHAPTER 3. SOCIETY. People who interact in a defined territory And share a culture Society & Culture-> I nterdependent. Society. What is Culture?. Ways of thinking and acting Material objects That form a way of life. Culture. Culture: Two Categories.
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CULTURE CHAPTER 3
SOCIETY • People who interact in a defined territory • And share a culture Society & Culture-> Interdependent
What is Culture? • Ways of thinking and acting • Material objects • That form a way of life
Culture: Two Categories 1. Material Culture • Physical things created by members of society 2. Non-Material (Symbolic)Culture • Ideas created by members of society
Material Culture • Physical objectspeople create and give meaning • Examples: • Homes • School buildings • Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques • Cell phones • Clothes • Cars • Computers • Books
Non-Material Culture • Common elements: • Symbols • Language • Values • Norms
Non-material Culture • Rules of Etiquette for Eating: Japan
Symbols • Meaning recognized by people who share a culture • Humans createmeaning
Non-material / Symbolic Culture We communicate through: • Signs • Gestures • Language
Language • System of symbols: • People communicate • Language: • Key to accumulating knowledge • Cultural Transmission • Passing culture one generation to the next
Human Languages: A Variety of SymbolsHere the single Englishword “Read” is written in twelve of the hundreds of languages.
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis • The way people think is strongly affected by their native languages. • Controversial theory by linguist Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Whorf
Does language shape reality? • See and understand world through language • Cannot think without language • Language connects symbols with emotions
Does language determine thought? • In Chinese, only a single term luotuo(骆驼) • In English the word is camel. • In Arabic, there are more than 400 words for the animal. • Eskimo language has many words involving snow. For example: • apun= “snow on the ground”, • qanikca= “hard snow on the ground”, • utak= “block of snow”
Language & Reality • In English, time & objects counted & talked about in same way • Time is objectified • In Hopi, concept of time as “becoming later”, • Not a physical quantity that you can “have”
Language & Reality • Cartoon Introduction to linguistic relativity (6 min) • http://vimeo.com/42744105 • *** Video of indigenous people (LT 2 min) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS1Dno_d2yA
How Many Cultures? • One indication is language • 7,000 languages
Words Past and Present 40s Slang • Take a powder • Fuddy-duddy • Gobbledygook • Eager beaver • Flip your wig • Lettuce • Pass the buck 60s & 70s Slang • Skinny • Can you dig it? • Spaz • Far out • Chill • Bread • A gas • Bug out
9/11 Language and Emotions • Language influences human emotional experiences • Words such as anger or sadness • Cultural artifacts of English language
Values and Beliefs • Values • Culturally defined standards • What is desirable, good, and beautiful • Broad guidelines for social living • Beliefs • Statements accepted as true
Key Values of U.S. Culture Robin Williams Jr. (1970) 10 values 1.Equal Opportunity 2. Individual Achievement & Personal Success 3. Material Comfort 4. Activity and Work 5. Practicality and Efficiency 6. Progress 7. Science 8. Democracy & Free Enterprise 9. Freedom 10. Group Superiority
Norms • Rules that guide behavior • People respond with Sanctions: • Rewards • Punishments • Sanctions encourage conformity to cultural norms
Laws Normsestablished by an “authority” • Examples: • Speed limits • Income Tax • Crime
Mores (“more rays”) or Taboos • Norms widely observed • Great moral significance • Religious dietary restrictions • Polygamy • Pedophilia • Incest • Cannibalism
Folkways • Norms for routine or casual interaction • Correct manners • Appropriate dress • Proper eating behavior
Sanctions • Shame • Painful sense that others disapprove • Guilt • Negative judgment we make about ourselves
Ethnocentrism People use their culture as standard to evaluate another group or individual Viewing other cultures as abnormal
Cultural Relativism • Understanding other cultures on their terms • Researchers use cultural relativism • Objectivity
High Culture & Popular Culture • High Culture • Cultural patterns of society’s elite • Popular Culture • Cultural patterns widespread among a society’s population
Opera High Culture Ballet Art
Dominant Culture, Subcultures, and Countercultures • Dominant culturerefers to the values, norms, and practices of the group within society that is most powerful in terms of wealth, prestige, status, and influence.
Dominant Culture, Subcultures, and Countercultures • A subculture is a group within society that is differentiated by its distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle.
Dominant Culture, Subcultures, and Countercultures • A counterculture is a group within society that openly rejects and/or actively opposes society’s values and norms.