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Chapter 4: People and Places

Chapter 4: People and Places. Section 1: The Elements of Culture. Perspective.

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Chapter 4: People and Places

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  1. Chapter 4: People and Places Section 1: The Elements of Culture

  2. Perspective • “He has coffee, an Abyssinian plant, with cream and sugar. Both the domestication of cows and the idea of milking them originated in the Near East, while sugar was first made in India… As a side dish he may have the egg of a species of bird domesticated in Indo-China, or thin strips of the flesh of an animal domesticated in Eastern Asia.” • Anthropologist Ralph Linton, “The 100% American”

  3. Defining Culture • Culture is the total of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors shared by and passed on by the members of a specific group. • “How you should behave if you want to fit in” • Culture is made up of • Food and shelter • Religion • Relationships to family and others • Language • Education • Security/protection • Political and social organization • Creative expression

  4. A group that shares a geographic region, a sense of identity, and a culture is called a society. • American culture, Texan society • Ethnic group refers to a specific group that shares a language, customs, and a common heritage. • The San peoples, from Kalahari Desert in Africa, live in a specific territory, speak their own language, and have a social organization distinct from other groups living in the region.

  5. Culture Change and Exchange • Culture and society are always in the process of changing, sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly. • First way that change happens is innovation. • Taking existing technology and resources and creating something new to meet a need. • To solve the need for storage of goods, some societies invented baskets, others clay pots • Next is diffusion. • The spread of ideas, inventions, or patterns of behavior. • Technology allows for very quick diffusion- something new gets posted, tagged, instagrammed…

  6. Diffusion

  7. Culture Change and Exchange • A cultural hearth is an area from which basic ideas, materials, and technology diffuse to many cultures. • The ancient river valley civilizations are the best known cultural hearths. They were the first successful civilizations, so many of our basic cultural ideas have come from these areas- government, religion, etc.

  8. Culture Change and Exchange • Acculturation occurs when a society changes because it accepts or adopts an innovation. • Sometimes this is beneficial to the society, but other times it can be negative if it is a forced change.

  9. Language • This is one of the most important aspects of culture because it allows for COMMUNICATION! • Language helps establish cultural identity: unity between those who speak it. • Language can be divisive. • In Canada, English and French are both recognized as official languages due to pressure by French Canadians.

  10. Language • Estimate that 3000-6500 languages are spoken across the world today. • Dialects reflect changes in speech patterns related to class, region, or other cultural changes. • Texas Twang, New Yorker, street slang • Language also diffuses • Happens because people from different areas interacted or because people from different areas migrated to new locations. • Just look at all the languages spoken in the U.S.

  11. Religion • Religion consists of a belief in a supernatural power or powers that are regarded as the creators and maintainers of the universe. • Monotheistic: belief in one god • Polytheistic: belief in many gods • Animistic or traditional: belief in divine forces in nature • Religion spreads through diffusion and through conversion. Conversion is when a person gives up former beliefs for a new religion.

  12. Religion • Major Religions: • Judaism: from Israel; oldest monotheistic religion; holy book is the Torah • Christianity: from Israel closely linked to Judaism; monotheistic, based on teachings of Jesus Christ- believed to be the son of God • Islam: from Southwest Asia; based on teachings of Prophet Muhammad closely linked to Judaism and Christianity; known as Muslims

  13. Religion • Major Religions continued: • Hinduism: from India; polytheistic because some believe in one god or many gods; caste system with levels of fixed social classes • Buddhism: from India; Buddha rejected caste system of Hinduism; living to reach an enlightened spiritual state called nirvana

  14. Creative Cultural Expressions • Cultures produce performing arts, visual arts, and literature. • Performing arts: music, dance, theater, and film • Visual arts: architecture, painting, sculpture, and textiles • Oral and written literature: poems, folk tales, and stories

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