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U.S. Culture

U.S. Culture. List as many “American values” that you can think of. Remember values are the standards by which people define good and bad, beautiful and ugly. Basic Values. According to sociologist Robin Williams, 15 basic values are dominant in US culture: Success -Science

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U.S. Culture

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  1. U.S. Culture

  2. List as many “American values” that you can think of • Remember values are the standards by which people define good and bad, beautiful and ugly

  3. Basic Values • According to sociologist Robin Williams, 15 basic values are dominant in US culture: • Success -Science • Hard work -External conformity • Efficiency -Individualism • Material comfort -In-group superiority • Morality -Equality • Humanitarianism - Freedom • Progress - Patriotism • Democracy

  4. Value Clusters • Made up of related core values that come together to form a larger whole • Example: Success • We find hard work, education, efficiency, material comfort and individualism all bound together

  5. Value Contractions • Some values conflict with each other • Example: There cannot be full expressions of democracy, equality, racism and sexism at the same time • As society changes some values are challenged and undergo modification

  6. Culture War • Core values do not change without meeting strong resistance • Today’s clash in values is so severe that it is referred to a culture war

  7. Values blind people • Values and their supporting beliefs may blind people to other social circumstances • Example: the emphasis on individualism • So high that many people in the US believe that everyone is free to pursue the goal of success • Blinds them to the consequences of family poverty, lack of education and dead-end jobs

  8. Ideal Culture v. Real Culture • Ideal Culture- refers to the ideal values and norms of people • Most people fall short of this • Real Culture- norms and values that people actually follow

  9. Changing Society • As society changes over time new values emerge that reflect changed social conditions • For example: leisure, physical fitness, self-fulfillment, concern for environment

  10. Culture Changes is 3 ways • Invention- creating new cultural elements • Telephone, airplane, internet • Discovery- Recognizing a better understanding of something already in existence • X-Ray, DNA • Diffusion- The spread of cultural traits from one society to another • Jazz music, slang words, etc.

  11. technology • Central to material culture is technology • Refers to tool but can include the skills or procedures to make and use those tools • New technologies refer to the emerging technologies that have a major impact on human life

  12. Culture Lag • Term coined by William Ogburn • Refers to a situation in which not all parts of a culture change at the same pace • A group’s material culture usually changes first • Non-material culture lags behind • Sometimes non-material culture never catches up

  13. Cultural diffusion • The transmission of cultural characteristics • Material culture is more likely to change because of cultural diffusion • One consequence: Cultural leveling • The process in which cultures become similar to one another • Example: Japan adopting western culture

  14. Culture Clash • Differences among cultures can be expected to generate most of the conflict around the world • Coming in contact with radically different cultures produces culture shock • Challenging our basic assumptions about life

  15. Ethnocentrism • The attitude that one’s own culture is superior to those of other people • Can serve as the glue to hold society together • Strong sense of unity as a nation

  16. Cultural Relativism • The belief that a culture must be understood on its own terms • Looking at a culture from their own perspective and understand why they do things their way • Can contribute to international peace

  17. Multicultural • US is made up of different cultures • I.e. Anglo, Hispanic, African • Multiculturalism- a state in which all subcultures in the same society are equal to one another • Varies in degree from 1 society to another • Switzerland most multicultural (Fr, Gm, It) • Bosnia- minorities are despised and often killed • US somewhere in between

  18. US Multiculturalism • Eurocentrism- view the world from the standpoint of European culture • Afrocentrism- the view of world from the standpoint of African culture

  19. Pop Culture • Popular culture consists of relatively unsophisticated artistic creations that appeal to the mass audience • Movies, tv shows, music

  20. Cultural Universals • All human beings have the same needs that must be met in order to survive • Biological needs- food and shelter • Social needs- clothing, complex communication, peaceful coexistence, aesthetic spiritual experiences • These needs are universal • Cultural Universals- practices found in all cultures as the means for meeting the same human needs • Food gathering - art forms • Building houses - religion • Developing language

  21. What values do celebrities portray?

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