CULTURAL VARIATION
2-2
FOCUS QUESTION
• LIST ANY FOREIGN PRACTICES THAT DIFFER GREATLY FROM AMERICAN CULTURAL PRACTICES
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS• WHAT ARE CULTURAL UNIVERSALS AND WHY DO THEY EXIST?
• WHAT DO THE TERMS ETHNOCENTRISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM MEAN?
• WHAT FACTORS ACCOUNT FOR VARIATIONS AMONG AND WITHIN CULTURES?
WHAT ARE CULTURAL UNIVERSALS?• CULTURAL UNIVERSALS – GENERAL FEATURES COMMON TO ALL CULTURES,
SUCH AS COOKING, DANCING, ATHLETIC SPORTS, FUNERAL CEREMONIES, AND MEDICINE
• ALL SOCIETIES HAVE DEVELOPED CERTAIN COMMON PRACTICES AND BELIEFS
• CULTURAL UNIVERSALS CHANGE OVER TIME AND FROM SOCIETY TO ANOTHER
WHY DO THEY EXIST??
• BECAUSE SOME NEEDS ARE SO BASIC THAT ALL SOCIETIES MUST DEVELOP CERTAIN FEATURES TO ENSURE THEIR FULFILLMENT
ETHNO – WHAT??
• ETHNOCENTRISM – TENDENCY TO VIEW ONE’S OWN CULTURE AND GROUP AS SUPERIOR TO OTHER DIFFERENT CULTURES
CULTURAL RELATIVISM• CULTURAL RELATIVISM – BELIEF THAT A CULTURE SHOULD BE
JUDGED BY ITS OWN STANDARDS RATHER THAN BY THOSE OF ANOTHER CULTURE
• XENOCENTRISM IS AN EXTENSION OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM; IT IS THE BELIEF THAT THE PRODUCTS, STYLES, OR IDEAS OF ONE’S SOCIETY ARE INFERIOR TO THOSE THAT ORIGINATE ELSEWHERE
ACTIVITY #1
CREATE A DRAWING OR ONE PANEL CARTOON THAT ILLUSTRATES THE CONCEPT OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM
VARIATIONS BETWEEN CULTURES• SUBCULTURE – GROUP WITHIN A SOCIETY WHICH SHARES
VALUES, NORMS, AND BEHAVIORS THAT ARE NOT SHARED BY THE ENTIRE POPULATION
• COUNTERCULTURE – SUBCULTURE WHICH REJECTS THE MAJOR VALUES, NORMS, AND PRACTICES OF THE LARGER SOCIETY AND REPLACES THEM WITH A NEW SET OF CULTURAL VALUES
SUBCULTURES• THE CULTURES OF GROUPS WHOSE VALUES AND NORMS OF BEHAVIOR
DIFFER FROM THE DOMINANT CULTURE
• MEMBERS OF SUBCULTURES INTERACT FREQUENTLY AND SHARE A COMMON WORLD VIEW
• SUBCULTURES SHARE SOME ELEMENTS OF THE DOMINANT CULTURE AND COEXIST WITH IT.
COUNTERCULTURES• SUBCULTURES CREATED AGAINST THE VALUES OF THE
DOMINANT CULTURE
• MEMBERS REJECT DOMINANT VALUES AND DEVELOP PRACTICES THAT DEFY NORMS AND VALUES OF THE DOMINANT GROUP
• NONCONFORMITY IS AN INDICATOR OF COUNTERCULTURE
ACTIVITY #2• LISTEN TO THESE SONGS THAT DEMONSTRATE ASPECTS OF SUBCULTURE AND
DISCUSS HOW THE MUSIC/LYRICS REPRESENT THE SUBCULTURE’S ACTIONS, BELIEFS, NORMS, VALUES
• “EAT IT” – WEIRD AL
• “TACO GRANDE” – WEIRD AL
• “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY” – QUEEN
• “MY IMMORTAL” – EVANESCENCE
• “MY MOM STILL CLEANS MY ROOM” – MXPX
• “TUBTHUMPING” – CHUMBWUMBA
• “VIVA LA VIDA” – WEIRD AL
