soc 007 lec 2 culture

8/3/2019 SOC 007 Lec 2 Culture

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Culture


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Culture refers to the beliefs, values, behavior andmaterial objects that, together, form a peoples way

of life

Nonmaterial ()culture: the ideas created bymembers of a society (intangible creations)

Material () culture : the physical things createdby members of a society (tangible products)


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Culture shapes not only what we do but also whatwe think and how we feel

Culture shock occurs when an individual suffers

personal disorientationwhen experiencingan unfamiliar way of life.

Domestic and foreign travel

Only humans depend on culture rather than

instinctsto ensure the survival of their kind.


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Human achievements during the Stone Age sethumans off on a distinct evolutionary course, makingculture their primary survival strategy.

The concept of culture (a shared way of life) must bedistinguished from those of nation (a political entity)or society (the organized interaction of people in a

nation or within some other boundary).

Many modern societies are multicultural, meaningthat their people follow various ways of life that blendand sometimes clash.


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1. Symbols

2. Languages

3. Value and Beliefs 4. Norms, sanctions, folkways, mores


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Symbols

A symbol is anything that carries a particular

meaning recognized by people who share aculture

The meaning of the same symbols varies fromsociety to society, within a single society, and overtime.


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Symbols

Reality for humans is found in the meaning things

carry with them. The basis of culture; makes social life possible

People must be mindful thatmeanings

vary from culture to culture.


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Symbols

E.g. word, graffiti, and a flashing red light

What does it mean? :-)

orz

TTYL

LOL

ROTFL


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Gestures

ConveyingMessages without Words

GesturesMeaningDiffer Among Cultures

Can Lead toMisunderstandings


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Language

A system of symbols that allows people to

communicate with one another.

Language is the key to cultural transmission, the

process by which one generation passes culture to the

next.

Through most of human history, cultural transmissionhas been accomplished through oral tradition.


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Language


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Values ()

are culturally defined standards by which people

judge desirability, goodness and beauty, andwhich serve as broad guidelines for social living.

are what people who share a culture use to makechoices about how to live

are broad principles that support beliefs


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Beliefs ()

specific thoughts or ideas that people hold to betrue

Values are abstract standards or goodness, andbeliefs are particular matters that individualsconsider true or false


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Values

Key values of U.S. culture Robin Williams (1970)

1. Equal opportunity2. Achievement and

success

3. Material comfort4. Activity and work5. Practicality and

efficiency

6. Progress7. Science8. Democracy and free

enterprise9. Freedom10.Racism and group

superiority ()


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Values

Values within a society are frequently inconsistent

and even contradicts another.

Value conflict causes strain.

Values change over time.

Values change overtime


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AGlobal Perspective

Cultures have their own values.

In general, the values that are important in higher-income countries differ somewhat from those inlower-income countries.


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Norms ()

rules and expectations by which a society guides

the behavior of its members. They may be eitherproscriptive or prescriptive.

Proscriptive norms: stating what we should not do

Prescriptive norms: stating what we should do


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Norms There are two special types of norms that were

identified by WilliamGraham Sumner (1906):

Mores (pronounced "more-rays")() : norms that are widely observed and have great moral

significance (Core Values)

Draw a line between right and wrong

Folkways (): norms for routine, casual interaction

Draw a line between right and rude


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Norms

Sanctions ( ):

Reaction to Following or Breaking Norms

a central mechanism of social control, attempts bysociety to regulate peoples thoughts and behavior

Doing wrong can cause both shame (the painful sensethat others disapprove of our actions) andguilt(a

negative judgment we make of ourselves)


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Sociologists distinguish between ideal cultureand real culture

ideal culture: social patterns mandated() bycultural values and norms

real culture: actual social patterns that onlyapproximate() cultural expectations.

E.g. faithfulness in marriage


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Artifacts: physical human creations

Material culture reflects a societys values and a

societys technology, the knowledge that peopleapply to the task of living in their surroundings.

E.g. chopsticks, mats, automobile, computer,iphone


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High culture and Popular culture

Cultural diversity () involves not just

immigration but also social class

High culture: cultural patterns that distinguish asocietys elite

Popular culture: cultural patterns that arewidespread among a societys population

High culture is not inherently superior to popular

culture


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Subculture () Cultural patterns that set apart some segment of

a societys population

They involve not only differences but alsohierarchy.

Counterculture () refers to cultural patterns that strongly oppose

those widely accepted within a society.


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Multiculturalism ()

an educational program recognizing the cultural diversity of theUnited States and promoting the equality of all cultural traditions.

Multiculturalism stands in opposition to Eurocentrism () ,the dominance ofEuropean (especially English) cultural patterns.

Supporters of multiculturalism argue that it helps us come to termswith our diverse () present.

Opponents of multiculturalism argue that it encourages divisiveness() rather than unity.


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Cultural change

As cultures change, they strive to maintain

cultural integration, the close relationship amongvarious elements of a cultural system.

WilliamOgburns (1964) concept of cultural lag

refers to the fact that cultural elements change atdifferent rates, which may disrupt a culturalsystem.


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Cultural change

Three phenomena promote cultural change:

Invention (), the process of creating new culturalelements.

Discovery (), recognizing and understanding anidea not fully understood before.

Diffusion (), the spread of cultural traits from onecultural system to another.


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Ethnocentrism ()

the practice of judging another culture by the

standards of ones own culture.

Cultural relativism ()

the practice of judging a culture by its ownstandards.


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Some evidence suggests that a global culture

may be emerging.

Three key factors are promoting this trend:

Global economy: the flow of goods.

Global communications: the flow of information.

Global migration: the flow of people.


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Three limitations with the global culture

thesis:

Global culture is much more advanced in someparts of the world than in others.

Many people cannot afford to participate in thematerial aspects of a global culture.

Different people attribute different meanings tovarious aspects of the global culture.


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Structural-functional approach

The structural-functional approach depicts culture

as a complex strategy for meeting human needs Cultural values direct our lives, give meaning to

what we do, and bind people together

Cultural universals ()

Traits that are part of every know culture


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Structural-functional approach

The strength of the structural-functional analysis

is showing how culture operates to meet humanneeds.

The weakness of the structural-functional

approach is that it ignores cultural diversity anddownplays ( )the importance of change.


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Social-conflict approach The social-conflict approach is rooted in the

philosophical doctrine ( ) of materialism (

)and suggests that many cultural traits function tothe advantage of some and to the disadvantage ofothers

The social-conflict analysis recognizes that many

elements of a culture maintain inequality andpromote the dominance of one group over others

It understates the ways that cultural patternsintegrate members of society


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Sociobiology ()

a theoretical approach that explores ways in

which human biology affects how we createculture. Sociobiology has its roots in the theory ofevolution proposed by CharlesDarwin

Sociobiology may promote racism and sexism

Research support for this paradigm is limited


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Culture as constraint:

Humans cannot live without culture, but the

capacity for culture does have some drawbacks

Culture as freedom:

Culture forces us to choose as we make andremake a world for ourselves


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soc 007 lec 2 culture

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