1	Culture Culture – totality of leaned social transmitted values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that constitute a people’s way of life Non-material culture – intangible world of ideas created by members of a society Material culture – tangible things created by members of a society Society – people interacting within a limited territory, guided by their culture
2	Cultural Universals General practices found in every culture Athletic Sports Cooking Courtship Dancing Family Gift Giving Hairstyles Housing Language Marriage Music Myths Property Rights Religion Sexual Taboos Tool making Trade Visiting Expression of these and other cultural universals vary from culture to culture
3	Cultural Transmission Culture is preserved through literature, art, video, music, and other forms of expression Culture must be transmitted through generations to survive A society’s culture is transmitted from generation to generation
4	Cultural Transmission How is culture transmitted between generations? Social Institutions Family Religion Education Work Government
5	Cultural Change Innovation – processes of introducing an idea or object that is new to culture Discovery – making known or sharing the existence of any aspect of reality Finding DNA molecule, finding a new moon of Saturn, fire Invention – combining existing cultural items to form a new cultural item Bow and arrow, automobile, Protestantism, democracy
6	Cultural Change Diffusion – process by which a cultural item is spread from group to group or society to society May occur as a result of exploration, military conquest, missionary work, influence of media, and tourism Diffusion, particularly of ideas, is often resisted Cultures are selective of what they are willing to absorb through diffusion
7	Elements of Culture Symbols Language Beliefs; Values Norms Mores; Folkways Sanctions Reward;Punishments Social Control Artifacts Technology
8	Elements of Culture Symbols – anything that carries a particular meaning for those who share a culture Traffic lights and signs Winking an eye Graffiti Hand signs American Flag The same symbol may have strikingly different meanings in different cultures
9	Elements of Culture Language – a system of symbols allowing members of a society to communicate Spoken and written words Major means for cultural transmission Sapir Whorf hypothesis – people perceive the world through the cultural lens of language Language shapes our experiences of distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels
10	Elements of Culture Beliefs – specific statements people hold to be true or false Values – culturally defined standards by which people assess desirability, goodness, and beauty Serve as guidelines for social living Statements about what ought to be Principles that underlie beliefs
11	Elements of Culture Key Values of U.S. Culture Equal Opportunity Achievement and success Material comfort Activity and work Practicality and efficiency Progress Science Democracy and free enterprise Freedom Racism and group superiority
12	Elements of Culture Norms – rules and expectations society uses to guide members’ behavior Mores – (MORE–ays) – standard of proper moral conduct Violation of mores may lead to severe penalties Murder, treason, cannibalism, child abuse, nudity Folkways – societies customs for routine everyday behavior Eating with a knife, fork, & spoon Patterns of dress appropriate to situations
13	Elements of Culture Sanctions – penalties and rewards for observed conduct concerning norms Conformity implies positive sanction Pay raise, medal, pat on the back Nonconformity implies negative sanction Fines, threats, imprisonment, stares, etc. Sanctions are given out by a person having socially accepted power Boss, judge, umpire, mom Sanctions may given improperly Poor call in a game, false arrest, etc.
14	Elements of Culture Social Control – various means by which society encourages conformity to norms Taken together, all types of sanctions from a society’s system of social control Internalization of cultural norms provides the individual the capacity to sanction self Pride, shame, guilt
15	“Ideal” and “Real” Culture Values and norms tell us how we should behave, they don’t necessarily reflect reality Ideal Culture – social patterns mandated by cultural values and norms Real Culture – actual social patterns that only approximate cultural expectations
16	Elements of Culture Material culture – consists of artifacts Chopsticks or knives and forks Carpeting or Japanese place mats Clothing styles Artifacts typically reflect a societies values Automobile reflects American values regarding individuality and independence
17	Elements of Culture Technology – knowledge that society applies to the task of living in a physical environment Technology ties nature to culture Technology used to “tame” environment Degrees of technology differ between and within cultures Greater technology associated with higher standards of living Cultural lag – cultural elements change at different rates causing disruption in the cultural system Euthanasia
18	Cultural Diversity High culture – cultural patterns that distinguish society’s elite Violin, Mozart Popular culture – cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s population Fiddle, Motown Neither elites nor ordinary people have uniform tastes and interests High culture may be praised as better – supporters have more money, influence, or power – it is not necessarily inherently better
19	Cultural Diversity Subculture – cultural patterns that set some segment of society’s population apart from the mainstream College students, Polish Americans, Amish, “Trekkies” Unique distinctive behaviors – specialized languages that exclude “outsiders,” etc. Participate in dominant culture and in subculture
20	Cultural Diversity Multiculturalism – educational program recognizing past and present cultural diversity in U.S. society Promotes equality of all cultural traditions Pluralism – a state in which racial and ethnic minorities are distinct but have social parity Eurocentrism – dominance of European (particularly English) cultural patterns Afrocentrism – dominance of African cultural patterns Considered a means to counteract Eurocentrism
21	Cultural Diversity Counterculture – subculture that challenges the norms of the dominant culture Skinheads, KKK, Hippies, Citizen Militias Counterculture rejects societal norms and values and seek alternative lifestyles
22	Cultural Diversity Ethnocentrism – practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture Often related to Eurocentrism Cultural Relativism – practice of judging another culture by its own standards
23	Cultural Diversity Global Culture Result of significant and rapid cultural diffusion Global connections related to flow of goods, information, people Global economy – flow of goods International trade Global communication – flow of information Telephone, internet, satellite based Global immigration – flow of people Transportation by plane makes easier
24	Theoretical Analysis of Culture Structural-Functionalist – various cultural traits function to maintain the overall operation of society Beliefs, values, norms, sanctions Downplays the possibility of social change Social Conflict – highlights how cultural traits benefit some members of society at the expense of other members Questions why values of the elite dominate society Understates how cultural patterns integrate members of societies
25	Theoretical Analysis of Culture Sociobiology – theoretical paradigm that explores ways biology affects how humans create culture Roots of sociobiology found in Darwin’s theory of natural selection Culture emerges as human nature responding to its environment Concerns with sociobiology Revival of theories or racial/sexual superiority Contribution of biology to culture is merely that some cultural patterns are easier to learn than others, not that biology explains human culture
26	Culture and Freedom Culture as constraint Habit limits choices and perpetuates repeating mistakes Media and business manipulate personal choices Achievement as value limits capacity for community building Material comfort preoccupies us with acquisition, not spirituality or developing close relationships Freedom provides privacy and autonomy but denies us support of others
27	Culture and Freedom Culture and Freedom Embodies human capacity for hope, creativity, and choice Cultural diversity provides numerous possible expressions for individuals Culture changes, allowing for imagination and inventiveness