Introduction to Sociology SOC-101

Unit 3 - Culture

What Is Culture? Culture

The values, beliefs, behavior, language and material objects that are passed from one generation to the next

Society People interacting within a limited territory guided

by their culture Neither society nor culture could exist without

the other

What Is Culture? Two Types of Culture:

Material Culture Tangible creations of a society There is nothing inherently “natural” about material

culture Examples: art, jewelry, weapons, clothing

Non-Material Culture Intangible creations of a society A group’s way of thinking Examples: religion, beliefs, values

What Is Culture? Culture is learned and is not “natural” We take our culture for granted

It touches every aspect of our lives without us really realizing it

Culture becomes the lens through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us.

What is normal, natural, or usual? We believe our ways are “Normal”

What Is Culture? Ethnocentrism

Using your own culture as a yardstick for judging other societies, usually in a negative way

The belief that our culture is the “best” Culture Shock

The personal disorientation that accompanies exposure to a different culture or way of life

Cultural Relativism Understanding a culture’s practices from their

perspective Not judging a culture but trying to understand it

on its own terms

What Is Culture? Richard Edgerton’s Sick Societies (1992)

Evaluating cultures on their “quality of life” Characteristics of a “sick culture”

A culture that fails to survive because its own beliefs or institutions are harmful

Enough people are dissatisfied with their social institutions or cultural beliefs that a society is threatened

A culture that continues unsafe practices that hurt its population either physically or mentally

Examples: cultures that practice female circumcision, sell young girls into prostitution, accept wife beating

Symbolic Culture

Components of Symbolic Culture Symbolic Culture

Non-material culture because its central component is the symbols people use

Symbols This is anything that carries a particular meaning

recognized by people who share a culture They are used to communicate with other people We are so dependent on them that we take them

for granted Includes: gestures, languages, values, norms,

sanctions

Components: Gestures and Language Gestures

Using one’s body to communicate with others What a gesture means may vary depending on

where you are in the world It is important to learn the proper gestures when

visiting other countries The “OK” symbol has very different meaning in Italy

Language A system of symbols that allows people to

communicate abstract thoughts with one another Cultural Transmission: Language also ensures the

continuity of culture

Components: Language Five purposes of language

Allows human experience to be cumulative Allows us to move beyond our immediate experiences We would be limited to understanding only a short time period

Provides a social or shared past We can easily communicate our past events with others with

language Provides a social or shared future

We can communicate our future plans with other easily with language

Allows shared perspectives We can communicate abstract ideas

Allows complex, shared, goal-directed behavior We can share a purpose for getting together

Components: Language Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Developed in the 1930s by anthropologists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf

Language creates ways of thinking and perceiving People perceive the world only in terms of the symbols

contained in their language Each language has its own distinct symbols that serve

as building blocks of reality Instead of objects determining our language, our

language determines the way we see objects Example: perception of such words as negro v.

African-American and how Eskimos perceive snow

Values, Norms, and Sanctions

Components: Values, Norms, Sanctions Values

Culturally defined standards of desirability, goodness, and beauty that serve as a broad guideline for social living

Beliefs are specific statements that people hold to be true

Values are the broad principles while beliefs are the specifics

Norms Socially defined rules of behavior Serve as guidelines for our behavior and our

expectations of the behaviors of others Informal v. formal norms Norms will change as cultures change

Components: Values, Norms, Sanctions Sanctions

Reactions people get for either following or breaking norms

Positive Sanction Approval for following a norm

Negative Sanction Disapproval for breaking a norm

Folkways Norms that are not strictly enforced We are expected to do them but there are no laws

that require us to do them Examples include common courtesy and etiquette

Components: Values, Norms, Sanctions Mores

Norms that have a moral basis Violation of mores may produce moral indignation,

shock, and horror Taboo

Norms that are so strongly ingrained that violation of them brings revulsion

Examples: Incest and cannibalism Sanctions for violating them are severe

Laws These are norms that are formalized and back by

political authority

Subcultures and Countercultures

Subcultures and Countercultures Subculture

The values and related behaviors of a group that distinguishes its members from the larger culture

Everybody is a member of numerous subcultures Examples: Ethnicity, religion, occupations, home region

Counterculture Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely

accepted within a society Youth Counterculture

Many societies link counterculture with youth Military Counterculture

During the 1990s, there was a growth of militaristic groups that were highly suspicious of the federal government

Values in U.S. Society

Values in U.S. Society Sociologist Robin Williams’ values of American

culture: Achievement and Success Individualism Activity and Work Efficiency and Practicality Science and Technology Progress Material Comfort Humanitarianism Freedom Democracy Equality Racism and Group Superiority

Values in U.S. Society Henslin (2011) added three additional

American values: Education Religiosity Romantic Love

Value Clusters Values together that together form a larger whole Example: hard work, education, and material

comfort go together; you need the first two to get the second

Values in U.S. Society Value Contradictions

Values that contradict one another To follow one means to come in conflict with another Racism contradicts freedom and democracy This can be a major force for social change

A new group of values is emerging in American culture: Leisure Self-fulfillment Physical Fitness Youthfulness Concern for the Environment

Values in U.S. Society These new core values are met with strong

resistance to more traditional members of society Culture Wars – Term used to describe the severe

clash in values between the generations There is a big difference between our beliefs

in how we should act and how we actually act Ideal Culture – Values and norms that describe the

way we should behave Real Culture – The values and norms that people

actually follow

Technology and Culture

Technology and Culture Central to a group’s material culture is its

technology Sets the framework for a groups non-material culture as

well Technology

Tools of a society and the skill and procedures necessary to make and use those tools

New Technology Emerging technology that has a significant impact on

social life Cultural Lag

Not all parts of a culture changes at the same pace Some parts may change while others lag behind New elements of material culture (technology) change

faster than non-material Sometimes, non-material culture never catches up

Technology and Culture Causes of cultural change:

Invention – Creating new cultural elements Discovery – Recognizing and understanding

something that already exists Diffusion – Spread of objects or ideas from one

society to another Usually societies are eager to adopt more superior tools

and weapons Cultural Leveling

Process in which one culture becomes similar to another

Theoretical Analysis of Culture Functional Analysis

Depicts culture as a complex strategy for meeting human needs Cultural values give meaning to life and bind people

together Cultural Universals

These are traits that are part of every known culture Family, funeral rites, and jokes

Social-Conflict Analysis Draws attention to the link between culture and

inequality Any cultural trait benefits some members of society at the

expense of others Materialism - A society’s system of material

production has a strong effect on the rest of a culture Our competitive values are tied in with our society’s

capitalist economy