Title: Chapter 3 culture
1Chapter 3 culture
- Ulrike Lerner
- Psychology Department
- SOCI 101
2Culture
- Culture and Society
- Development of Culture Around the World
- Elements of Culture
- Culture and the Dominant Ideology
- Cultural Variation
- Social Policy and Socialization Bilingualism
3Culture and Society
- Culture totality of learned, socially
transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects,
and behavior - Society largest form of human group
- Society members learn culture and transmit from
generation to generation - Simplifies day-to-day interactions
- Language critical element of culture that sets
humans apart from other species
4Cultural Universals
- Societies develop common practices
- Athletic sports
- Cooking
- Funeral ceremonies
- Medicine
- Sexual restrictions
5Innovation
- Innovation process of introducing new idea or
object to a culture - Discovery making known or sharing existence of
an aspect of reality - Invention when existing cultural items are
combined into a form that did not exist before
6Globalization, Diffusion, and Technology
- Diffusion process by which a cultural item
spreads from group to group or society to society - McDonaldization term coined by George Ritzer to
describe how the principles of the fast-food
industry in the U.S. have come to dominate more
sectors throughout the world - Technology cultural information about how to use
the material resources of the environment to
satisfy human needs and desires (Nolan and Lenski
200437)
7Globalization, Diffusion, and Technology
- Material culture physical or technological
aspects of our daily lives - Food items
- Houses
- Factories
- Raw materials
8Globalization, Diffusion, and Technology
- Nonmaterial culture ways of using material
objects - Customs
- Beliefs
- Philosophies
- Governments
- Patterns of communication
- Culture lag period of maladjustment when
nonmaterial culture is struggling to adapt to new
material conditions
9Biological Bases of Culture
- Sociobiology systematic study of how biology
affects human social behavior - Founded on Charles Darwins theory of evolution
- Sociobiology suggests that all behavior is the
result of genetic or biological factors - Most social scientists agree there is biological
basis for social behavior, but there is less
support for extreme positions
10Sociology in the Global Community
- 3-1 Life in the Global Village
- How are you affected by globalization?
- Which aspects of globalization do you find
advantageous and which objectionable? - How would you feel if the customs and traditions
you grew up with were replaced by the culture of
values of another country? - How might you try to protect your culture?
11Sociology in the Global Community
- 3-2 Cultural Survival in Brazil
- Compare what is happening in Brazil today to the
development of the North American West in the
19th century. - What similarities do you see?
- What does society lose when indigenous cultures
die?
12Figure 3-1 Languages of the World How Many Do
You Speak?
Notes Data include many island nations not
included in this map. Only countries with at
least 1 million speakers are included in
the ranking. Countries with the same number of
languages are ranked by highest population
first. Source Erard 2005 R. Gordon 2005.
13Language
- Language is foundation for every culture
- Language abstract system of word meanings and
symbols for all aspects of culture - Speech
- Written characters
- Numerals
- Symbols
- Nonverbal gestures and expressions
14symbols
build reality of meaning
Shared culture particular meanings We take them
for granted Unfamiliar society reminds us of
power of symbols
culture shock!
15symbolic meanings
Fur coat prized by one person may represent to
another - inhumane Jeans created 100yrs. Ago for
workers In 60s jeans popular with affluent
students Identify with working class In 70s
designer jeans as high priced status symbols
make sense out of life
16study of symbols
semiotics
Semiotics suggest meanings never inherent in
objects Constructed around them Through series of
practices
17Language
- Sapir-Whorf hypothesis describes the role of
language in shaping our interpretation of reality - Language precedes thought
- Language is not a given
- Language is culturally determined
- Language may color how we see world
18Does language shape reality?
- Do Chinese who think using one set of symbols
experience world differently from you? - Each language has its own distinct symbols serve
as building blocks of reality - All languages fuse symbols with distinctive
emotions - A single idea often feels different if spoken
in German rather than English - People perceive the world through the cultural
lens of language - Linguistic determinism suggests that language
shapes the way we think - Linguistic reality states that distinctions found
in one language are not found in another - System of language guides how we understand the
world but does not limit how we do so!
19- Key to world of culture
- System of symbols
- Communication
- Spoken written
- Write left to right
- Right to left
- Top to bottom
language
20LANGUAGE
- Nonverbal Communication
- Use of gestures, facial expressions, and other
visual images to communicate - Expressions are learned just as we learn other
forms of language - Nonverbal communication is not the same in all
cultures - Such gestures as basic emotional expressions a
smile, a look of horror may be close to
universal
21Figure 3-2 A Timeless Alert
223 most widely spoken languages
- Chinese 20 of humanity (1.2b)
- English 10 (600m)
- Spanish 6 (350m)
Thousands of minor languages (5,000- 6,000) Many
are dying out 80-90 will die off in next
200yrs Larger languages dominate smaller
ones Language revivals Welsh Gaelic English
now Global tongue favored second language Main
language www, air traffic control, business
pop music
23LANGUAGE CULTURAL REPRODUCTION
- System of symbols allows members to communicate
- Cultural reproduction process by which one
generation passes culture to next - Oral cultural tradition then - 5000 years ago
invented writing - 20th century nearly universal literacy (highly
industrialized nations) - Set free imagination connect symbols in new
ways - Both spoken written distinguishes humans as
self-conscious aware of mortality - Enables us to dream of a better world work to
bring this into being
24Values and norms
25What are values and norms?
- Ideas define what is important, worthwhile
desirable - Values abstract ideas give meaning, provide
guidance (standards about good bad) - Prescriptive! Statement about what ought to be
in language of ethical moral terms (broad
principles that underlie beliefs) - Beliefs particular matters considered as true or
false - Cultural values beliefs form core of moral
world view - i.e. monogamy
- Norms are rules of behavior reflect cultures
values - Values norms work together to shape behavior
- Values norms vary across cultures
26Norms
- Established standards of behavior maintained by a
society - To be significant, norms must be widely shared
and understood
27Types of Norms
- Formal norms generally written specify strict
punishments - Informal norms generally understood but not
precisely recorded - Mores norms deemed highly necessary to the
welfare of a society - Folkways norms that govern everyday behavior
28Acceptance of Norms
- Behavior that violates norms may adhere to the
norms of a particular group - Some norms violated because one norm conflicts
with another - Norms subject to change as political, economic,
and social conditions change - When circumstances require sudden violations of
long-standing norms, change can upset an entire
population
29Sanctions
- Sanctions penalties and rewards for conduct
concerning a social norm - Sanctions associated with formal norms tend to be
formal as well - Fabric of norms and sanctions in a culture
reflects that cultures values and priorities
30Table 3-1 Norms and Sanctions
31Values
- Collective conceptions of what is good,
desirable, and proper or bad, undesirable, and
improper - Influence peoples behavior
- Criteria for evaluating actions of others
- Values may change
32What are some core values?
- Learning highly valued
- Encouraged to study
- Parents make sacrifices
- Value hospitality
- Social behavior of guests hosts
- Value individualism, individual achievement,
equality of opportunity, hard work respect for
the rules - Others place value on shared needs, equality,
collective problem-solving - i.e. cheating
- Value traditional religious beliefs
- Others value progress science
33European values
- Few cultural values beliefs shared
- Europe a cultural mosaic
- First Age of Enlightenment values rationality,
science, progress - Significant improvement for some! Due to science,
medicine reason - Second domination of Judeo-Christian religion
struggle with secularization - Struggle Catholics Protestants
34Core Christian Values
love your neighbor as yourself
- Third development of Nation States
- Belief in citizenship
- Rights obligations what makes a good citizen
- Highlighted principle of hierarchy
- People should recognize their place in society
35Figure 3-3 Life Goals of First-Year College
Studentsin the United States, 1966-2005
Sources UCLA Higher Education Research
Institute, as reported in Astin et al. 1994
Pryor et al. 2006.
36Culture and the Dominant Ideology
- Dominant ideology cultural beliefs and practices
that help maintain powerful social, economic, and
political interests - Conflict theorists believe most powerful groups
and institutions control the means of producing
beliefs through religion, education, and media - Those with power control the media, so we can
gain insight into their values by studying media
content
37Sociology on Campus
- 3-3 A Culture of Cheating?
- Do you know anyone who has engaged in Internet
plagiarism? - What about cheating on tests or falsifying
laboratory results? - If so, how did the person justify these forms of
dishonesty? - Even if cheaters arent caught, what are the
negative effects of their academic dishonesty?
38Case Study Culture at Wal-Mart
- Wal-Mart is worlds 14th largest economy
- Some question its policies
- Pulled out of Germany in 2006 in part because it
failed to adjust to the national culture - Earlier sold its facilities in South Korea due to
cultural differences - Businesses must consider local cultures as they
expand into new countries
39Aspects of Cultural Variation
- Each culture has unique character
- Subculture Segment of society that shares
distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and
values that differs from the larger society - Argot specialized language that distinguishes a
subculture from the wider society
40Aspects of Cultural Variation
- Counterculture subculture that conspicuously and
deliberately opposes certain aspects of the
larger culture - Hippies
- Terrorist cells
- Culture shock feeling disoriented, uncertain,
out of place, or fearful when immersed in an
unfamiliar culture
41Attitudes toward Cultural Variation
- Ethnocentrism tendency to assume ones own
culture and way of life represent norm or is
superior to all others - Cultural relativism peoples behaviors from the
perspective of their own culture
42Table 3-2 Major Sociological Perspectives on
Culture
43Bilingualism
- The Issue
- Bilingualism use of two or more languages in a
particular setting, such as the workplace or
schoolroom - Program of bilingual education instructs children
in native language while gradually introducing
the language of the host society - To what degree should schools in the U.S. present
the curriculum in a language other than English?
44Bilingualism
- The Setting
- Languages know no political boundaries
- Minority languages common in many nations
- Schools throughout the world must deal with
incoming students speaking many languages - Review of research found that students offered
lessons in English and their home languages make
better progress than similar children only taught
in English
45Bilingualism
- Sociological Insights
- For a long time, people in the United States
demanded conformity to a single language - Seemed to assist non-English speaking people to
learn English and function more effectively
within the society - Many challenges to programs stem from
ethnocentric point of view
46Bilingualism
- Policy Initiatives
- Bilingualism has policy implications in efforts
to maintain language purity and programs to
enhance bilingual education - Nations vary dramatically in tolerance for a
variety of languages - Policymakers in U.S. somewhat ambivalent in issue
of bilingualism - As of 2007, 28 states declared English their
official language
47Figure 3-5 Non-English Speakers at Home
Note Data are from 2000 Census for people 5
years and over. National average was 17.9
percent. Source Shin and Bruno 20038.