CHAPTER 2 Cultural Diversity

1. CHAPTER 2Cultural Diversity Section 1: The Meaning of Culture Section 2: Cultural Variation

2. Section 1: The Meaning of Culture Objectives: • Define the meaning of the term culture and explain how material culture and non- material culture differ. • Identify and describe the basic components of culture.

3. Section 1: The Meaning of Culture Culture • Culture – consists of all the shared products of human groups which include physical objects, beliefs, values, and behaviors shared by a group • Material Culture – are physical objects that people create and use such as books, buildings, clothing, and cooking • Nonmaterial Culture – are abstract human creations that include beliefs, family patterns, ideas, and language

4. CULTURE Non material Culture Material Culture Examples Examples all the shared products of human groups abstract human creations physical objects that people create and use automobiles, books, buildings, clothing, computers, and cooking beliefs, family patterns, ideas, language, political and economic systems, and rules

5. Section 1: The Meaning of Culture Basic Components of Culture • Technology – physical objects and rules for using them • Symbols – anything that represents something else and has a shared meaning • Language – the organization of written or spoken symbols into a standardized system • Values – shared beliefs about what is good and bad or right or wrong • Norms – shared rules of conduct

6. Section 2: Cultural Variation Objectives: • Describe cultural universals and explain why they exist. • Explain what the terms ethnocentrism and cultural relativism mean. • Identify factors that account for variations among and within cultures.

7. Section 2: Cultural Variation Cultural Universals • Cultural universals – general traits common to all cultures • Exist because some needs are so basic that all societies must develop certain features to ensure their fulfillment

8. Section 2: Cultural Variation Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one’s own culture and group as superior to all others.  People in all societies are at times ethnocentric.  When ethnocentrism is too extreme, cultural growth may stagnate. –  Limiting the number of immigrants into a society can cause this.  Extreme ethnocentrism can also lead to conflicts such as wars.

9. Section 2: Cultural Variation Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism Cultural relativism is the belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards. –  Researchers attempt to understand cultural practices from the point of view of the people they are studying. • Participant Observation useful

10. Section 2: Cultural Variation Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism Cultural relativism helps sociologists in understanding why people in different societies have different cultural norms. –    e.g. the Sepoy Rebellion of India in 1857 (gunpowder cartridges were sealed with pig or beef fat, both are religiously offensive to Hindu and Muslims)

11. Cultural Relativism Ethnocentrism the tendency to view one’s own culture and group as superior to other different cultures belief that a culture should be judged by its own standards rather than by those of another culture

12. Section 2: Cultural Variation Factors That Account for Variations Among and Within Cultures • Subculture – shared values, norms and behaviors that are not shared by the entire population • Counterculture – rejection of the major values, norms, and practices of the larger society and replacing them with a new set of cultural values • The old older Amish are a good example of a counterculture. They have done everything they can to demonstrate their separation from the world around them..

13. Section 2: Cultural Variation Factors That Account for Variations Among and Within Cultures • Subculture – shared values, norms and behaviors that are not shared by the entire population • Counterculture – rejection of the major values, norms, and practices of the larger society and replacing them with a new set of cultural values • The old older Amish are a good example of a counterculture. They have done everything they can to demonstrate their separation from the world around them..

14. Section 2: Cultural Variation Chapter Wrap-Up 1.List five examples of material culture and five examples of nonmaterial culture. 2. What is language, and why is it such an important part of culture? 3. How do cultural traits, cultural complexes, and cultural patterns differ? 4. What is ethnocentrism? How does it differ from cultural relativism? 5. How are subcultures and countercultures related?

15. Essay Question Explain what ethnocentrism is, how it is different from cultural relativism and why extreme ethnocentrism can cause a culture to stagnate?