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Sociology in Modules

Sociology in Modules. Culture. Culture. 3. Module 9: What Is Culture? Module 10: Development of Culture around the World Module 11: Cultural Variation Module 12: Elements of Culture . A Look Ahead. How basic is the study of culture to sociology?.

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Sociology in Modules

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  1. Sociology in Modules Culture

  2. Culture 3 • Module 9: What Is Culture? • Module 10: Development of Culture around the World • Module 11: Cultural Variation • Module 12: Elements of Culture

  3. A Look Ahead • How basic is the study of culture to sociology? • What general cultural practices are found in all societies and what variations distinguish one society from another? • What are the major aspects of culture? • How do cultures develop a dominant ideology, and how do functionalists and conflict theorists view culture?

  4. What Is Culture? Module 9 • Culture: Totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior • Culture includes ideas, values, customs, and artifacts of groups of people

  5. Culture and Society Module 9 • Society: Large number of people who live in same territory, who are relatively independent of people outside that area, and who participate in a common culture • Common culture simplifies day-to-day interactions • Adorno: worldwide cultureindustry limits people choices

  6. Cultural Universals Module 9 • Cultural Universal: certain common practices and beliefs that all societies have developed • Many are adaptations to meet essential human needs • Murdoch compiled list of cultural universals but they are expressed differently from culture to culture

  7. Ethnocentrism andCultural Relativism Module 9 • Ethnocentrism: Tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life represents the norm or is superior to others • Conflict theorists: ethnocentric value judgments serve to devalue groups and to deny equal opportunities • Functionalists: ethnocentrism maintains sense of solidarity

  8. Cultural Relativism Module 9 • Cultural relativism: People’s behaviors from the perspective of their own culture • Different social contexts give rise to different norms and values

  9. Sociobiology and Culture Module 9 • Sociobiology: Systematic study of how biology affects human social behavior • Founded on Darwin’s Theory of Evolution • Sociobiologists assert that many cultural traits rooted in genetic makeup

  10. Sociology in the Global Community Module 9 • Cultural Genocide • How would you react if you were taken from your parents’ home by a government agent and moved to a different family with a different culture? • What might be the long-term consequences of American Indian children’s removal from their families, besides the destruction of their culture?

  11. Figure 9-1: Countries with High Child Marriage Rates Module 9

  12. Development of Culture around the World Module 10 • Innovation: process of introducing a new idea or object to a culture • Discovery: Making known or sharing existence of an aspect of reality • Invention: Existing cultural items combined into form that did not exist before

  13. Globalization, Diffusion, and Technology Module 10 • Diffusion: Process by which cultural item spreads from group to group • McDonaldization: Process through which principles of fast-food industry dominate certain sectors of society • Technology: Information about how to use material resources of the environment to satisfy human needs and desires (Nolan and Lenski)

  14. Globalization, Diffusion, and Technology Module 10 • Materialculture: Physical or technological aspects of daily lives • Nonmaterialculture: Ways of using material objects as well as: • Customs • Beliefs • Philosophies • Governments • Patterns of communication • Food items • Houses • Factories • Raw materials

  15. Globalization, Diffusion, and Technology Module 10 • Culturelag: Period of maladjustment when nonmaterial culture struggles to adapt to new material conditions

  16. Sociology inthe Global Community Module 10 • Life in the Global Village • 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 or values of another country?

  17. Sociology inthe Global Community Module 10 • Cultural Survival in Brazil • Compare the frontier in Brazil today to the American West in the 1800s. What similarities do you see? • What does society lose when indigenous cultures die?

  18. Cultural Variation Module 11 • Subculture: Segment of society that shares distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values that differs from larger society Argot: Specialized language that distinguishes a subculture from the wider society

  19. Cultural Variation Module 11 • Counterculture: Subculture that conspicuously and deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture • Culture shock: Feeling disoriented, uncertain, out of place, or fearful when immersed in an unfamiliar culture

  20. Language: Written and Spoken Module 12 • Language: Abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture • Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis • Language precedes thought • Language is not a given • Language is culturally determined • Language may color how we see the world

  21. Nonverbal Communication Module 12 • Nonverbal communication: Use of gestures, facial expressions, and other visual images to communicate • Learned • Differs by cultures • Symbols: gestures, objects, and words that form basis of human communication

  22. Figure 12-1: A Timeless Alert Module 12

  23. Norms and Values Module 12 • Norms: Established standards of behavior maintained by a society • Formalnorms: Generally written; specify strict punishments • Law: government social control • Informalnorms: Generally understood but not precisely recorded

  24. Types of Norms Module 12 • Mores: Norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society • Folkways: Norms governing everyday behavior • In many societies, folkways exist to reinforce patterns of male dominance

  25. Acceptance of Norms Module 12 • People do not follow norms in all situations • Behavior that appears to violate society’s norms may represent adherence to a particular group’s norms • Norms may be violated because they conflict with other norms • Acceptance of norms is subject to change

  26. Sanctions Module 12 • Sanctions: Penalties and rewards for conduct concerning social norm • Positive sanctions: Pay raises, medals, and words of gratitude • Negative sanctions: Fines, threats, imprisonment, and stares of contempt

  27. Table 12-1: Norms and Sanctions Module 12

  28. Table 12-2: Sociological Perspectives on Culture Module 12

  29. Values Module 12 • Cultural values: Collective conceptions of what is good, desirable, and proper – or bad, undesirable, and improper Influence people’s behavior Criteria for evaluating actions of others Values may change

  30. Figure 12-2: Life Goals of First-Year College Students in the United States, 1966-2009 Module 12

  31. Figure 12-3: Torture Values by Country Module 12

  32. Global Culture War Module 12 • Culture war: Polarization of society over controversial cultural elements In 1990s, referred to political debates over abortion, religious expression, gun control, and sexual orientation Took on global meaning, especially after 9/11

  33. Sociology on Campus Module 12 • A Culture of Cheating? • Do you know anyone who has engaged in Internet plagiarism? What about cheating on tests or falsifying laboratory results? • Even if cheaters are not caught, what negative effect does their academic dishonesty have on them. What effects does it have on honest students?

  34. Case Study: Culture at Wal-Mart Module 12 • Wal-Mart is one of the largest corporations in the world • Opponents criticize its low pay rates, lack of health care, lack of commitment to equal opportunity, and its negative impact on smaller retailers • Mistakes made in Germany and South Korea

  35. Bilingualism Module 12 • Looking at the Issue • Bilingualism: Use of two or more languages in a particular setting • Bilingual education may instruct children in their native language while gradually introducing the language of the host society

  36. Bilingualism Module 12 • Looking at the Issue • Bureau of the Census: about 19% of population spoke a language other than English as their primary language at home in 2008 • Bilingual programs vary widely so difficult to measure their success

  37. Bilingualism Module 12 • Applying Sociology • For long time, people in U. S. demanded conformity to a single language • Recent decades have seen challenges to pattern of forced obedience to the dominant ideology • Often ignore fact that Bilingual education programs may have beneficial results

  38. Bilingualism Module 12 • Initiating Policy • Bilingualism has policy implications in efforts to maintain language purity and programs to enhance bilingual education • Nations vary dramatically in tolerance • Public concern over potential decline in use of English appears to be overblown

  39. Figure 12-4: Percentage of People who Speak a Language other than English at Home, by State Module 12

  40. Figure 12-5: Proportion of Immigrant Group Members in Southern California who Speak the Mother Tongue, by Generation Module 12

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