Chapter 3: Culture

1. Chapter 3: Culture

2. Body Ritual Among the Nacirema Nacirema = americaN

3. Directions: (Small Paper) Draw your own stick figure - include clothes - the label: name, age, gender, & grade (Large Paper) Answer - What do we have in common? Habits/Music/Holidays/Families/Food/Technology/Activities/Traditions 3.Attach the stick figures to the bottom of the large paper.

4. Culture Check? For each scenario, give it a thumbs up, thumbs down, or “neutral thumb.”

5. I. Culture & Society A. Culture: knowledge, values, customs, and physical objects that are shared by members of a society B. Passed from generation to generation C. Example: United States 1. Material: skyscrapers, fast-food restaurants, cell phones, cars 2. Nonmaterial: capitalism, single family households, walking on the right

6. *Symbols: represent or stand for something else - can be words, gestures, or even objects and often represent something abstract or complex such as a wedding band

7. D. Explains human social behavior 1. What people do 2. What people don’t do 3. What people like 4. What people don’t like 5. What people believe 6. What people don’t believe

8. E. Tightly connected to society (a specific territory inhabited by people who share a common culture) and human behavior

9. RESTATED: Human behavior-- is based on culture-- which is society’s way of life.

10. II. Culture and Heredity A. Instincts: innate (unlearned) patterns of behavior B. Why is culture more important than instinct in determining behavior? 1. If humans were controlled by instincts alone, then humans would all behave the same way 2. Ex: All women would want children 3. Humans rely on the culture they have created for shelter, food, reproduction, etc.

11. C. How does heredity affect behavior? 1. Culture is NOT the only influence – genetics does play a role 2. “Nature vs. Nurture” debate – which is stronger? 3. Reflex: automatic reaction to physical stimulus a. Simple, biological, automatic b. Example: Pupils of the eye contract in bright light 4. Drive: impulse to reduce discomfort a. Biologically inherited impulse b. Wanting to eat, drink, sleep, socialize

12. 5. Genetically inherited personality traits, reflexes, and drives do not control human social behavior a. Example 1: in some Native American cultures boys are taught not to cry in response to pain b. Example 2: in some Italian cultures boys are taught to be express themselves more openly

13. III. Sociobiology A. Sociobiology: the study of the biological basis of human behavior B. How do sociobiologists view human behavior? 1. Assumption: behaviors that best help people are biologically based and transmitted in genetic code 2. Examples: parental affection, friendship, education of children 3. No firm line between human and nonhuman animals 4. Claim: nonhuman animals show intelligence and act on knowledge

14. C. What are some criticisms of sociobiology? 1. The importance placed on genetics could be used as a justification to label specific races as superior or inferior 2. Too much variation in societies around the world for human behavior to only be explained on biological grounds 3. Belief that the capacity for using language is uniquely human

15. D. Is there a middle ground? 1. New studies showing that genes work with culture to shape and limit human nature and social life 2. Example: women look for one set of characteristics in men they want to marry while men value different characteristics

16. Knowing Your Culture 1.The pen is mightier than the sword. 2. Better safe than sorry. 3. It’s always darkest before the dawn. 4. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. 5. No news is good news. 6. If you lie down with dogs you’ll get up with fleas. 7. A penny saved is a penny earned. 8. None are so blind as those who will not see. 9. Children should be seen and not heard. 10. Better late than never.

17. Section 2: Language and Culture HW: Song that represents American Culture Listen to 10 American songs (radio, Pandora, playlist, etc.) Write down the titles, artists, genres, and any messages/ideas about American culture.

18. I. Symbols, Language, & Culture A. Culture, in order to be passed on from generation to generation needs to be transmitted. This is done through symbols. B. Review of symbols 1. Def: a thing that stands for or represents something else 2. Can be physical objects, sounds, smells, and words

19. During the 2008 presidential campaign, a metal lapel pin in the shape of a U.S. flag took on a surprising amount of symbolism – or rather, its absence did. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at times chose not to wear a flag pin, and for some Americans, his empty lapel symbolized a lack of patriotism. This pin’s occasional absence became a source of irritation for many people, and Obama was forced to publicly address the issue. Souce: Carl, John D. Think Sociology. Prentice Hall. 2010. p.49

20. 2008 vs. 2012 - Stressed much?

21. C. Language and Culture Related? 1. Language: a system of speech and/or written symbols use to convey meaning and communicate 2. Because of language humans pass on experiences, ideas, and knowledge to other humans

22. 3. Can be academic, practical, or social a. Academic: y=mx+b b. Practical: stop, drop, and roll c. Social: patriotism 4. Cultural transmission: culture passing from one generation to the next through language – use information others have learned to improve your own life

23. II. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis A. Researchers: Edward Sapir (1929) and Benjamin Whorf (1956) 1. Language is the guide to our reality 2. Perceptions depend on the language known to describe them 3. Hypothesis of linguistic relativity: theory stating that our idea of reality depends largely on language

25. B. What can vocabulary tell you about a culture? 1. When something is important to a culture, its language will have many words to describe it – example: money = benjamins, bread, buck, capital, cash, gold, gwap 2. When something is unimportant to a culture there may not even be one word for it – example: when Christian missionaries first went to China they struggled because the language had no word for the concept of sin

26. C. Does the hypothesis of linguistic relativity mean we are prisoners of our language? 1. NO, because exposure to a new language or new words can alter a person’s perception 2. BUT, you can either expand or limit your outlook depending on how you use language

27. D. What other factors help to shape our perceptions of reality? 1. Influence of culture, aka conditioning 2. Experiencing cultures other than the one(s) you were born into

28. III. Gestures A. Gestures: symbols we make using our bodies, such as facial expression, hand movements, eye contact, and other types of body language

29. International Gestures Quiz 1. How would you let a French person know he’s boring you to tears? a. pat your mouth and let out a giant yawn b. mime playing an imaginary flute c. push your nose with your middle and index fingers 2. Your Puerto Rican friend wiggles her nose at you. What’s she saying? a. “What’s going on?” b. “Ismell a rat.” c. “My nose itches.? 3. Which gesture is considered offensive in Egypt? a. using the right hand for eating b. showing someone the sole of your shoe c. walking hand in hand with someone Source: Carl, John D. Think Sociology. Prentice Hall. 2010. p.51

30. Section 3: Norms and Values

31. I. The Rules We Live By A. Norms: rules defining appropriate and inappropriate behavior B. Explain why people in a society or group behave similarly C. Ingrained – guide behavior without our awareness D. Examples 1.Walking on the right side of the hall 2. Waiting in line

32. II. Folkways, Mores, and Laws – Basic Types of Norms A. Folkways: norms that lack moral significance 1. Example: sleeping on a bed versus sleeping on the floor 2. Not considered vital to group welfare so disapproval of those who break them is not very great [*this is type of norm you will break in the experiment*] 3. Some folkways are more important than others

33. B. Mores (pronounced “MOR-ays”): norms that have moral dimensions and that should be followed by the members of the society 1. Based on the word moral 2. Violation of this type of norm brings strong disapproval 3. Example: Americans believe that able-bodied men should work for a living  able-bodied men who do not work are scorned (not “manly”) 4. Some mores are more vital than others – not standing for the national anthem vs. loud cursing in the middle of a church service

34. 5. Taboos: rules of behavior, the violation of which calls for strong punishment by the group (or, some people think even the supernatural) a. Global example: incest taboo – forbids sexual contact with close relatives b. Hindu Indian example: taboo forbidding the killing of cows

35. C. Laws: norms that are formally defined and enforced by officials 1. Consciously created and enforced 2. Mores are an important source for laws 3. Example: smoking 4. Not all mores become laws – like cheating on homework or exams 5. Not all laws start out as mores – like parking fines

36. 6. Laws sometimes stay on the books even after the mores of a society have changed a. Minnesota: illegal to hang male and female undergarments on the same clothesline b. Natchez, Mississippi: elephants cannot legally drink beer c. Portland, Oregon: against the law to wear roller skates in public bathrooms d. Los Angeles, California: illegal to bath two babies in the same bathtub e. Zion, Illinois: illegal for anyone to give cats, dogs, or domesticated animals a lighted cigar f. Youngstown, Ohio: not allowed to run out of gas

37. III. Enforcing the Rules A. People do not automatically conform to norms 1. Norms have to learned and accepted 2. Sanctions: rewards and punishments used to encourage people to follow norms

38. B. Formal Sanctions 1. Sanctions imposed by persons given special authority (judges, teachers, principals, parents) 2. Range in severity a. Protestant Reformation: unpardonable sin of charging interest on a loan (known as usury) punished on the third offense with public humiliation and social and economic ruin b. Northern High School: against the rules to wear a skirt that is shorter than three inches above the knee and first offense is wearing whatever random sweatpants are in the office

39. C. Informal Sanctions 1. Rewards or punishments that can be applied by most members of the group 2. Positive: thanking someone for helping pick up papers 3. Negative: Staring at someone who is talking loudly

40. IV. Values – The Basis for Norms A. Broad ideas about what is good or desirable shared by people in a society 1. So general that they do not dictate precise ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving

41. A. Different societies or different groups within the same society can have different norms based on the same value 1. Freedom: Soviets were free because leaders claimed to provide full employment, medicalcare, and education 2. Freedom: Americans are free because they have the right to free speech and assembly, the right to engage in private enterprise, and the right to a representative government

42. B. Values influence human social behavior because they form the basis for norms. 1. Value democracy norms ensuring personal freedom 2. Values human welfare  norms providing for its most unfortunate members 3. Values hard work norms against laziness

43. V. Basic Values in the United States A. Robin Williams (not the comedian, but a sociologist by the same name) Equal Opportunity Achievement and Success Material Comfort Activity and Work Practicality and Efficiency Progress Science Democracy Freedom Moral Orientation Humanitarianism External comfort Nationalism and Patriotism Individual personality Racism/Group related superiority

44. B. John Carl (sociology professor, also not a comedian) ･ Physical fitness and youthfulness ･ Romance and physical connection C. James Henslin (sociologist, still not a comedian) ･ Education ･ Religiosity

45. Cove Values Chart • Directions: Complete the chart below by choosing FIVE of the Core Values listed above. Describe what each value means in your own words and then provide an example of how you see this value in your society.

46. Section 4: Beliefs and Material Culture

47. I. Beliefs and Physical Objects A. Nonmaterial culture: ideas, knowledge, and beliefs that influence people’s behavior 1. Beliefs: ideas about the nature of reality 2. Beliefs can be true or false a. Romans believed Caesar Augustus to be a god b. Tanalans (tribe of Madagascar) believed the souls of their kings passed into snakes c. Americans believe no intelligent life exists on Mars 3. Beliefs are important because people base their behavior on what they believe, regardless of how true or false the beliefs are

48. B. Material culture: the concrete, tangible objects of a culture 1. Physical objects have no meaning apart from the meanings people give them 2. Example: newspaper and pepper  “nettling”

49. The ink of my medical license was hardly dry, and as I was soon to find out, my ears would not be dry from some time. I had never delivered a baby on my own and faced my maiden voyage with some fear. Upon entering Mrs. Williamson’s house, I found a local midwife and several neighbors busily at work preparing for the delivery. My fear caused me to move rather slowly and my happiness over my reprieve prompted me to tell the women that they were doing just fin and to proceed without my services. Having gotten myself off the hook, I watched the ladies with a fascination that soon turned to horror. At the height of Mrs. Williamson’s labor pains, one of the neighbors rolled a piece of newspaper into a funnel shape. Holding the bottom end of the cone she poured a liberal amount of pepper into it. Her next move was to insert the sharp end of the cone into Mrs. Williamson’s nose. With the cone in its “proper” place, the neighbor inhaled deeply and blew the pepper from the cone into the inner recesses of Mrs. Williamson’s nose – if not her mind. Suddenly alert, Mrs. Williamson’s eyes widened as her senses rebelled against the pepper. With a mighty sneeze, I was introduced to nettling. The violence of that sneeze reverberated through her body to force the baby from her womb in a skittering flight across the bed. An appropriately positioned assistant fielded the baby in midflight and only minor details of Orville’s rite of birth remained.

50. C. Cultural meaning of physical objects is not determined by the physical characteristics of the objects