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Culture and Diversity

Culture and Diversity. 2.1 and 2.2. Culture consists of all the shared products of human groups, both physical and abstract. - Material culture : physical products - Nonmaterial culture : abstract problems A society consists of the people who share a culture. So, what’s the difference?

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Culture and Diversity

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  1. Culture and Diversity 2.1 and 2.2

  2. Culture consists of all the shared products of human groups, both physical and abstract. -Material culture: physical products -Nonmaterial culture: abstract problems • A society consists of the people who share a culture. So, what’s the difference? • Society consists of people; culture consists of material and nonmaterial products created by people What Is Culture?

  3. Culture is both learned and shared. • All cultures have basic components such as technology, symbols, language, values, and norms. The Components of Culture

  4. Technology • Refers to objects and the rules for using them • Any tool and its usage • Any rule that makes a use of an object illegal • There are acceptable and unacceptable uses for technology: Social media use for bullying, “hacking”, etc. Symbols • The basis of human culture • Any words, gestures, or images • Different cultures use different symbols • Traffic laws, American flag, sports team logos, etc. The Components of Culture, cont’d

  5. Language • Organization of written or spoken symbols into a standardized system • Can be used to express any idea • https://youtu.be/FyyT2jmVPAk • https://youtu.be/uUteMtNhe3g • https://youtu.be/FyyT2jmVPAk The Components of Culture, cont’d

  6. Values • Values are shared beliefs • Distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong, desirable and undesirable • Group’s values help to determine character and culture (JSJ/SES=RMS) Norms • Shared rules of conduct in specific situations • Folkways do not carry heavy moral significance • Mores carry heavy moral significance • Laws are written and enforced by government (Manners) The Components of Culture, cont’d

  7. The Components of Culture, cont’d

  8. The Components of Culture, cont’d

  9. Cultural Universals • Cultural universals are features developed by all societies to fulfill basic needs • George Murdock compiled list of over 65 cultural universals • Specific nature of the universals may vary widely between cultures Cultural Variations

  10. Subculture • Groups that share traits with each other but not the larger society • Examples are groups organized by age, gender, politics, or geography • Most do not reject all of the values of the larger society • Most subcultures do not threaten the larger American culture (Youth cliques, https://youtu.be/iavKFUp4zwk) Counterculture • Countercultures adopt values that are designed to challenge the values of the larger society • Examples are groups such as cyberpunks, anarchists, the Mafia, and hippies, gangs, KKK Cultural Variations, cont’d

  11. Ethnocentrism • A tendency to view one’s own culture and group as superior (1st world probs) • People from all cultures are somewhat ethnocentric at different times • Can lead to discrimination • Can cause the home culture to stagnate (Offended by EVERYTHING) • Even professional scholars struggle with ethnocentrism Cultural Relativism • Cultural relativism is the idea that a culture should be judged by its own standards • Can help explain beliefs or behaviors that seem strange or different (US judging everyone else) Marvin Harris explored this question from a culturally relative POV: Why is India against killing cows, even food shortages exist? Response to Variation

  12. Cultural diffusion • Cultural diffusion is the spreading of culture traits from one society to another • Today it can happen almost instantly (Asian food) Cultural lag • Cultural lag is the time it takes for nonmaterial culture to “catch up” to changes in material culture (“Baby Boomers” and smartphones) Cultural leveling • Cultural leveling is a process by which cultures become more and more alike • Some suggest it is the first step toward a global culture (LLWS, McDonald’s: 31K/100, Starbucks: 2k/30, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC [Japan]) Cultural Change

  13. Wade Davis · Anthropologist, ethnobotanist • A National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, Wade Davis has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.” • https://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures Dreams from Endangered Cultures

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