What would happen if?

1. What would happen if? • You cut into the middle of a line by yourself and stayed in line for at least 2 minutes? • You sang loudly on a public bus? • You positioned yourself 6 inches from an acquaintance’s nose during a conversation? • You laughed during a funeral? • How would other people behave? • How would you feel?

2. Reflection • Why is culture important?

3. What is Culture? • Culture is the entire way of life for a group of people (including both material and symbolic elements). • It is a lens through which one views the world and is passed from one generation to the next. • It is what makes us human.

4. What is culture? • Culture refers to the total lifestyle of a people, including all of their ideas, values, knowledge, behaviors, and material objects that they share • Culture shapes and guides people’s perception of reality

5. What is culture?Standard 10.1 • The word culture, from the Latincolo, -ere, with its root meaning "to cultivate“. • Culture refers to the universal human capacity to classify, and communicate their experiences symbolically.

6. What makes up culture? • Sociologists see culture as consisting of two different categories: • material culture(any physical object to which we give social meaning) • symbolic culture(the ideas associated with a cultural group). Introduction to Sociology: Culture

7. Material World • Material Culture • The physical or tangible (see, touch) that members of a society make, use, and share • Raw Materials → Technology → Stuff • Non-Material Culture or Symbolic • The abstract or intangible human creations of society that influences people’s behavior • Language, beliefs, values, rules of behavior, family patterns, political systems

8. Material and Nonmaterial Culture • Material Cultureincludes all those things that humans make or adapt from the raw stuff of nature: houses, computers, jewelry, oil paintings, etc (Stick from the forest might be a part of material culture) • Nonmaterial cultureis a group's way of thinking (including its beliefs, values) and doing (its common pattern of behavior, including language and other forms of interaction) (Poem about stick)

9. Material Culture • Material culture includes the objects associated with a cultural group, such as tools, machines, utensils, buildings, and artwork. Introduction to Sociology: Culture

10. Symbolic Culture • Symbolic culture includes ways of thinking (beliefs, values, and assumptions) and ways of behaving (norms, interactions, and communication). Introduction to Sociology: Culture

11. Culture determines… • Food we eat • Clothing • Music • Games we play • How to express emotions • What is good or bad • What is high or low culture (if any)

13. Characteristics of Culture • Culture is a universal feature of human social life • Culture is cumulative • Culture is learned • Culture is shared

14. Society vs. Culture • Society refers to a group of people who are relatively self-sufficient and who share a common territory and culture • Members of the society preserve and transmit it from one generation to the next (through literature, art, video recording and other means of expression)

15. Society vs. Culture • Culture refers to that people’s traditions, customs, and behaviors. It includes ideas, values, and artifacts • Sharing a similar culture helps to define the society to which we belong

16. Ethnic Group or Culture Group • The cultural heritage, or aspects of culture, that a group shares and attempts to hand down from one generation to the next through learning. Info taken from: The Four Skills of Cultural Diversity Competence, by Mikel Hogan-Garcia

17. Cultural Universals • Customs and practices that occur across all societies

18. Elements of Culture • Language • Shelter • Clothing • Economy • Religion • Education • Values • Climate • Government/Laws • Recreation/Entertainment

19. 12 Aspects of Culture or Ethnicity • History-time period and conditions under which a group migrated or immigrated. • Social Status Factors – education, occupation, income • Social Group Interaction Patterns: Intra-group (within group relations) and Inter-group (between-group relations) • Value Orientation – standards by which members of a culture judge their personal actions and those of others. • Language and Communication: Verbal and Nonverbal • Family Life Processes – gender roles, family dynamics • Healing Beliefs and Practices – attitudes and beliefs about health. • Religion – spiritual beliefs and practices • Art and Expressive Forms – art, music, stories, dance, etc. • Diet/Foods – preferred food eaten by groups. • Recreation – activities, sports for leisure, etc. • Clothing – types, styles, and extent of body coverings.

20. Education - the development of the mind and character through study and training

21. Education and Culture • Education • Medium through which people are acculturated • Language, “myths,” values, norms taught • Teaches personal achievement and competition • Critical to national competitive advantage • Education system may be a cultural outcome

22. Language - spoken or written words; human speech

23. Components of Culture • One of the most important functions of symbolic culture is it allows us to communicate through signs, gestures, and language. • Signs (or symbols), such as a traffic signal or product logo, are used to meaningfully represent something else. Gestures are the signs that we make with our body, such as hand gestures and facial expressions; it is important that these gestures also carry meaning. Introduction to Sociology: Culture

24. Components of Culture (cont) • Finally language, a system of communication using vocal sounds, gestures, and written symbols, is probably the most significant component of culture because it allows us to communicate. • Language is so important that many have argued that it shapes not only our communication but our perceptions of how we see things as well. Introduction to Sociology: Culture

25. Language: Culture Bound • Language, spoken • “private” does not exist as a word in many languages • Eskimos: 24 words for snow • Words which describe moral concepts can be unique to countries or areas • Spoken language precision important in low-context cultures • Language, unspoken • Context... more important than spoken word in high context cultures

26. Non-Verbal Gestures

27. Non-Verbal Gestures

28. Non-Verbal Gestures

29. Non-Verbal Gestures

30. CulturalDiversity – “Chevy NovaAward” • Dairy Association’s huge success with the campaign “Got Milk?” prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico • It was brought to their attention the Spanish translation read, “Are you lactating?”

31. CulturalDiversity – “Chevy NovaAward” • Clairol introduced the “Mist Stick”, a curling iron into Germany • Only to find out that “mist” is German slang for manure.

32. Cultural Diversity Chevy Nova Award When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used US packaging with the smiling baby on the label. In Africa, companies routinely put pictures on labels of what’s inside, since many people can’t read.

33. Cultural Diversity Chevy Nova Award Pepsi’s “Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation” in Chinese translated into “Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave”

34. Cultural Diversity Chevy Nova Award Coca-Cola’s name in China was first read as “Kekoukela”, meaning “Bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax”, depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent “kokou kole”, translating into “happiness in the mouth.”

35. The Meaning of this red light depends on the context Introduction to Sociology: Culture

36. Shelter - something that protects from the weather or from danger.

37. Clothing - things worn to cover the body

38. - the way that money and goods are used by people Economy

39. Climate - the usual weather that a place has

40. Government/Laws - rules made and enforced by the government of a country -

41. Entertainment/Recreation - something that is done for fun or relaxation

42. Religion - a system of beliefs that goes beyond human powers

43. Religion, Ethics and Culture • Religion: system of shared beliefs about the sacred • Ethical systems: moral principles or values that shape and guide behavior; often products of religion • Major religious groups and some economic implications • Christianity protestant work ethic • Islam Islamic economic principles • Hinduism anti-materialistic, socially stratified • Buddhism anti-materialistic, social equality • Confucianism hierarchy, loyalty, honesty