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Cult ure

Cult ure. The Foundation of Social Life!. Culture The beliefs, values, norms of behavior, symbols, and material objects shared by a particular people Culture is also the social process through which meaning is constructed and disseminated. Elements of Culture. Norms

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Cult ure

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  1. Culture

  2. The Foundation of Social Life! • Culture • The beliefs, values, norms of behavior, symbols, and material objects shared by a particular people • Culture is also the social process through which meaning is constructed and disseminated

  3. Elements of Culture • Norms • Culturally defined standards or rules of conduct • Mores – high moral consequences, e.g. murder • Folkways – considerable leeway, e.g. farting in class or picking your nose • Sanctions • rewards or punishments for violating norms

  4. Breaking norms, an example:

  5. Elements of Culture • Values • Standard of judgment by which people decide on desirable goals and outcomes • Standards of judgment or desirability • Like what? • Examples: people might value health, privacy, freedom, education, success, hard work, personal property, money, youth, solidarity, etc.

  6. Elements of Culture • Symbols • Something used to represent or stand for something else

  7. Elements of Culture • Language • Written or spoken system of symbols that conveys meaning • Language is the most powerful symbol through which social reality is constructed and maintained • E.g. “Layoff” or “workforce reduction” • E.g. “Collateral damage” or “dead civilians”

  8. Power and Culture • Assigning meaning to symbols is often contentious and contested

  9. Power and Culture • Influence over culture increases power to define social reality

  10. The Significance of Culture • Humans need culture to survive • Culture guides human behavior • Culture gives meaning to our lives

  11. Culture is Learned • Learned behavior is not instinctual • “Greed” is not human nature • We are, for the most part, not instinctual creatures; we are cultural creatures • Specifics of culture change, but culture itself is constant

  12. Our entire base of knowledge is a cultural artifact

  13. “ABOVE AND BEYOND” OPPORTUNITY! • Identify a FOLKWAY and violate it. Write a brief essay providing a sociological analysis being sure to: • Identify the specific norm you violated • Describe the reactions of the people around you • Explain how you felt while you were violating the norm • Discuss what this experiment taught you about socialization and social control

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