Culture & Social Interaction

Unit 2

CULTURE

Culture  Culture is the knowledge, language, values,

customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society.  General term for all symbolic and learned

aspects of human society.  Some believe that certain primates have the

capacity for culture

Reflection

Does culture determine how we think and act? What is the “tool kit” for survival?

Two Types of Culture Material Culture

Non-Material Culture

 The physical or tangible

 The abstract or intangible human

creations that members of a society make, use and share.  Look around the room. What judgments can you make about our society simply based on the material culture located here?  Examples of material culture that are important to you?

creations of society that influence people’s behavior.  Language, beliefs,

values, rules of behavior, family patterns and political systems.  Beliefs are most important – what are some beliefs our society holds?

Cultural Universals Day 2- Intro to Culture\Cultural Universals.doc

 Customs and practices that occur across all

societies

WAYS OF VIEWING CULTURE

Ethnocentrism  The practice of judging all other cultures by

one’s own culture  Based on the assumption that one’s own way of life is superior to all others  Can be positive or negative

Why might this map be considered ethnocentric?

Cultural Relativism  The belief that the behaviors and customs of

any culture must be viewed and analyzed by the culture’s own standards  Nacerima reading

Four

Components of Culture Symbols

Language

Values

Norms

Culture

Come Up with Your Own…  With a partner, generate a list of the

following components of culture  Symbols  Language

 Values  Norms  Components of Culture Graphic Organizer -Day 3 -

Symbols and Language\Culture_go.docx

Symbols Any act or thing which represents something else.

 Instructions:  Each group has been given an envelope containing

different symbols.

 On a blank piece of paper write down your initial

reaction to each symbol as it is removed from the envelop. (this should be done individually and without speaking)

 When all symbols have been examined share with your group and create a single consensus of what each symbol represents.

Questions

 Were your reactions to the symbols the same or

different?

 Which symbols produced different responses?  Which symbols produced similar reactions?

 What does this tell us about American Society?  Do we have a shared culture or is it relative to your upbringing or maybe region?

Symbols  Anything that carries a particular meaning

recognized by people who share culture.  Symbols may represent many things depending on culture or personal interpretation.  Examples: Objects (flag), gestures (peace), sounds (bell system), image (Ban. Republic vs. Wet Seal)

What does this Symbol Mean?

Worn by early aviators as a sign of good luck - 1912 Tomb from Medieval Bosnia

Logo of the Indian State of Bahir

Holy Symbol in Jainism Native American Basket Ball team - 1909

Pavement of Amiens Cathedral

Iran – 1st Millennium BCE

What is meant by Status Symbol?  Can we make assumptions about people by how they are dressed or what type of car they drive?  What do different possessions tell us about one another?  Do our choices reveal our social class?  What possessions signify wealth? Middle Class? Working Class?  Who makes these decisions?

 Have you made any purchases to enhance

your status?  Are we what we own?  What could be some problems with defining

people based on Status Symbols?

Language Defined as a set of symbols and/or sounds that express ideas and enable people to think and communicate.



On a piece of paper create two columns: 

label one Men and the other Woman.



List examples of slang for men and women.



On the back of this paper create a list of slang for different racial or ethnic groups



It’s ok if SOME of the examples are offensive – that’s the point! 



What can we learn from negative slang?

How powerful is language in your life?

Language  Language and Gender  English can ignore women i.e. huMAN, MANkind.  Can be positive when referring to Men.  Examples?  When related to women, it can be negative or convey

weakness, inferiority or immaturity.  Examples?

 Language, race and ethnicity  How can language reinforce perceptions about race and

ethnicity?

Language and Gender “If a woman is swept off a ship into the water, the cry is `Man overboard!' If she is killed by a hit-and-run driver, the charge is `manslaughter.' If she is injured on the job, the coverage is `workmen's compensation.' But if she arrives at a threshold marked `Men Only,' she knows the admonition is not intended to bar animals or plants or inanimate objects. It is meant for her.” ---Alma Graham

Language  Language is the most important set

of symbols and allows for the most cultural transmission.  Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (does language influence or determine our behavior?)  Can show intelligence within a field, racism, and gender bias

Language and Gender  Do “Prince” and “Princess”, “God” and “Goddess”,

“King” and “Queen” have the same meaning but simply refer to different sexes?  Are “you’re such a man” and “you’re such a woman” equal compliments? Insults?  Annie Edson Taylor is often described as “the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel”, while Neil Armstrong is ``the first man to walk on the moon.” Does it matter?

C:\Documents and Settings\rnulty\Desktop\Shortcut to Fairy Tale.lnk sleeping beauty reading Fairty tale.docx

 Create your own politically correct bed time

story.  Look at the traditional story through current issues and apply gender/racial neutral terms.  Was this easy? Difficult? Why don’t we do this

with more things?

Photostory….

Language  Read the vignette from pgs. 83-84 about

language.  Should those who are in the United States speak only English?

Values Collective ideas about what is right or wrong etc…

Values  Values are collective ideas about what is right or wrong,

good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a particular culture.  Usually come in pairs – generous & stingy

 What are other examples?

 Using the graphic organizer create your own definition of

each of the Ten US Core Values.     

Read page 86 of your text. How does your definition of each value differ? Which Values are most important in the United States? Are there any value contradictions? Values and Beliefs pamphlet - ..\Beth Sociology\Unit 2- Culture and Social Interaction\ch 3 values and beliefs.doc

Values  Ideal Culture vs. Real Culture  Ideal Culture refers to the values and standards of

behavior that people in a society profess to hold.  Real Culture refers to the values and standards of behavior that people actually follow.

 With a partner create a list of examples of Ideal Culture and Real Culture in the United States?

Values  Culturally defined standards of

desirability, goodness, and beauty that serve as broad guidelines for social living.  Used to defend our behavior and the behavior of those around us  Brave vs. coward; hard-working vs. lazy

Norms Established rules of behavior and rules of conduct.

Norms  Norms are established rules of behavior or

standards of conduct.

 Folkways are everyday customs that may be violated

without serious consequences within a particular culture. Examples?

 Mores are strongly held norms that may not be violated

without serious consequences within a particular culture. Examples?

 Taboos are mores so strong that their violation is

considered to be extremely offensive. Examples?

Norms  Rules and expectations by which a society

guides the behavior of its members.  Types of Norms  mores- must follow at risk of ridicule, loss

of employment, or even imprisonment  Can change over time (role of women, acceptance of infidelity, etc.) folkways- informal and do not have to follow completely (brush your teeth two times a day)

Norms  Prescriptive Norms  Behavior that is acceptable (shake hands)

 Proscriptive Norms  Behavior that is unacceptable (spit in class)

 Formal Norms  Laws enforced by positive and negative sanctions

 Informal Norms  Enforced through social interaction

Norms  Some norms contradict themselves  Individualism vs. cooperation

 Other norms are idealistic and not

what we actually live by  Speed limit, cursing, drinking, cheating,

lying, etc

What are the norms associated with a conversation? NORMS

Norms  “Every generation laughs at the old fashions,

but religiously follows the new.” - Henry David Thoreau  "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight and never stop fighting.“ - e.e. cummings

Activity  Using your fairy tale, fable, or example of

American folk tale create a list of Values, and Norms represented in the story.  Divide the Norms into lessons about Folkways,

Mores and Taboos.  Be prepared to share with the class.  Not all stories will include each Norm, the idea is to see how children’s stories are used to transmit culture to future generations.

Mission: Break a Norm!  Social/Verbal  Classroom  Bathroom  Hallway  Elevator  Cafeteria

 Office  Park  Home

Culture at South  Does South have a distinct culture?

Describe.  cb south culture.docx

Culture at CB South  List some of the different groups of

people here at South…  Do you think that they are similar at West & East?

POPULAR CULTURE

High Culture Low Culture Subculture Counterculture

WITHIN ONE CULTURE THERE EXISTS CULTURAL DIVERSITY

High Culture and Low Culture  High Culture- cultural patterns that

distinguish a society’s elite.  Beverly Hills, Weezer  Low Culture- cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s population.  Examples?  Is one better than the other?

Subculture and Counterculture  Subculture- cultural patterns that set apart some

segment of a society’s population.  Amish, Irish, Italians, and Puerto Rican American’s  Counterculture- cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society.  Examples?

Activity  Fold a blank piece of paper in half.  Label the left side Column A and the right side Column B  As you listen to SONG A write down everything

you think and feel.

 What is the artist singing about, what is the emotion

of the song?

 Listen to SONG B and write down everything you

think and feel.

 What is the artist singing about, what is the emotion

of the song?

 Which song did you enjoy more?

Describe experiences you have had with culture shock.

Show and Tell  In your groups describe your selected item, not just its

appearance, but WHAT IT MEANS.  Example:

 Starbucks triple vente skinny vanilla latte – yup, my order is

that obnoxious.

 Convenience – someone is always ready to make my coffee.  Control – the baristas make coffee on demand.  Name recognition – guaranteed similar drink at many locations.

 What values of American culture are present in this

item?  What values of American Culture are present in your items?

Multiculturalism  Your textbook defines

multiculturalism as an educational program recognizing past and present cultural diversity in US society and promoting the equality of all cultural traditions.  Could there be other definitions?

Multiculturalism  What do Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and

Ronald Takaki think about multicultural education?  How can that help us evaluate the Social Studies curriculum in Central Bucks School District?

C.B. Social Studies sequence Grade

Course

7

The Ancient World

8

US History to Reconstruction

9

US History- Reconstruction through WWII

10 11

Recent American History and American Political Systems Modern World History

12

International Relations and Economics

Multiculturalism  Pretend you are at a school board

meeting and someone has proposed that the Central Bucks School District make a greater effort to include multicultural education in the Social Studies curriculum.  It is now open for moderated discussion.

Multiculturalism  Our School District should make a greater

effort to include multicultural education in the Social Studies curriculum. Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Somewhat Agree

Multiculturalism  In a post 9/11 world, does multicultural

education in the United States strengthen or weaken American democracy?

Write down what you think are the core values of mainstream American life? Where could we look to find them?

Is patriotism a core American value?

Patriotism: Love for one’s country, to support, serve, and defend, to be inspired by, to change for the better and to care deeply for its citizens.

WHAT IS PATRIOTIC?

Neilson Ratings

SPEND 20 MINUTES PLAYING YOUR BOARD GAME.

Write a paragraph that explains the extent to which the values of US culture are represented in the game you played. Use Robin Williams’ list on pp 70-71.

THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

To what extent does your game teach the values of US culture?

 Equal Opportunity  Progress  Achievement and  Science Success  Democracy and  Material Comfort Free Enterprise  Activity and Work  Freedom  Practicality and  Racism and Group

Efficiency

Superiority

Should any values be added or removed from the list?  Equal Opportunity  Progress  Achievement and  Science Success  Democracy and  Material Comfort Free Enterprise  Activity and Work  Freedom  Practicality and  Racism and Group

Efficiency

Superiority

Which of these values are inconsistent with others?  Equal Opportunity  Progress  Achievement and  Science Success  Democracy and  Material Comfort Free Enterprise  Activity and Work  Freedom  Practicality and  Racism and Group

Efficiency

Superiority

TELL USE ABOUT YOUR VIOLATION OF SOCIAL NORMS EXPERIENCE.

Breaking Norms!  (1) Break a social norm of dress/attire. (Caution: do not

wear anything illegal, dangerous, or extremely disruptive.) Try dressing in female clothes if you are male. Wear formal attire to a casual get together. Wear a winter jacket in the summer. Wear sandals in the snow. Wear stripes with polka dots. Wear an unstylish or outdated outfit.  (2) Next, interact with others and observe their responses while wearing your norm-breaking outfit.   (3) Discussion  Did you experience sanctions? Were there subtle

punishments for breaking social norms? How does conforming to and violating social norms fit into the lifelong process of socialization?

How does society maintain social control?  Social Control- means by which

members of society encourage conformity to norms.

How does society maintain social control?  Social Control- means by which

members of society encourage conformity to norms.  Common means:  Sanctions

 Internalization

Sanctions    

Positive Sanctions Negative Sanctions Formal Sanction Informal Sanctions

 Please identify examples of each.

Construct a chart that illustrates how sanctions are used at CB South Positive Sanctions Formal Sanctions

Informal Sanctions

Negative Sanctions

HOW EFFECTIVE ARE For example, detentions. SANCTIONS?

Problems with sanctions  A positive sanction for one person acts as a

negative sanction to another.  If someone only engages in behavior because of sanctions they will cease to engage in that behavior if the sanction is removed or does not increase.  If someone engages in behavior because of a sanction they are not engaging in the most desirable behavior.

ALL SANCTIONS ARE EXTERNAL.

ALL SANCTIONS ARE EXTERNAL.

THE MOST DESIRABLE RESULTS WILL COME FROM INTERNAL MOTIVATION.

ALL SANCTIONS ARE EXTERNAL.

THE MOST DESIRABLE RESULTS WILL COME FROM INTERNAL MOTIVATION. APPLY THIS TO SCHOOL.

On the first day of this class why did you sit in a seat?

Internalization  Norms have become integrated into your

personality. You no longer need sanctions to conform to many norms.  As a result, you may feel: Shame-painful sense that others disapprove of our actions. Guilt- negative judgement we make of ourselves. Pride- sense of gratification.

For most of you,  When you violated the conversation norm, the reaction

of the person you were talking to was the negative sanction.  Your feeling of awkwardness was internalization.

Choose one issue at CB South that is currently controlled through sanctions and develop a method to achieve desirable results without the use of formal reward or punishment. MORE APPLICATION…

CULTURAL CHANGE

How many women in the room would feel comfortable asking someone out on a date?

CULTURAL CHANGE

How many women in the room would feel comfortable asking someone out on a date? Who is responsible for paying for the first date? When does this change?

CULTURAL CHANGE

How many women in the room would feel comfortable asking someone out on a date? Who is responsible for paying for the first date? When does this change? Do people really date anymore?

CULTURAL CHANGE

CULTURAL CHANGE Why did these norms change?

Causes of Cultural Change  Invention    

the process of creating new cultural elements Discovery- recognizing and better understanding something that already exists Diffusionspread of cultural traits from one society to another

Cultural Change and Values

 Since the US emphasizes values

such as innovation, progress and science, our culture is more likely to change than others.

Invention  We will investigate how inventions

have changed our cultural norms, values and/or beliefs.  Let’s use the Air Conditioner as an

example.

As a result of the air conditioner…  Florida and Las Vegas could be developed.  The uniqueness of southern culture was

diminished. For example, similar clothing can be sold across the US.  Federal Government employees could work beyond the 90 degree temperature/humidity index. Governmental growth?  Diminished importance of front porches.

Your turn… 1) http://inventors.about.com/library/bl/bl12.htm 2) Identify the inventions that you researched and explain how they work to your group. 3) Discuss how the norms, values, beliefs and/or language of society changed because of that invention. 4) Create a graphic organizer that illustrates that information. 5) Evaluate the positive and negative aspects of those changes in American culture.

In your notebook

 Analyze culture from the

structural-functional perspective and the socialconflict perspective.

In your notebook

 Analyze culture from the

structural-functional perspective and the socialconflict perspective.  Check your analysis on pp. 85-87

consider

 To what extent does culture act

as a freedom and to what extent does culture act as a constraint?