Ch. 4-Culture I. Culture is the values, beliefs, behavior & material objects that together form a people’s way of life. Culture is a shared way of life; includes material and non-material culture. II. Characteristics of Culture: Culture is learned-the process of learning a culture is socialization Culture is shared-but may include diversity Culture is taken for granted-it’s what we consider “normal” Culture is symbolic-only humans possess culture Culture varies across time and place a. Ethnocentrism-view your own culture as superior to others. Practicing ethnocentrism can act as a barrier to cultural understanding. b. Cultural Relativism-cultures must be understood and respected on their own terms. It is the process of recognizing differences in cultural values. c. Xenocentrism-view your own culture as inferior d. Ideology-System of concepts and relationships that promote understanding of cause and effect. An ideology is a set of shared beliefs that explains the social world and guides peoples’ actions. Religion and science are ideological frameworks. e. Values-Values are ideals that underline a culture’s moral standards (culturally defined standards, moral beliefs). They are more general than norms (how values tell us to behave); expressed through norms and sanctions-can be the basis for cultural cohesion or a source of conflict. Values and beliefs may stem from religion, myth or science; they provide a meaning system around which culture is organized. Globalization of values-greater acceptance of shared values around the world. It is important to understand the global 2 aspects of culture. There are universal tendencies and common values across many different societies. The global flow of information, ideas and products are more similar than ever before in history. f. Norms and Sanctions Norms: rules for behavior; how values are put into play Folkways: least stringent-rules of etiquette Mores: based on moral rules Laws: legal rules Taboos: no-no’s Sanctions-rewards or punishments for violations of norms III. Culture as a Symbolic System a. Emotional impact of symbols-religious symbols, flags, etc. b. Language provides distinctive cultural identity and can bias one’s perceptions and behavior. Language use varies with gender, based on cultural norms and roles prescribed for men and women ex. Women use more tag questions, men more direct, etc. c. What separates humans from other animals-symbolic language, humor-ex. Humor based on cultural stereotypes: functionalists see this as social glue; conflict theorists see this as masked aggression. V. Cultural Change a. Diffusion-spread of culture from one society to another b. Globalization- important instigator of social change and affects all aspects of the social world c. Technology (the interplay of machines, tools, skills, and procedures for the accomplishment of tasks) and popular culture spread through media but values are assimilated more slowly creating cultural lag. Cultural lag-a delay in cultural adjustments to changing social conditions. Material culture changes faster than nonmaterial culture. When culture changes rapidly or someone is suddenly thrust into a new cultural situation, the result can be culture shock. 3 Culture shock is the personal disorientation one feels when confronted with a culture or society very different from one’s own. VI. Theoretical Perspectives on Culture a. Functionalism-cultural universals shared by all cultures, such as religious rituals, incest taboo, language aid in cultural survival b. Conflict-suggest that the ideology of the dominant group controls its value system c. Symbolic Interactionism-cultures often keep disadvantageous customs because of socially constructed emotional attachments VII. Cultural Diversity a. Subcultures: a group united by a set of concepts, values and shared meaning specific to members of that group. They accept much of the dominant culture, but are set apart from it by one or more culturally significant characteristics. The significance of being different: values set it apart from mainstream; participants often marginalized or seen as “weird.” b. Countercultures: Counterculture refers to those groups that not only differ from the dominant culture, but whose norms and values may be incompatible with those to the dominant culture. Their actions may be in direct opposition to those of the dominant culture. VIII. Media Media is any format that carries, presents or communicates information. Today, all media is mass media. Media Effects a. Advertising-short-term, deliberate effects. b. Public service announcements: educating the public (longterm effects) c. Unintended effects (latent functions)-long-term effects such as racism, sexism and desensitization to violence that are inappropriate to mass audiences. 4 d. Communication monopolies: Most broadcasting companies are privately owned and supported by advertising. This limits “freedom of the press” and the ability to express a broad range of opinions. The Internet has balanced out communication monopolies. IX. Computers and the Internet a. More than one billion people use the Internet. Access to the Internet is not evenly distributed (the Digital Divide), which leads to gaps in information and exacerbates inequality. There is differential access to technological advances based on SES (socioeconomic status). There is stratification in information/technology both within countries, such as urban/rural differences (social divide) and between countries (global divide). This reinforces existing economic differences. b. Cyber-culture refers to the characteristics of the Internet. The Internet has characteristics of all culture, with its own distinct set of norms and values. Sociologists have always been interested in the social aspects of technology; the digital world refers to the emergence of new technologies, particularly communication technologies. Sociologists have tracked the evolution of technology, from assembly lines to automated factories to the digital world (computers, cell phones, and the Internet). Sociologists are, for example, interested in social networking as it is conducted in the virtual environments of sites such as Facebook. Consumption - The process by which people obtain and utilize goods and services. Consumption shapes culture and can become a cultural phenomenon – the iPhone and the “app” revolution. Consumption and globalization are deeply intertwine