Sociology Culture/Social construction of reality Project
Scenario: Congratulations! You have been hired by a company in the United States that is expanding overseas.
Your company has hired you to analyze the culture of a foreign country in order to select the best place to begin
expansion. Your job is to provide the Board of Directors with a thorough understanding of the nation’s culture
which you have selected. Once you have done your research you will share your findings with your fellow
employees and the Board of Directors through a PowerPoint presentation. The employees will decide which
culture the business should move to based on which presentation is most informative, thorough and interesting.
Your expertise: Your knowledge of the components of culture will help you get started. The contents of your
PowerPoint presentation should include as many of the specific terms associated with culture as listed below.
Components of the PowerPoint:
Material Culture: images of cars, clothing, hairstyles, restaurants, jewelry, etc…
Nonmaterial Culture: religion, beliefs, etc.
Symbols and gestures (Symbolic interactionism): What symbols and gestures are specific to the culture
and how could they be misinterpreted by our American culture?
Language: What language(s) is/are spoken in this culture? Are there different dialects?
Values, norms, ideology, and taboos: These should be specific to your chosen culture
Sanctions: Try to also find positive and negative sanctions for behavior in your chosen culture
Customs, traditions, holidays: (food, marriage, rites of passage, etc.). Be sure to include images of foods,
marriage ceremonies, and holidays.
Roles that govern behavior- Gender, Economic, Family
How does you country view gender?
Ethnicity-How has it changed over time? Is your nation ethnically diverse? (you will need to understand the
meaning of ethnicity)
Power-how is it defined. Who/what group has the power.
Social Class
Gender
ANALYSIS: What aspects of this culture will Americans be able to easily relate to? Additionally, what parts
of this culture will have Americans experience culture shock as a result of Cultural Variation? Explain
how your findings about the differences between our American culture and your country’s culture illustrates
the social construction of reality. Define the social construction of reality and how all these components are
elements of it. All group member are to submit an analysis, should be in essay form.
PowerPoint requirements:
1) Cover slide (include your names, name of the country, and a visual)
2) Must include 10 of 11 of the components listed above
3) The last slide should be a list of all your resources, websites, etc.
Requirements for the Presentation
1) Each group will prepare approximately a 5 minute presentation. Each member of the group should
actively participate.
2) Include a video clip demonstrating at least one of the components from your culture (movies can be
used, but the clip can be brief).
3) Please do not read from the slide exclusively, this presentation should demonstrate your thorough
knowledge and understanding of the culture.
4) Number of slides: 10-15 slides including cover slide and resource slide
 Your last slide should be a bibliography in any Style format

Your project must include at least 3 sources (not including Wikipedia)