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?