Chapter 3
 The Meaning of Culture
 Think about these…
 What mistaken images do you/people you know have of other countries?
 What mistaken images do foreigners have of the US?
 Do you think living in a foreign country will help you to understand their culture?
 Does living in a foreign country help you alter your inaccurate beliefs/stereotypes
about all cultures?
 Where do inaccurate ideas/stereotypes originate?
 What will you do to reduce your inaccurate ideas/stereotypes?
 The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema
 The New Journal of Anthropology
 Matthew Higgins Ph.D.
 Select three words to describe the Nacirema culture.
 Why did you choose the three words from the 1st question? Provide statements or
phrases that support your choices.
 How do you feel about the Nacirema culture? Why? Refer to specific examples.
 Culture
 Culture: shared products of human groups (physical objects, beliefs, values,
behavior, etc.)
 Material culture: physical objects that people create and use
 Cars, books, buildings, clothes, computers, etc.
 Non-material culture: abstract human creations
 Beliefs, family patterns, ideas, language, political and economic
systems
 Society
 Society: group of interdependent people who have organized in such a way as to
share a common culture or feeling of unity
 Society – people
 Culture – material and non-material products created by the people
 Culture & Society
 Shared & Learned
 Most people choose from the same broad set of material and non-material elements
of culture
 Components of Culture
 Technology, symbols, language, values and norms
 Components
 Technology: physical objects and rules for using the objects
 Tools – computers
 Skills – knowledge of language, how silicon chip works
 Symbols: anything with shared meaning
 Word, gesture, image, sounds, physical objects
 Church services, class ring, “hello”, handshake
























Components (cont’d)
Language: organization of written or spoken symbols in standardized system
Values: shared beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong
 Values determine people’s character and kind of culture
Components
Norms: shared rules of conduct that tell people how to act in specific situations
 Expected behavior; not always actual behavior
 Not all people in culture will be in line with norms
 Folkways & Mores (mor-ays)
Norms
Folkways: describe socially acceptable behavior but do not have great moral
significance
 Shake hands, eating with knife, do your homework
Mores: greater moral significance; violations endanger society’s well-being and
stability
 Deviance from mores – dishonesty, fraud, murder
Folkways vs Mores
Laws: written rules of conduct enacted and enforced by government
 Arson, theft, rape, murder, etc.
 Exception: less severe folkways – parking in spot for disabled
Failure to adhere
 Mores: punishments severe
 Folkways: less severe punishment or reprimand
Cultures…
Culture Trait: individual act, tool or belief related to particular situation/need
 Eating with utensils, greeting when you meet someone
Culture Complexes: cluster of interrelated traits
 Example….
Culture Complexes & Traits
Ethnocentric vs Cultural Relativism
Ethnocentric: universal tendency to judge or interpret other cultures according to
the criteria of one’s own culture
Cultural Relativism: Belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards
rather than applying the standards of another culture
Cultural Change
Discovery: learning about something previously unknown or unrecognized
 Scientific research
Invention: reshaping existing cultural items into a new form
 Guns, video games, airplanes, 1st Amendment rights
Diffusion: transmission of culture from one society or group to another
 Piñatas – China (springtime) to Italy to Spain & finally Mexico
Cultural Diversity
Cultural differences between and within nations
 Race, Religion, Ethnicity, sexual orientation, occupation, etc.













 Homogeneous: share common culture
 Heterogeneous: differences in culture (social, political, economic, religious)
Immigration – “others” or “outsiders”
 Aggravation, anger, frustration
Counterculture
Group that strongly rejects dominant societal values and norms and often seek
alternative lifestyles
 KKK
 Hippies in the 1960s; beatniks of 1950s
Subcultures
Subculture: category of people who share distinguishing attributes, beliefs, values
and norms but live within a larger culture
 Old Order Amish in the United States
 Native Americans in United States
 Muslims in America
Old Order Amish
Strong faith in God
Reject worldly concerns
Core values: joy of work, primacy of home, faithful, thrifty, humility
Conservative view of family
 Women are subordinate, no birth control, wives stay home
7or more children – valuable
Horse and buggy
Traditional clothes