SOC ∙ Ms. Wiley ∙ Culture Assignment, D___
Name:
In this assignment, you will explore the sociology of culture by producing a case study of a world culture (different than your own)
through research and a 5-6 minute PowerPoint presentation. (You may conduct this work independently or with one classmate of
your choosing.) Culture in the sociological field is analyzed as the ways of thinking and describing, the ways of acting, and the
material objects that together shape a people’s way of life. Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other
characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves,
conform to society’s shared values, and contribute to society. (See ‘Culture Resources & Analysis’ document for more information.)
Procedure:
1.
Begin your PowerPoint presentation with a discussion of why you think understanding cultures of the world is important. Your
thoughts should be well-developed rather than overly-general or superficial.
2.
Share and discuss your results from the online culture quiz, found at http://www.quizmoz.com/quizzes/Arts-and-CultureQuizzes/c/Cultures-Quiz.asp.
 Record your number of correct answers and % score:
_______
 What is the average score for this quiz?
_______
 Click on “Your Cultures Quiz detailed result with answers”
 Which answers were you surprised by? Why?

3.
Which question/answer did you find most interesting? Why?
Conduct research on your culture. For purposes of this assignment, your culture could be a country or a specific culture within a
country (India vs. rural India). You must find at least 3 credible sources and generate an MLA-formatted bibliography.
 Your research should focus on a majority of the features from the list below:
 Basic beliefs (specific statements that people hold to be true), value set
 Norms (rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members), manners/etiquette,
symbols
 Religion(s), clothing/fashion, cuisine, music, language, art, celebrations, games, jokes
 Child-rearing methods, working schedules, gender roles, education system
 Stories of good vs. evil, health and sickness, life and death, rewards and punishments
 How meaning/purpose of life is described
 Extent to which diversity/difference exists/is permitted
 An overview of the location (provide map), politics, economics, and social problems
 Suggested resources:
 From Kwintessential, Country Profiles – Global Guide to Culture, Customs and Etiquette
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/country-profiles.html
 From Advameg, Countries and their Cultures http://www.everyculture.com/wc/
 From Great Websites for Kids, Cultures of the World http://gws.ala.org/category/social-sciences/cultures-world
4.
Add slides to your PowerPoint that highlights the key information learned through your research.
 Avoid full sentences; utilize bullet points
 Use size 25 font or larger
 Best to utilize a white background (or something comparable) for viewing purposes
 Incorporate relevant images on each slide
 PowerPoint should be neat, organized, and grammatically correct
 Your last slide should contain your bibliography
5.
Send your PowerPoint file (NOT Google docs or any other file type) to Ms. Wiley by ______________________.
6.
Present your PowerPoint to the class in a 5-6 minute presentation. Presentations will begin on ______________________.
 Your presentation should engage the audience; feel free to incorporate questions, quizzes, or short activities to achieve that
end
 You should be able to speak confidently about your assigned culture; you should not be glued to the slides/note cards
 If you would like to show a short video clip (3 minutes or under) that highlights a particular element of your culture, you
may (time not counted as part of your 5-6 minute oral presentation)
Evaluation:
-
As this assignment is a project, it will fall under the summative category (70% of final grade)
The assignment will be worth 35 points
You will be evaluated on:
o Content/Research [15 points]
 Accurate information
 Comprehensive overview
 Conveys strong content knowledge of culture
 Addresses majority of cultural elements listed above
 Utilizes 3 credible sources for information and include them in a properly cited, MLA-formatted bibliography
(which should be on the last slide of PowerPoint)
o PowerPoint Presentation [20 points]
 PowerPoint file is neat, organized, easy to read, and aesthetically pleasing
 Presentation is engaging (attention to posture, gestures, eye contact)
 Introduction includes why the student(s) think(s) cultural studies is important and how student(s) performed
on the cultural quiz