Objectives: By the end of this
lesson students will be able to:

Identify and explain the following
vocabulary; culture, material culture, nonmaterial culture, society, technology,
language, values, norms, folkways, mores,
laws, culture trait, culture complexes,
culture patterns, cultural universals,
cultural relativism, ethnocentrism, subculture, counter culture
Objectives Continued
Explain the difference between Society
and culture as well as identify the
difference between material and nonmaterial culture.
 Conduct research and give a short
presentation on a culture of their choice
that covers the 5 elements of society to
their classmates.

Objectives Continued

Examine our culture and its taboos in
relation to some “extreme” cultures that I
will share with them.
CULTURE
What is it?
Why do we care?
CULTURE VS. SOCIETY
SOCIETY:
group of interdependent people who have organized in such a
way as to share a common culture and feeling of unity.
CULTURE:
all the shared products of human groups
2 types:
MATERIAL CULTURE vs. NONMATERIAL CULTURE
WHAT IS AN AMERICAN?
*What is an American – (What do you think of?)
List ten things that are unique to the American Culture.
(They don’t have to be material objects)
What do you think of when you hear
American Culture? music example
5 COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
TECHNOLOGY: combination of physical objects and rules for
using those objects.
SYMBOLS: Something that represents something else, very
basis of human culture. Shared meanings.
LANGUAGE: organization of written or spoken language into a
standardized system.
VALUES: Shared beliefs about good / bad, right vs. wrong
NORMS: Shared rules of conduct that tell people how to act in
specific situations.
TECHNOLOGY EXAMPLES
SYMBOLS EXAMPLES
LANGUAGE EXAMPLES
VALUES EXAMPLES
NORMS EXAMPLES
NORMS – 4 TYPES
FOLKWAYS:
(example - Holding the door open for a person right behind you
- Describe socially acceptable behavior, but do not have
great moral significance attached to them.
MORES:
(example -
Living together before you’re married)
- Have great moral significance attached to them
TABOOS:
(example – Cannibalism, incest, Muslim – eating pork)
- Norm that society holds so strongly that violating it
results in extreme disgust.
LAWS: (example – Driving Drunk)
- Norm that is written down and enforced by an official
agency.
NORMS
DIFFERENT
SETTINGS
NORMS

Different settings: Wherever we go,
expectations are placed on our behavior.
Even within the same society, these norms
change from setting to setting.

Example: The way we are expected to behave
in church differs from the way we are expected
to behave at a party, which also differs from the
way we should behave in a classroom.
NORMS
DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES
NORMS

Different countries:
PLACE SPECIFIC
 APPROPRIATENESS varies from country to
country.
Example: In some African countries, it’s
acceptable for people in movie theaters to yell
frequently and make loud comments about
the film. In the United States, people are
expected to sit quietly during a movie, and
shouting would be unacceptable.

NORMS
DIFFERENT GENERATIONS
NORMS

Different time periods:
Dramatically change between generations
 Grandparents to Parents – YOU
 Shifting over time


Example: In the United States in the 1950s, a woman almost
never asked a man out on a date, nor did she pay for the date.
While some traditional norms for dating prevail, most women today
feel comfortable asking men out on dates and paying for some or
even all of the expenses.
Folkways / Mores / Taboos

Directions:

With a group of 2 or 3, come up with at least 5
examples NOT STATED in class of each on
the back of the taboo paper!
HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE

Taught in Home Economics in 1950

STRAIGHT FROM THE BOOK!!
STEPS TO BE A GOOD WIFE
1. Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal
- on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about
him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they
come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome
needed.
2. Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he
arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking.
He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little
more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.
3. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house
just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc.
Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a
haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too.
STEPS TO BE A GOOD WIFE
4. Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and
faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes.
They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.
5. Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer,
dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be
happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.
6. Some DON'TS: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if
he's late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have
gone through that day.
7. Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest
he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange
his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and
pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.
STEPS TO BE A GOOD WIFE
8. Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his
arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.
9. Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner
or to other places of entertainment; instead try to understand his world of strain
and pressure and his need to be home and relax.
10. The Goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your
husband can relax.
What do you think? Does this fit in with our culture?
IT SAYS THESE TEN STEPS WILL PROVIDE MARITAL BLISS!!!!
The NACIREMAN Culture
Understanding culture is all about perception, and realizing that
all components of a culture are unique, but offer the same
underlying themes.
*PROCESS THE NACIREMA PEOPLE
After reading, with a group list characteristics of the
Naciremas that compare to the present day American
Culture
CULTURAL UNIVERSALS

Traits that exist in all cultures.

Sports, cooking, courtship, division of labor,
education, etiquette, funeral rites, rites of
passage, family, medicine, housing, language,
religious rituals, sexual restrictions, status
differences, tool making, housing, music,
property rights, and so on……
CULTURAL UNIVERSALS
Necessary for existence…..
- REPRODUCTION
- CARED FOR
- FAMILY STRUCTURE
SUBCULTURES

Part of the dominant culture, but differs
from it in some respects.
COUNTERCULTURES

Is a subculture deliberately and consciously
opposed to certain beliefs/attitudes of the
dominant culture.
ETHNOCENTRISM

Strong attachment to one’s own culture, many times
cannot imagine another way of life.
View of one’s
Own culture being
Superior….


Examples?
More examples of Ethnocentrism

Olympics:

Measure of a
countries worth?
Can also happen within a countries own borders…..
Vs.
Vs.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Keeping an open mind.
 Belief that cultures should be judged by
their own standards rather than applying
standards of another culture.

CULTURAL SHOCK

Personal disorientation when experiencing
an unfamiliar way of life.