Cultural Universals
Cultural universals are customs and practices that occur
across all societies. They include:
•Appearance
(eg. bodily adornment, hairstyles)
•Activities
(eg. sports, dancing, games, interaction)
•Social Institutions
(eg. family, law, religion)
•Customary Practices
•(eg. cooking, folklore, gift giving, hospitality)
Components of Culture
All cultures have 4 common (non-material)
components of culture.
These contribute to both harmony and conflict in
a society. They are:
•Symbols
•Language
•Values
•Norms
Symbols
•Symbols – anything that meaningfully represents something else
(eg. wedding rings, flags, peace sign)
•Culture can’t exist without symbols; they help us communicate ideas such as
love and patriotism
•However, sometimes symbols will be interpreted differently by different
cultures
Examples:
•In the Western world, purity is symbolized by the colour white
For Indo-Canadians, however, purity is symbolized by the colour green.
•To most people, the swastika represents hatred and intolerance.
To White Supremacists, however, it represents goodness and love.
Symbols can also affect our thoughts about gender, race and ethnicity
Symbols
Symbols can also affect our thoughts about gender, race and ethnicity
Examples:
•The colour of clothing has symbolic meanings for male and female.
Babies are almost invariably dressed according to whether they are boys (blue
or red) or girls (pink or yellow).
•Black and white are not the true colours of peoples’ skin, but we nevertheless
make references to people at a racial level by using these terms. When we think
of our thought-associations with these colours, ‘black’ is often viewed negatively
while ‘white’ is viewed positively. Why don’t we say ‘pinkish-tan’ or ‘goldenbrown’?
Language
•Language – a set of symbols that express ideas and enable
people to think and communicate with one another
(eg. Verbal [spoken], non-verbal [written, gestured])
•Language creates visual images in our heads
Language and Social Reality:
•Does language communicate reality or does it create reality?
•Examples:
•When we use the terms pro-life or pro-choice, are we expressing reality as
it is or are we creating it?
•Some Aboriginal languages do not have personal pronouns for gender (ie.
he / she). How would their use (or lack of use) of these terms shape their
reality?
Language
•Language and Gender
•How does our language reflect our cultural assumptions about gender?
•Examples:
•Gender-specific references to occupations (see p. 76).
eg. mankind or chairman
•Language, Race and Ethnicity
•How does our language reinforce our perceptions and misconceptions about
race and ethnicity?
•Examples:
•Derogatory references to minority ethnic groups
eg. Negative associations with ‘black’;
Choosing words such as primitive or Indian in reference to Aboriginals
Language
•
Language Diversity in Canada
Response Questions (p. 76-78)
1) We have seen how language is an extremely powerful force in both expressing
and creating our reality. In what way has bilingualism had a unifying effect in our
country? In what has it had divisive effect? Do you believe that, overall,
bilingualism is helping Canada’s union between French- and English-Canadians
or hindering it?
2) What role has language played in Aboriginal tradition and history? How has the
disappearance of some Aboriginal languages adversely affected their tradition
and history?
3) How is language viewed as important from a Functionalist perspective?
4) How is language viewed as important from a Conflict perspective?
Values
•Values – collective ideas about what is right and
wrong, good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a
particular culture
(eg. Equality, fairness, tolerance, dialogue, diversity, Canada’s natural
beauty, Canada’s global image)
•Values typically come in pairs of positive and negative
(eg. brave vs. cowardly; hardworking vs. lazy)
•Value contradictions
•These are values that contradict with one another or are mutually exclusive
•For example, 84% of Canadians feel that “people who are poor have a right to
an adequate income to live on,” but many of them still show strong support for
governments that cut budgets in order to reduce deficits
Values
•Ideal vs Real culture
•Ideal culture refers to the values and standards of behaviour that people in a society
profess to hold
•Real culture refers to the values and standards of behaviour that people actually
follow
(For example, we might think of ourselves as “good citizens”, but still drive above the
speed limit or do engage in other illegal activities - however seemingly harmless.)
Norms
•Norms – established rules of behaviour or standards of conduct
(eg. pay taxes, don’t talk while you eat, say please and thank you, don’t drink and drive)
•Formal vs informal norms
•Formal norms are written down and involve specific punishments for violators (eg.
Laws)
•These may be enforced by sanctions, either positive (from simple praise to
medals of honour) or negative (ranging from mild disapproval to life
imprisonment)
•Informal norms are unwritten standards of behaviour understood by people who
share a common identity. When they are violated, other people may apply informal
sanctions (eg. a frowning gesture, a public scolding, etc.)
Folkways
•Folkways – informal norms or everyday customs that may be
violated without serious consequences within a particular culture
These are rules of conduct that aren’t necessarily essential to a society’s survival.
(eg. brush your teeth, don’t wear white after Labour Day, wear deodorant, etc.)
Mores
•Mores – strongly held norms with moral or ethical connotations
that may not be violated without serious consequences in a
particular culture
These are based on culture values, so they are considered crucial to
a society’s well-being
•Taboos
•Taboos are mores so strong that their violation is considered to be extremely
offensive and even unmentionable.
(eg. Incest)
Laws
•Laws – formal, standardized norms that have been enacted by
legislatures and are enforced by formal sanctions
•Civil law vs. criminal law
•Civil law deals with disputes among persons or groups. Usually involves
compensation or fines as restitution.
(eg. minor traffic accident)
•Criminal law deals with public safety and well-being. Usually involves major fines or
prison sentences as restitution.
(eg. murder)
Changes in law often reflect changes in culture.
(eg. Racial or religious hate crimes, more liberal definition of marriage)