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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is culture shock?
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Culture shock is the personal disorientation one feels when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life.
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What in nonmaterial culture?
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Nonmaterial culture consists of the IDEAS created by members of a society. Examples include: art, philosophy.
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What is material culture?
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Material culture consists of the PHYSICAL THINGS created and/or used by members of a society. Examples include: furniture, clothing, tools.
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How are symbols the basis of culture?
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A symbol is anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture. Symbols are the basis of culture because they faciliate communication. Examples: a thumb pointed upwards, a red light, a whistle.
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Why is language so essential to culture?
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Language is a system of symbols which allows people to communicate with one another. It is even more importantly the key to cultural transmission which is the process by which one generation passes culture onto the next. It is language which allows us access to generations of wisdom.
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Can language shape reality - what is the Sapir-Whorf theory?
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Sapir and Whorf believed that because each language has its own distinct symbols, and that those symbols serve as the building block of reality, people see and understand the world through the cultural lens of language. Current evidence points out that language does not determine reality however.
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What are "values" and "beliefs"?
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Values are culturally defined standards that people decide use to determine what is desirable, good, and beautiful - which in turn serve as broad guidelines for social living. Values underlie beliefs which are specific ideas which people consider to be true.
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Which 4 or 5 values do you see as most important in America today? Sometimes core values contradict each other, how so?
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Equal opportunity. (NOT equality of condition) means everyone has THE CHANCE to pursue success.
Freedom. People are free to pursue their personal goals. Democracy. A political system based on free election in which we elect govt leaders. Individual achievement. Our society encourages competition and rewards "the best" based on merits and accomplishments. Material Comfort. Money and more money to buy more things to make life more comfortable and easier. Progress and Science. We like progress, we expect newer to be better, and we look to science to help make our lives easier, more comfortable and more efficient. Value conflict does happen and causes strain. Examples include: equal opportunity BUT prevalent racism and sexism. Also opposition to same sex marriage. |
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Using a global perspective, explain how values vary from high-income to low-income countries.
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In lower income countries where people worry about feeding their families and having a roof to shelter their families, values surround SURVIVAL such as physical safety and economic security. Also, tend to be more "traditional" - family, religion (less divorce and fewer abortions). In high income countries values include individualism and self-expression. People tend to take survival for granted and instead make "lifestyle" choices. Less importance on religion and family ties.
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What are norms? Explain and illustrate mores and folkways.
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"Norms" are rules and expectations by which a society guides the behaviour of its members.
"Sanctions" (reward or punishment) are used to encourage conformity to cultural norms. "Mores" (pronouned Morayz) are norms which are widely observed and have great moral significance. Coined by sociologist William Sumner (1960). Example: adults should not engage in sex with children, people should not torture animals, men should not attack women. "Folkways" are norms for routine or casual interaction. Examples include: how to dress for an event, how to greet someone. |
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Culture is shaped by technology, how so?
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Technology is a component of "material culture" and reflects a society's ability to make a way of life in their surroundings. A society's level of technology is crucial in determining what cultural ideas and artifacts emerge. (lenski)
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Lenski describes societies according to their technologies. Note the main feature of each:
a/ hunting and gathering b/ horticultural and pastoral c/agricultural d/industrial |
Hunter/Gatherer: oldest, most basic way of living. Use simple tools to hunt and gather. Everyone helps with food, men hunt and women gather. Sexes are relatively equal and don't usually have leaders but maybe a shaman.
Horticultural and pastoral: the use of hand-tools to grow crops appeared 10,00 years ago. Allowed peoples make permanent settlements. Produce surplus allows others to pursue crafts. Pastoralism involves the domestication of animals. Typically nomadic but often horticulturalism and pastorialism go together. Agricultural: large scale cultivation. Use of plows harnessed to animals or powered by energy sources. Agrarian technology was developed in the Middle East 5,000 years ago. "Dawn of civilization" large food surplus allows even more specialized craft and money becomes the common exchange. Industrial: occurs when societies replace animal and human muscle/effort with new forms of energy/power. It is the production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery. |
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What are subculutures? Give examples.
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A cultural pattern that sets apart some segment of a society's population. Example: people who ride "choppers", wilderness campers, Elvis impersonators, etc. Subcultures can involve differences AND hierarchy. Rich skiers in Aspen versus skaters in the streets of L.A.
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Explain the debate over multiculturalism. Illustrate and give your own view.
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Multiculturalism is a perspective of recognizing the cultural diversity of the US and promoting equal standing for all cultural traditions. However, from the beginning the cultures did not melt together and English culture always overshadowed others. People of other backgrounds were encouraged to model themselves after the English, a process called Anglicization. Eurocentrism is the dominance of European (especially English) cultural patterns. (Example: historians often relay events from the point of view of the English and ignore the accomplishments of Native Americans). Controversial issues include: language, English as official language. Opponents of multiculturalism say that it can backfire by encouraging divisiveness, ie/ Afrocentrism.
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Note and interpret the map on language diversity is the US (p 52)
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Language diversity map illustrates the distribution of households in which English is not the spoken language at home (Spanish 50%plus and Asian languages 15%). Non- english speakers seem to be concentrated near borders and other points of entry (NY, Florida).
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Cultural exchange is evident in all societies. Note how attitudes of today’s college students are different from the attitudes of students in the 1960’s. What does that tell you about how American society has changed?
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In the 1960's students (hippies) were more interested in philosophy of life, currently students are more interested in making money. Note: changes in a aspect of culture often affect changes in other aspects. Example of cultural integration: women are more interested in making money AND having a family. Example of cultural lag: when some cultural elements change more quickly than others, thereby disrupting a cultural system. (Invention> discovery> diffusion) examples: computers, music
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What is ethnocentrism? Do you think you are ethnocentric?
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Ethnocentrism is the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture. Always a small degree of ethnocentrism is necessary for people to be emotionally attached to their way of life. When people "in the West, US and Europe, referred to China as "the Far East" this was an ethnocentric term due to fact that China "was East of US". NOTE: the opposite of ethnocentrism is "cultural relativism" which is the practice of judging other cultures by its own standards.This is difficult for travelers to adopt since it requires not only openness to unfamiliar values and norms but the ability to put aside cultural standards we have known all our lives. Widespread ethnocentrism can contribute to conflict btwn nations.
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Explain how rock-n-roll has reflected race and class in the US.
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Prior to 1950's music was a reflection of race - there was black (gospel, blues) and white (adult pop) with very little cross over. Racial segregation was the norm. A subculture at the time was country western mainly for poorer white. This musical segregation began to break down with Rock n' Roll which targeted the younger generations. Elvis Presley broke racial and social lines by creating cross over music (Blue Sured Shoes, Hound Dog)
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Are we headed toward a “global culture”?
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The world has made more contact with one another than ever before.
1) Global Economy (the flow of goods): international commerce is at its highest. Ex/ cars, clothing, music, fashion. 2) Global Communication (the flow of knowledge) : (The internet and satellite facilitated comm enables people to experience and interact with others all over the world. Because English is the dominant language of the internet, the english language has spread even farther. 3) Global migration (the flow of people): transportation technology such as air travel allows people to relocate |
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How does conflict theory explain cultural values.
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p. 58 book
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What is the structural-functional approach to explaining culture?
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The structural-functional approach explains culture as a complex strategy for meeting human needs. This approach considers values to be the core of a culture...meaning cultural values direct our lives, give meaning to what we do and bind people together. Thinking functionally helps us understand unfamiliar ways of life. ***If cultures are strategies for meeting human needs, then we can expect to find similar cultural patterns throughout the world. "Cultural universals" are traits that are part of all cultures....meaning they exist everywhere, ie/ family, funerals, jokes, etc.
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How does conflict theory explain cultural values.
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The social-conflict theory points out the link between culture and inequality. From this point of view, all cultural traits benefit some members of society at the expense of others, rooted in the philosophical doctrine of "materialism", ties our society's cultural values of competetiveness and materialism to our country's capitalist economy. (see Marxism) (examples" civil rights movement and women's rights movement)
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Briefly note the sociobiology argument.
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Sociobiology is a theoretical approach that explores ways in which human biology affects how we create culture. Based on Darwin's theory of evolution (natural selection), sociobiologists claim that the large number of "cultural universals" reflects that all humans are members of a single biological species. Example: double standard for sexual behavior amongst men and women due to women having limited # of eggs and a single fertile egg per cycle versus men having many sperm and unlimited sperm (fosters men tending to be more promiscuous)
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Are we “prisoners of culture”? To what extent…are we free?
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As we are symbolic creatures, we are bound to culture. Although culture binds us to one another and to the past it also limits our choices and can result in alienation and isolation (ie, personal achievement, individualism). Because culture is a matter of habit, we tend to repeat disturbing patterns such as prejudice within each generation.
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How do cultures of the US and Canada differ?
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see book page 61
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