SOCIO 211 1st Edition Lecture 1 I. Languagea. Speech and writingb. Laws for languagei. Ex: English only lawsii. Laws regulate languageiii. Social control, they are trying to figure out what is right and wrongc. Signifiersi. Vehicles of meaning used to communicate1. If you saw someone wearing something crazy, some people would look at them mean to let them know how their attitude towards the crazy outfitd. Symbolsi. An item used to represent another1. Dove representing peace2. The flag and bald eagle symbolizing the United States3. Cross symbolizing Christianity e. Semioticsi. Analysis of nonverbal cultural meanings1. Study of nonverbal meanings II. Gestures across cultures a. Signals people use to communicate with othersb. Signals vary across the globeIII. Cultural universalsa. Grammatically complex languageb. Family systems and marriagei. Different cultures allow:1. Same-sex marriage2. Incest marriagec. Incest prohibitiond. Art, dancing, and body adornmentsi. Ex: body piercings & tattoose. Games, gift giving, and jokingf. Rules of hygienei. Showers, perfume, etc.IV. The Sociological Study of Culturea. Culture is not the same as societyb. Society: group of people living in a given territory governed by a common political authority and guided by a common culture c. Culture makes society possibled. Cultures strive on where their environment isV. Hunting and Gathering Societiesa. Oldest but now close to disappearing (<250,000 worldwide)These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.b. Very small-typically 30 to 40 peoplec. Few material possessionsi. Reason why is because they move around oftend. Tended toward equality and cooperationVI. Pastoral and Agrarian Societiesa. Second oldest type of societyb. Pastorali. Tending of domesticated animalsc. Agrariani. Cultivation of cropsd. Some accumulation of material possessioni. Because they stopped moving around as much because they found spots with good weather so they were able to keep material goodse. More inequality, competition, and concentration of powerVII. Traditional Societiesa. Third oldest type of societyi. Traditional societies would take over the agrarian societiesb. Disappeared in the 1800s c. Cities, great inequalities of power and wealth, and ruled by kings or emperors i. Had slaves VIII. Industrialized Societiesa. Industrialization destroyed the forms of society that dominated prior periodsi. Basically erased everything beforehandb. Machine production based on use of inanimate power resourcesc. Mostly urband. More developed political systems e. Came up with monopoliesIX. Colonialisma. Nation-states colonized other countries through power and violencei. Ex: Spain colonized Latin Americanb. Most nations only independent post-WWIIc. Agriculture remains the main economic activityd. Extremely high levels of povertyX. Ethnocentrisma. Judging other cultures through the lens of one’s own culturei. America tends to be ethnocentrism1. Looking down on arranged marriages b. Can lead to misrepresentations and unfair judgmentsi. People not understanding why and the normsii. Being naïveXI. Cultural relativisma. Judging other cultures by their own standards to understand them betteri. Putting yourself in someone else shoesii. Historical understandingb. Using your sociological imagination!c. Useful for understanding differences in culturally diverse societies i. To not only understand difference but to appreciate difference ii. Unite states is very diverseXII. Cultural Diversitya. It is a normal feature of many parts of the united states as seen in the existence of multiple subcultures such as Goth, hackers, fans of hip-hop as well as ethnic subculturesi. Subculture: a group whose values and norms are distinct from the majority. A specialtype of subculture is the counterculture.1. Ex: Used to be genres of music ii. Counterculture: a group that rejects the prevailing norms and values of society 1. Ex: Amish 2. Ex: Anarchist XIII. Assimilation VS Multiculturalisma. Assimilation: the process by which different cultures are absorbed into mainstream culture. In this model, new cultures take on the values and norms of dominate culture. i. “Melting pot”ii. When immigrants came here (Irish, English, French) but now as we know it, it is the white identity, what is assimilationiii. People lost their culture and norms and conformed to American norms b. Multiculturalism: ethnic groups retain their cultural distinctiveness when they settle in a newculture. They exist separately but partake equally in economic and political life.i. “Toss salad”ii. They keep their lifestyle, they don’t need to change iii. Makes our nation unique with all the different culturesXIV. Cultural Appropriationa. The adoption of theft icons, rituals, aesthetic standards, and behavior from one culture by another. It is generally applied when the subject culture or somehow subordinate in social, political, economic, or military status to the appropriating culture.b. This appropriation often occurs without any real understanding of why the original culture took part in these activities or the meaning behind these activities, often-converting cultural artifacts, practices, and belief into “meaningless” pop-culture or giving them a significance that is completely different/less nuanced than they would originally have had. i. Ex: Harlem Shake1. This is about cultural appreciationXV. Things to Think About…a. What other examples of cultural appropriation in mainstream/popular culture?b. Why is it so prevalent?c. What are the consequences of cultural appropriation?d. How can we identify and respond to cultural