Ch 2 Culture 04 08 2013 Culture the way of thinking acting and material objects that together form a person s way of life Thoughts Things o Neither society nor culture would exist with out each other Material Culture refers to the physical objects resources and spaces that people use to define their culture These include homes neighborhoods cities schools churches temples offices tools goods food etc o Ex technology is a vital aspect of material culture in the U S today In contrast Amazon societies must learn to build weapons to hunt Non material Culture refers to the nonphysical ideas that people have about their culture including beliefs values rules norms morals language organizations and institutions o Ex the non material concept of religion consist of a set of ideas and beliefs about God worship morals and ethics These beliefs then determine how the culture responds to religious topics issues and events Conspicuous Consumption spending of money on and acquiring of luxury goods b c of the statements they make about socioeconomic status or economic power attaining maintaining a social status new money o Ex buying a bottle of water instead of using the water fountain Culture Shock personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar culture of way of life inflicting experiencing o Ex college students visiting and Amish community An American ordering cow in a Hindu community Asian countries eating dog and studying abroad Elements of Culture Symbol anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people o Giving meaning to the things around us transforming the elements of the who share a culture world into symbols o Symbolic meanings also vary within a single society Ex confederate flag Language a system of symbols that allows people to communication with one another Ex The creation of alphabets and rules of writing Cultural transmission the process by which one generation passes culture to the next through language o Language skills links us to the past and allows the passing of information as well the creation of new symbols and ideas Language sets humans apart as the only creatures which are self conscious aware of our limitations and ultimate mortality yet are able to dream and hope for a future better than the present Sapir Whorf thesis holds that people see and understand the world through the cultural lens of language o Ex belief that Eskimos experience snow differently b c they have many words for it o So how does language affect out reality Current thinking is that although we do fashion reality out of our symbols evidence supports that claim the language does not determine reality in the way Sapir Whorf claimed For example we know that children understand the idea of family long before they learn the word similarly adults can imagine new ideas or things before devising a name for them Values culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable good and beautiful and that serve as broad guidelines for social living Values are what people who share culture use to make choices about how to live o Abstract standards of goodness Beliefs specific ideas that people hold to be true o Particular matters that people accept as true of false Ex b c most U S adults share the value of providing equal opportunity for all they all have the belief that a qualified women could serve as president of the United States Key Values of U S Culture value cluster Robin Williams Jr 1 Equal opportunity 2 Individual achievement and personal success 3 Material comfort 4 Activity and work 5 Practicality and efficiency 6 Progress 7 Science 9 Freedom 8 Democracy and free enterprise 10 Racism and group superiority Value Conflict sometimes one cultural value contradicts another For example Equal Opportunity vs Racism and group superiority Members say they believe in equal opportunity yet many also look down on others b c of race or sex Values Change over time like all aspects of society values change over time People in the US have valued hard work but in recent times that value is giving way to an increasing importance on leisure time Value importance varies from culture to culture around the world For example low income nations develop cultures that stress survival while higher income nations develop cultures that value individualism and self expression Technology and culture Artifacts physical human creations part of a cultures material culture o Ex Chinese eat with chopsticks Japanese place mats on the floors and Indian people prefer flowing robes to close fitting clothing common in the US surroundings Technology knowledge that people use to make a way of life in their The more complex a societies technology the easier it is for members of that society to shape the world for themselves new technology Sociocultural evolution the historical changes in culture brought about by o Hunting and Gathering the use of simple tools to hunt animals and father vegetation Early homo sapiens societies o Horticulture the use of hand tools to raise crops early Mesopotamia Babylonia fertile crescent societies o Pastoralism the domestication of animals nomadic societies o Agriculture large scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or more powerful energy sources agrarian societies Turning of the soil plows allow land to be farmed for centuries so agrarian people can live in permanent settlements with food surpluses and population growth Brings about dramatic social inequality Most people live as serfs or slaves o Industry the production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery Innovations such as the railroad and steamships raised living standards and increased human life span Reduce economic inequality and steadily extend political rights Intensifies individualism and expands personal freedom o Postindustrial the production of information using computer technology Changes the skills that define a way of life Cultural Diversity High Culture refer to cultural patterns that distinguish a society s elite Popular Culture cultural patterns that are widespread among a society s population Subculture cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society s population Smaller cultural groups that exist within but differ in some way from the prevailing culture interest o Ex heavy metal music devotees body piercing and tattoo enthusiast motorcycle gang members and Nazi skinheads Members of subcultures typically make use of distinctive language behaviors and