Cultural Diversity

1
Cultural Diversity

• Chapter 2
• Section 1
• The Meaning of Culture

2
The Meaning of Culture

• What is Culture?
• The Components of Culture
• Examining Culture

3
What is Culture?

• Culture consists of all the shared products of
  human groups.
• Physical objects
• Beliefs
• Values
• Behaviors

• Material Culture the physical objects that
  people create and use.
• Examples automobiles, books, buildings,
  clothing, computers, cooking utensils.

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What is Culture cont.

• Non-material culture abstract human creations.
• Examples beliefs, family patterns, ideas,
  languages, rules, skills, work practices,
  political and economic systems.

• Society a group of interdependent people who
  have organized in such a way as to share a common
  culture and feeling of unity.

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The Components of Culture

• Culture is both learned and shared
• Specific examples of the material and nonmaterial
  elements of culture vary society but all cultures
  have certain basic components.
• Ex. Technology, symbols, languages, values,
  norms.

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Technology

• Culture consists of not only physical objects but
  also the rules for using those objects.
• The relationship between the objects and the
  rules is known as

• Technology
• You need basic skills to know how to use money.
• Sociologists look at the rules that accompany
  this such as spending.

7
Symbols

• The use of symbols is the basis of human culture.
• We use symbols to create our culture and
  communicate with others.

• Words, gestures, images, sounds, physical
  objects, event or element of the natural world
  serves as a symbol.
• Give examples of each.

8
Language

• Language is the organization of written or
  spoken symbols into a standardized system.

• When organized according to accepted rules of
  grammar, words can be used to express any idea.

9
Values

• Language and symbols are important because they
  allow us to communicate our values.

• Values are shared beliefs about what is good or
  bad, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable.
• The types of values held by a group help to
  determine the character of its people and its
  culture.
• Yanomano Tribe

10
Norms

• Norms are used to enforce their cultural vales.
• Norms are shared rules of conduct that tell
  people how to act in specific situations.

• Remember norms are expected behavior not actual
  behavior.
• Example cover your mouth when you yawn, do not
  kill a human being.
• Name any others

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Norms

• Folkways are norms that describe socially
  acceptable behavior but do not have great moral
  significance attached to them.

• They outline the common customs of everyday life.
• Some degree of nonconformity to folkways is
  permitted because it does not endanger the well
  being of society.

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Norms

• Mores have great moral significance attracted to
  them because the violation of these rules
  endangers societys well being.
• Murder, fraud

• Laws written rules of conduct enacted and
  enforced by the government.
• Enforce both folkways and mores.

13
Examining Culture

• Sociologists must keep up with all the changing
  behaviors, ideas, and objects in society.
• They break them into groups and study them each.

• Traits
• Complexes
• Patterns

14
Culture Traits

• Definition an individual tool, act, or belief
  that is related to a particular situation.
• Ball
• Goal posts
• Pads
• cleates

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Culture Complexes

• Definition a cluster of interrelated traits.
• Cleats, ball, goal posts, pads make up football

16
Culture Patterns

• Definition the combination of a number of
  culture complexes into an interrelated whole.
• There are separate complexes for baseball,
  basketball, football, soccer, swimming, tennis,
  and track and combine all of them into an
  American athletic pattern.