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Section 2: Cultural Variation

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Section 2: Cultural Variation Cultures vary widely Commonalities Certain features are shared in all cultures Cultural universals George Murdock looked at hundreds of ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Section 2: Cultural Variation


1
Section 2 Cultural Variation
  • Cultures vary widely

2
  • Commonalities
  • Certain features are shared in all cultures
  • Cultural universals
  • George Murdock looked at hundreds of cultures to
    determine general traits of cultures
  • Ex. Family, dancing, cooking, housing, language,
    myths and folklore, religion, sports, tool making
    are just a few.
  • Survival dictates the need for cultural
    universals but the nature of the trait varies
    between cultures

3
  • Variations among societies
  • Margaret Meads Study of cultural variation
  • Purpose determine whether differences in basic
    temperament results mainly from inherited
    characteristics or from cultural influences
  • Two societies of New Guinea Arapesh and the
    Mundugumor

4
  • The Arapesh
  • Gentle, non-agressive, receptive, trusting, and
    warm
  • Society based on cooperation
  • Villages consist of clans
  • Roles for men and women clearly defined
  • Children grow in a loving and friendly environment

5
  • Marriage practice
  • Girls at the age of 7 or 8 are promised to boys 6
    years older and the girls are chosen by the boys
    father
  • The girl goes to live with the boys family and
    in about 5 years they begin to live as true
    husband and wife
  • Marriage is seen as a way to increase the warm
    family circle in which the descendants may live.
  • Usually marriage is only between one man and one
    woman but if a womans husband dies then she will
    remarry to a man who has a wife

6
  • Prior to government intervention they were
    headhunters
  • Families are so competitive that they dont talk
    to each other and are ashamed to be seen with one
    another
  • The Mundugumor
  • Aggressive, very competitive, jealous, and
    violent
  • They seek revenge and delight in showing off and
    fighting

7
  • The only ties that are shared are called the
    rope which is through members of the opposite
    sex
  • Ex. One rope The father, his daughters, his
    daughter sons and his daughters sons daughters
  • The opposite is true for the mother
  • When someone dies the property passes down the
    rope
  • Wealth and power determined by the of wives
  • Wives are obtained by trading sisters

8
  • Children push parents apart
  • Father wants a daughter to trade for another wife
    and the mother wants a son for help and as an
    heir
  • Children have little contact with the parents as
    infants
  • Children have many rules and receive physical
    punishment when the rules are not obeyed

9
  • This is a Mundugumor mother holding her child

10
  • Meads conclusion
  • The environments were different
  • Arapesh mountains, food scarce
  • Mundugumor river valley, abundant food
  • Temperament is a result of culture rather than
    biology
  • This study is a wonderful example of the
    variations of culture

11
  • Studying variation
  • Sociologists must be careful of biases in their
    observations and conclusions
  • Ethnocentrism builds unity among group members in
    a society
  • Too much could make a society stagnant and
    unwilling to accept traits that could be
    beneficial

12
  • Cultural relativism helps sociologists keep an
    open mind about different cultures
  • Sociologists attempt to understand cultural
    practices from the points of view of the members
    of the society being studied
  • Marvin Harris and the cows in India
  • This study helps us understand why there may be
    practical reason Indian people protect cows
  • But it only makes sense when you look at it from
    an Indian perspective!

13
  • There are also variations within a society
  • Subcultures
  • Ex. age, gender, religious, political,
    geographic, social-class, and occupation
  • They do not reject all of the values held by the
    larger society and dont present a treat to
    society
  • Countercultures a specific kind of subculture
  • Ex. hippies, Organized crime families, anarchists
  • Reject societal norms and values and sometimes
    create a threat to society

14
http//www.toptenz.net/top-10-youth-subcultures.ph
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