culture. culture is the knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are passed...
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The Importance of Culture in a Changing World It goes beyond instincts and “biological drives” Culture is a learned phenomenon Another definition: “The common denominator that makes the actions of individuals intelligible to the group” (p. 69) We are a combination of nature and nurture (culture)TRANSCRIPT
Culture
Culture is the knowledge, language, values, customs,
and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one
generation to the next in a human group or society.
Culture Defined
The Importance of Culture in a Changing World
It goes beyond instincts and “biological drives” Culture is a learned phenomenon Another definition: “The common denominator
that makes the actions of individuals intelligible to the group” (p. 69)
We are a combination of nature and nurture (culture)
Material and Non-Material Culture Material culture: Is all the physical or
tangible creations that members of a society make, use, and share (p. 70)
Technology: knowledge, techniques, and tools that make it possible for people to transform resources into usable forms, and the knowledge and skills required to use them after they have been developed (p. 70)
Material and Nonmaterial Culture Nonmaterial culture:
Are the abstract or intangible human creations of society that influence people’s behaviour. (p.71)
Examples: language, beliefs, values, rules of behaviour, family patterns, and political systems
Cultural Universals Defined: customs and practices that occur
across all societies (p.71) Examples:
appearance (hairstyles, sports, dancing, games) social institutions (family, law, and religion) and customary practices (cooking, folklore, gift
giving, and hospitality)
Cultural Universals Why do they exist?
1. To help society to function smoothly
2. To allow dominate cultures to impose themselves on less dominant societies
Technology, Cultural Change, and Diversity How do societies evolve? How do they adapt
and adjust to things like technology etc. Cultural Change Cultural Diversity Culture Shock Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
Cultural Change Since classical times, the world has changed
significantly but in rural / isolated societies this change is much less pronounced Cultural lag: a gap between the technological
development of a society and its moral and legal institutions
Cultural Change Factors of change:
Discovery: something previously unknown or unrecognized: e.g., vaccines for diseases
Invention: reshaping existing cultural items into a new form (the steam engine, the car, the computer)
Diffusion: transmission of cultural items or social practices from one culture to another
Cultural Diversity Defined: the wide range of cultural differences found
between and within nations Homogeneous: one language, ethnicity, religion, and
the like—most Muslim societies today Heterogeneous: many languages, ethnic groups,
religions—Canada and the United States (in the past 150 years, 13 million people have immigrated to Canada)
Cultural Diversity Elements:
Subcultures: a group of people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviours that differ in some significant ways from that of the larger society (p. 83)
Example: the Hutterites—able to keep their culture while adapting to the technology of modern agriculture
Cultural Diversity Elements:
Counterculture: a group that strongly rejects dominant societal values and norms and seeks alternative lifestyles (p. 86)
Examples: beatniks of the 1950s, the hippies of the 1960s, neo-Nazi skinheads in Germany and Canada
Culture Shock Defined: the disorientation that people feel
when they encounter cultures radically different from their own (p. 87)
Example: the visit of Napoleon Chagnon to the Yanomamo people of the rain forest of South America
Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism Ethnocentrism: the tendency to regard one’s own
culture and group as the standard, and thus superior (p. 87)
Both positive and negative Cultural Relativity: behaviours and customs of any
culture must be viewed and analyzed by the culture’s own standards
May violate human rights, like female circumcision
Global Popular Culture High Culture and Popular Culture:
High: classical music, opera, ballet, live theatre Popular: activities, products, and services that
are assumed to appeal primarily to members of the middle and working class (p.88) Elements: widespread, called “mass culture”