Discusses what is culture and breaks down its components (norma, values, characteristics, subcultures)

1. UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY AND CULTURE

2. WHAT IS CULTURE?
 The knowledge, values, customs,
and material objects passed from
one group to another group or society
 (Culture is) “A toolkit for the survival of mankind”
 Society and Culture are independent, neither could exist
without the other
 In order for a society to survive there must be laws, rules, and
guidelines, all of which are culture driven
 Functionalists might call it a “symbiotic” relationship
 Some cultures vary widely from others
 For instance the “Horns” sign commonly used at sports events in the
U.S. implies that your spouse is unfaithful in Italy
 Even more diametric; the symbol for “ok,” in Tunisia means “I’ll kill
you!”
 I hope at least the “peace” sign is universal…

3. THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
 We (humans) are not born with the information
necessary to survive, i.e. we have no instincts
 Nurture and not Nature
 An instinct is an unlearned biological behavior common to
members of the same species (Spiders do not need to learn
how to build webs, they just know instinctually)
 Reflexes and Drives
 A reflex is an involuntary response to physical stimuli
 Sneezing and blinking when faced with an irritant
 A drive is an unlearned impulse that satisfy basic needs
 Sleep, food, water, and (ahem) “procreation”
 Culture however can channel these reflexes and
drives
 For sneezing, the appropriate way to respond to a sneeze

4. CULTURE IS LEARNT
• Culture is acquired through
learning not through
biological inheritance i.e. no
person is born with a
culture. Children take on
the culture in which they
are raised through
enculturation.
• Children learn much of their
culture through imitation
and experience.

5. TYPES OF CULTURE
 Material and Non-Material culture
 Material culture consists of the physical or tangible
creations that can be made, used, or shared
 Food, Books, … anything “touchable”
 Technology is the knowledge, techniques, and tools to
transform resources into usable forms
 Non-Material culture consists of the abstract or
intangible creations that influence people’s behavior
 Language, Beliefs, Values, … anything of a mental
construct

6. CULTURAL UNIVERSALS
 Structural Universals refer to issues or needs that must be
addressed if a society is to survive and evolve.
 Cultural universals refer to values, norms, or other cultural traits
(material/non- material) that are found everywhere, in every
culture.
 They are learned behavior patterns that are shared collectively by
all humanity
 Eg. Communication, regulation of sexual behavior…

7. CULTURAL VARIATIONS
refers to values and
standards of behavior
that people in society
profess to adhere to but
is not always achieved
•refers to the values and
standards of behavior
that people actually
follow in society, which
often falls short of the
culturally ideal
Ideal Culture Real Culture

8. COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
 All cultures have four common components
 Symbols, language, values, and norms
 Ultimately, these four things cause either harmony or strife
across societies
 Symbols
 Anything that meaningfully represents something else
 (A Valentine’s heart : Love) (Swastika : Hate) (Siren : Warning)
 Everything, arguably, could be considered symbolic of something
 Language
 A set of symbols that express ideas, and enables people to think and
communicate with one another
 Verbal, gestural, written, even smell (subconsciously)!
 Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
 Language shapes the view(s) of reality of its speakers
 Language precedes thought, i.e. no language, no thought

9. L
ANGUAGE
AND
G
ENDER
Quite often in the
English language people
often inadvertently
connote predispositions
to men and women when
asked to describe them.
For example:
• Women are often
described by their sexual
objectivity as foxes,
broads, babes, chicks, or
miss/ mrs.
• Men tend to be
described by their sexual
prowess as dudes, studs,
or hunks
(Keep in mind
connotations vary greatly
from generation to
generation)
 The English language ignores women!
 It uses masculine forms of words to refer to
human beings in general
 Chairman, mankind
 Certain words carry connotations, either
negative or positive
 Connotations are implied definitions, dictated by a
persons opinion often
 Denotations are the accepted, dictionary definition of
the word
Male Term Female Term Neutral Term
Teacher
Steward
Chairman
Janitor
Bachelor
Policeman
Doctor
Teacher
Stewardess
Chairwoman
Maid
Spinster
Policewoman
Doctor
Teacher
Flight attendant
Chairperson
Custodian
Single
Police officer
Doctor

10. V
ALUES
• Value
contradictions:
Mutually exclusive
values
(We may want to help
but it might be
impossible to do so)
• Ideal Culture
Values and standards
in society profess to hold
• Realistic Culture
Values and standards
people actually follow
For example:
People claim to be very
law abiding, yet smoke
marijuana (hmm…)
People think themselves
to be good drivers, yet
constantly drive over
the speed limit
 Values are collective ideas about right and wrong,
good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a
particular culture
 Do we have Core Values in the United States?
 Ten Core Values identified by Robin M. Williams, Jr.
in the 1970’s
1) Individualism (ability, work ethic, responsibility)
2) Achievement and Success (do better in life)
3) Activity and Work (“work in play,” active lifestyle)
4) Science and Technology (expectations from…)
5) Progress and Comfort (goods, services, and
necessities)
6) Efficiency and Practicality (bigger, better, faster
things)
7) Equality (class equality and opportunity)
8) Morality and Humanitarianism (aiding others in
need)
9) Freedom and Liberty (self explanatory)
10) Racism and Superiority (value group above others)

11. NORMS
 Established rules of behavior or standards of conduct
 Prescriptive Norms
 What behavior is appropriate or acceptable
 Proscriptive Norms/Deviance
 What behavior is inappropriate or unacceptable
 Formal and Informal Norms
 Formal norms are written down, and often carry specific
punishments for violators
 Positive or negative; praise and honors; versus, disapproval to
the death penalty!
 Informal norms are unwritten, often carry informal sanctions
and are often not clearly defined (they often vary among sub-
groups)
 Informal sanctions may include but are not limited to: frowns,
gestures, scoffs, remarks, etc.

12. D
EGREES
OF
N
ORMS
The following are
considered to be of
increasing degree as one
progresses downward
 Norms are often classified by their
relative social importance
 Folkways
 Informal, everyday customs that if violated
carry little consequences, and are not
enforced
 Lack of: deodorant, brushing teeth, or
appropriate clothing
 Mores
 (“Mor-ays”) A particular cultures strongly
held norms with moral and ethical
connotations that may not be violated
without serious consequences
 May result in loss of employment,
ridicule, or imprisonment
 “Taboos,” strong mores that their violation is
extremely offensive, and unmentionable
 Incest is a widely accepted taboo
 Laws
 Formal, standardized norms enacted by
legislatures and enforced throughout

13. CULTURAL CHANGE
 Cultures are not static, they often change over time
 Typically, cultures change with the onset of major
technology (and understanding), or a radical regime
change
 Cultural Lag
 Cultural Lag (coined by William Ogburn) is the gap
between technical development and its moral and legal
institutions
 Occurs when material culture changes faster than non-material
culture
 Onset of computers and personal privacy for instance
 Changes that can alter culture:
 Discovery, invention, and diffusion
 Learning and recognizing, new technology, transmission of other
culture

14. CULTURE IS ADAPTIVE
 In order to survive, culture
must adapt to changes in
society.
 It adapts to suit the
changing needs of a
constantly evolving society

15.  Culture changes according to time and place.
 The culture of your grandparents are not the
same as your own. This is often referred to as a.
generation gap

16. CULTURAL DIVERSITY
 The range of cultural differences within a nation
 Nations can be homogenous or heterogeneous
 Essentially same or different (Sweden compared to the U.S.A.)
 Subcultures
 Category of people who share distinguishing attributes,
beliefs, values, and/or norms that set them apart from
the primary culture in some way.
 Significant age differences, the Amish, Native Americans,
Ethnic groups in nation (like Chinatown or Little Havana)
 Countercultures
 Group that rejects dominant societal values and norms
 Beatniks (‘50’s), Flower Children (‘60’s), Drug Enthusiasts
(‘70’s)**, members of cults and sects
 **How old is Professor Thomas?...

17.  Subcultures may develop in businesses, ethnic groups,
occupational groups, regional groups, religious groups and other
groups within a larger culture
 Vocational, Recreational subcultures,
 Ethnic subcultures, Lifestyle Subcultures
TYPES OF SUBCULTURES

18. FURRIES

19. OTHERKIN
 Subculture of people, primarily Internet-based, who identify in some
way as other than human
 Believe themselves to be mythological or legendary creatures,
explaining their beliefs through reincarnation, having a nonhuman
soul
 Angels, demons, dragons, elves, extra-terrestrials, fairies, kitsune,
lycanthropes, and vampires
BŌSŌZOKU
 “Violent running gang”; a Japanese subculture associated with
motorcycle clubs and gangs.
 First seen in the 1950s as the Japanese automobile industry expanded
rapidly.
 Engage in dangerous or reckless driving, such as weaving in traffic,
not wearing motorcycle helmets, and running red lights
 composed of people under the legal adult age, (20 yrs old)
 Weapons of choice: wooden swords, metal pipes and Molotov cocktails.

22. STEAMPUNK
 Based on science fiction literature blended with Victorian
Era culture…
 Think H.G. Wells and Jules Verne
 Clothing: gowns, corsets, petticoats and bustles; suits
with vests, coats and spats; or military-inspired garments.
LARPERS
 Participants physically act out their characters' actions as
decided by the gamemaster
 May last hours or days
 May be in public or private
 Most characters dress up and have alternative personas
 Horror, zombie, fantasy, post apocalyptic, assassin, etc.

25. HIPSTERS

26. TREKKIES

28. HIPPIES

30. PURPOSE OF BOTH SUB AND
COUNTERCULTURES
• Gives people a place
where they are
empowered
• Connects likeminded
people
• Makes invisible people
visible
• Allows people to
escape the identity
they are born into
• Gives people a place to
construct identity

31. CULTURE SHOCK, ETHNOCENTRISM, AND RELATIVISM
 Culture Shock refers to disorientation upon
experiencing radically different cultures
 See Napoleon Chagnon and the Yanomamö tribe (pg.
92)
 Ethnocentrism
 The practice of judging all other cultures by one’s own
culture
 Positive or negative; anthems and flags, to superiority and
stereotypes
 Cultural Relativism
 The belief that the behaviors and customs of any
culture must be analyzed by the culture’s own
standards

32.  the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices
should be understood based on that person's own culture,
rather than be judged against the criteria of another.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM

33. WILLIAM GRAHAM SUMNER
 “The right way” is the way which the ancestors used and
which has been handed down. The tradition is its own
warrant. It is not held subject to verification by experience.
The notion of right is in the folkways. ….”
 This line of thought has probably persuaded more people to be
skeptical about ethics than any other single statement.
“If we assume that our
ethical ideas will be
shared by all people at
all times, we are merely
naïve”
Provide examples where
ethical ideas in our
society may have
changed over the years?

34. CLAIMS OF CULTURAL RELATIVISTS
1. Different societies have different moral codes
2. The moral code of a society determines what is right within
that society
3. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge
one societies code as better than another
4. The moral code of our society offers nothing special
5. There is no universal truth in ethics…
6. It is arrogant to judge the conduct of other societies, we
should adopt an attitude of tolerance

35. EXAMPLES WHERE ETHICAL/MORAL IDEAS HAVE
CHANGED OVER THE YEARS
 Divorce, Living together, Mixed race marriages, Allowing same
sex marriages
 Gambling, casinos, internet poker
 Internet dating
 Women in the workforce, women operating farm equipment,
firewomen, truck drivers
 Spanking/punishment of children
 Acceptance of cremation for the dead
 Competition vs cooperation in farming, relying on neighbors help
vs outbidding the neighbor
 Animal welfare, recognizing that animals have certain rights
 Natural resource protection
 Taming “mother nature” vs “living with nature”

36. GLOBAL POPULAR CULTURE
• Cultural Imperialism:
The extensive infusion of one nation’s culture into
other nations
For Example
• The widespread infusion of the English language
• The second most exported item in the U.S. is its
culture in the form of films, clothing, and pop-culture
 High Culture versus Popular Culture
 High Culture consists of classical music, opera,
ballet, live theater, heavy European influence
 Typically found among Upper and Upper-middle
class persons
 Popular Culture consists of activities, products,
and services that are assumed to appeal to the
middle and working class
 Rock concerts, sports events, sit-coms, etc.
 U.S. pop-culture is considered “homegrown”

37. A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF CULTURE
 Functionalist
 Culture helps people meet
their biological,
instrumental, and expressive
needs
 Conflict
 Ideas are a cultural creation
of society’s most powerful
members and can be used by
the ruling class to affect the
thoughts and actions of
members of other classes
 Control via cultural
occupation of lower class
 Symbolic-Interactionist
 People create, maintain, and
modify culture during their
everyday activities; however,
cultural creations can take
on a life of their own and end
up controlling people
 Postmodern
 Much of culture today is
based on simulation of
reality rather than reality
itself
 How television and
internet depict reality
Macro-level Micro-level

38. ACTIVITY #3: CULTURAL
EXPERIMENT PRESENTATION
Submit yourselves to a cultural experiment in which
you either:
• Violate a social norm or
• Experience culture shock
Create a video presentation including images of your
experience and/or video. If you violated a social norm, ensure to
capture the reactions of your viewers. Describe your experience
in a one page reflection (submitted via email) stating what you
learned from it. Ensure to relate it to the material covered
under Culture.
LIMITATIONS: DO NOT INCLUDE CHILDREN IN YOUR
VIDEO. Ensure to videotape in a public place or with the
consent of your viewers. DO NOT POST YOUR VIDEO ON
SOCIAL MEDIA. This assessment is solely for educational
purposes.

39. RACE AND ETHNICITY
 What is race?
 A category of people who have been
singled out as inferior or superior, often on the
basis of real or alleged physical characteristics such as: skin color,
hair texture, eye shape, or other attributes
 Sociologists emphasize that race is a socially constructed reality
 In fact, most humans are practically identical (genetically) to each
other, so classifying by race is overwhelmingly phonotypical (or only
skin deep)
 Ethnic groups
 An ethnic group is a collection of people distinguished, by others,
or by themselves, primarily on the basis of cultural or nationality
characteristics
 Such as Irish Americans, Jewish Americans, Italian Americans, etc.
 They all share five main characteristics
 Cultural traits, community sense, ethnocentrism, ascribed
membership, and territoriality

40. ASSIMILATION V. ACCULTURATION
 Assimilation: the process of responding to new
situations in conformity; “blending” in
 Acculturation: the process by which a human
being acquires the culture of a particular society

41. DOMINANT AND SUBORDINATE GROUPS
 A group that is considered
to be advantaged, and has
superior rights in a society
 In the U.S.; whites with
European ancestry
(particularly males)
 A group whose members are
disadvantaged and
subjected to unequal
treatment by the dominant
group
 In the U.S.; persons of color,
women, and most
immigrants
 Most members of
subordinate groups regard
themselves as being subject
of collective discrimination
Dominant Groups Subordinate Groups

42. PREJUDICE
 A negative attitude based on faulty
generalizations about members of selected
racial and ethnic groups
 Prejudice can be positive or negative
 From the Latin “prae-judicium,” meaning “before judgment”
 Stereotypes and racism
 Stereotypes: Overgeneralizations about the appearance,
behaviors, or other characteristics of members of particular
categories
 i.e. the misunderstandings of Native American culture, portrayed in
college and professional mascots
 Racism: A set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that is used to
justify the superior treatment of one racial or ethnic group, and
the inferior treatment of another racial or ethnic group
 Can be overt or subtle (blatant or inferred); overt would be derogatory
remarks, subtle would be implying a certain race is “better suited” or
“natural” in positions like sports or leadership

43. THEORIES
AND
MEASURING
OF
PREJUDICE
Keep in mind that a
prejudice is an
attitude, whereas
discrimination is
taking action
 Frustration-aggression hypothesis
 Scapegoat: A person or group that is incapable of
offering resistance to the hostility or aggression of
others
 Often blaming a minority group for societal problems, or a
focal point for their frustrations
 According to Symbolic-Interactionists; prejudice is a
learned behavior
 Children growing up do not have a frame of reference for
prejudice. Being praised for, or encouraging, certain jokes
or remarks reinforces prejudice
 Theodor W. Adorno and the authoritarian
personality
 Prejudiced individuals tend to enforce excessive
conformity, submissiveness to authority, intolerance,
insecurity, a high level of superstition, and rigid,
stereotypic thinking
 Social distance
 The extent to which people are willing to interact and
establish relationships with members of racial and
ethnic groups other than their own
 Some groups are identified as more desirable among
various ethnic groups

44. DISCRIMINATION
 Involves actions or practices of
dominant-group members
(or their representatives) that
have a harmful impact on
members of a subordinate
group
 Prejudiced attitudes do not
necessarily lead to
discriminatory behavior
 Genocide is the deliberate
systematic killing of an entire
people or nation
Merton’s Typology of Prejudice and
Discrimination
Prejudiced
Attitude?
Discriminatory
Behavior?
Unprejudiced
Non-
Discriminator
No No
Unprejudiced
Discriminator
No Yes
Prejudiced
Non-
Discriminator
Yes No
Prejudiced
Discriminator
Yes Yes

45. SOUTH AFRICA
 Apartheid South Africa (1948-1994) is a modern example
of a caste system based on race
 The rules of Apartheid dictated that people be legally classified
into racial groups-- the main ones were Black, White, Coloured
and Indian – with unequal rights.
 Education, housing, medical care, employment, and voting
rights were segregated
 Blacks legally became citizens of one of ten homelands that were
nominally sovereign nations and were forced to reside in these
areas
 Education, medical care, and other public services were
segregated, and those available to Black people were of an
inferior standard

46. City of Johannesburg in South
Africa: White Dominated
Soweto Township:
A Black Homeland in South Africa

47. LEGACY OF APARTHEID IN DEMOCRATIC
SOUTH AFRICA
 The many years of Apartheid created a legacy of racial
inequality in South Africa that greatly affects the
country today
 South Africa has one of the highest rates of income
inequality in the world
 The white South African minority tends to be
considerably wealthier than the rest of the population
 Statistics South Africa reported that in 1995 the
average white household earned 4 times as much as
the average African household
 In 2000 the average white household was earning 6
times the average African household

48. SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON RACE
 Symbolic-Interactionist
 Contact hypothesis
 Contact between people from divergent groups should lead to favorable
attitudes
 Functionalist
 Assimilation
 A process by which members of subordinate racial and ethnic groups become
“absorbed” into the dominant culture
 Can occur at various levels; such as, cultural, structural, biological, and
psychological
 Conflict
 Economic stratification of races and classes, particularly caste
and class based discrimination
 Others include internal colonialism, split-labor-market theory, and gendered,
racial, and social theories
 *Critical Race Theory*
 Derived from ideas of civil rights leaders
 Racism as an ingrained feature of society that affects everyone’s daily life

49. WEEK 7 & 8- RACE & ETHNICITY REVIEW
QUESTIONS
1. Define race
2. Define ethnicity
3. Describe race as a social construct
4. Differentiate between race & ethnicity
5. Differentiate between minority and majority groups
6. What is ethnic identity?
7. Describe ethnic work
8. Differentiate between prejudice and discrimination
9. Describe ways in which prejudice is learned
10. Explain individual vs. institutionalized discrimination
11. Describe the various theories of prejudice
12. Describe the continuum of intergroup relations