S O C I O L O G Y

M A T T E R S

R I C H A R D T. S C H A E F E R Slide 1 Slide 1

Slide 2

Chapter 2

Culture

Chapter Outline

 Culture and Society

 Development of Culture around the World

 Elements of Culture

 Culture and the Dominant Ideology

 Cultural Variation

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 3

Culture and Society

Culture

is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and artifacts of groups of people.

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 4

Culture and Society

A large number of people constitute a society when they:  live in the same territory  are relatively independent of the outside  participate in a common culture © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of Culture around the

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World

 Cultural universals  Common to all societies but vary  Include sports, cooking, funeral, medicine, and sexual restrictions  Innovation  Discoveries and Inventions  Globalization, Diffusion, Technology  Ritzer’s “McDonaldization of Society”  Starbucks in Beijing © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Elements of Culture Language

Language

is an abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture.

Slide 6 © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Elements of Culture Language

 Reflects the priorities of a culture  English – many words for war  Slave Indians – 14 terms for “ice”  Is a foundation for culture  Verbal and non-verbal Slide 7 © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Elements of Culture Norms

Norms

are established standards of behavior maintained by society.

Slide 8 © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 9

Elements of Culture

 Formal norms, including law  Informal norms  Mores  Folkways  Sanctions and Rewards  Values © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 10

Elements of Culture

Table 2-1 Norms and Sanctions

Norms

Formal Informal

Positive Sanctions Negative

Salary bonus Demotion Testimonial dinner Firing from a job Medal Diploma Smile Compliment Cheers Jail sentence Expulsion Frown Humiliation Belittling © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Culture and the Dominant Ideology

Slide 11

Dominant ideology

: the set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests.

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 12

Cultural Variation

Cultural Variation develops through adaptation to sets of circumstances.

 Climate  Technology level  Population  Geography © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 13

Cultural Variation

Aspects of Cultural Variation include:  Subcultures  Countercultures  Culture Shock  Ethnocentrism  Cultural Relativism © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

“Sociology Matters” because…

Slide 14  …it raises your awareness of cultural patterns you might take for granted.

 … it helps show you how you became who you are.

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.