1 / 14

Culture and Diversity

Culture and Diversity. 2.1 and 2.2. Culture consists of all the shared products of human groups, both physical and abstract. - Material culture : physical products - Nonmaterial culture : abstract problems A society consists of the people who share a culture. So, what’s the difference?

menefer
Download Presentation

Culture and Diversity

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Culture and Diversity 2.1 and 2.2

  2. Culture consists of all the shared products of human groups, both physical and abstract. -Material culture: physical products -Nonmaterial culture: abstract problems • A society consists of the people who share a culture. So, what’s the difference? • Society consists of people; culture consists of material and nonmaterial products created by people What Is Culture?

  3. Culture is both learned and shared. • All cultures have basic components such as technology, symbols, language, values, and norms. The Components of Culture

  4. Technology • Refers to objects and the rules for using them • Any tool and its usage • Any rule that makes a use of an object illegal • There are acceptable and unacceptable uses for technology: Social media use for bullying, “hacking”, etc. Symbols • The basis of human culture • Any words, gestures, or images • Different cultures use different symbols • Traffic laws, American flag, sports team logos, etc. The Components of Culture, cont’d

  5. Language • Organization of written or spoken symbols into a standardized system • Can be used to express any idea • https://youtu.be/FyyT2jmVPAk • https://youtu.be/uUteMtNhe3g • https://youtu.be/FyyT2jmVPAk The Components of Culture, cont’d

  6. Values • Values are shared beliefs • Distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong, desirable and undesirable • Group’s values help to determine character and culture (JSJ/SES=RMS) Norms • Shared rules of conduct in specific situations • Folkways do not carry heavy moral significance • Mores carry heavy moral significance • Laws are written and enforced by government (Manners) The Components of Culture, cont’d

  7. The Components of Culture, cont’d

  8. The Components of Culture, cont’d

  9. Cultural Universals • Cultural universals are features developed by all societies to fulfill basic needs • George Murdock compiled list of over 65 cultural universals • Specific nature of the universals may vary widely between cultures Cultural Variations

  10. Subculture • Groups that share traits with each other but not the larger society • Examples are groups organized by age, gender, politics, or geography • Most do not reject all of the values of the larger society • Most subcultures do not threaten the larger American culture (Youth cliques, https://youtu.be/iavKFUp4zwk) Counterculture • Countercultures adopt values that are designed to challenge the values of the larger society • Examples are groups such as cyberpunks, anarchists, the Mafia, and hippies, gangs, KKK Cultural Variations, cont’d

  11. Ethnocentrism • A tendency to view one’s own culture and group as superior (1st world probs) • People from all cultures are somewhat ethnocentric at different times • Can lead to discrimination • Can cause the home culture to stagnate (Offended by EVERYTHING) • Even professional scholars struggle with ethnocentrism Cultural Relativism • Cultural relativism is the idea that a culture should be judged by its own standards • Can help explain beliefs or behaviors that seem strange or different (US judging everyone else) Marvin Harris explored this question from a culturally relative POV: Why is India against killing cows, even food shortages exist? Response to Variation

  12. Cultural diffusion • Cultural diffusion is the spreading of culture traits from one society to another • Today it can happen almost instantly (Asian food) Cultural lag • Cultural lag is the time it takes for nonmaterial culture to “catch up” to changes in material culture (“Baby Boomers” and smartphones) Cultural leveling • Cultural leveling is a process by which cultures become more and more alike • Some suggest it is the first step toward a global culture (LLWS, McDonald’s: 31K/100, Starbucks: 2k/30, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC [Japan]) Cultural Change

  13. Wade Davis · Anthropologist, ethnobotanist • A National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, Wade Davis has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.” • https://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures Dreams from Endangered Cultures

More Related