Chapter 3 Culture The values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that, together, form a people’s way of life.

Chapter 3 Culture

The values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that, together, form a people’s way of life

Cultural relativism-pgs 35-39

• Little is known of the beginnings of the Nacirema, although tradition says that they came from the East. According to Nacirema mythology, their nation was originated by a culture hero, Notgnihsaw who is otherwise known for two great feats of strength - the throwing of a piece of wampum across the river Pa-To-Mac and the chopping down of a fruit bearing tree in which the Spirit of Truth lives.

Rituals of the Nacirema?

• How do we perceive their culture?

*they seem very odd*their beliefs don’t make sense*odd and grotesque*weird* strange*behavior is shocking*harmful to themselves*extreme beliefs*no good can come from time consuming and deadly rituals*stupid* unusual* compulsive* ritualistic

Nacirema

Nacirema?

Nacirema?

Ethnocentrism and cultural relativity

• Our culture is the basis for our reality and necessary for us to be emotionally attached to our way of life

• Can lead to ETHNOCENTRISM: • “The tendency to judge another’s

culture as inferior in terms of one’s own norms and values”

Ethnocentrism in language

• Language is culturally biased

• China is “The Far East”

• East of what?• They call themselves“The Central Kingdom” And historically

considered other cultures as barbaric

Ethnocentrism and food

• “Our” cuisine is right and smells good• “Theirs” is inferior an smells bad.• “Ours” is what we are familiar with• Food preferences easily become

prejudices• Food has become basis of ethnic slurs

– “Krauts”– “Beaners”

Why this?

And not this?

Ethnocentrism and travel

• As we examine this toilet as well as other cultural components we must remember to be culturally relative. In other words, try not to be ethnocentric, but in stead understand each culture from its own perspective. In the case of the Japanese toilet, not only does it look and function differently from ours, but it also represents fundamentally different non-material culture. The Japanese are very germ conscious and they try hard not to spread germs. They also do not have a lot of furniture - they do not sit on furniture in their houses, why would they in a bathroom? And finally, they are used to sitting and squatting in positions difficult for westerners.

•Here is my new bathroom. As you can see, it is right off of the kitchen. Very efficient because the plumbing can be all in one place, but not very pleasant. I've gotten used to it now. As you can see, the bathroom is so small that there is no room for the sink inside, so it's outside, in the kitchen, right next to the washing machine.Yes, this is the entire bathroom. You can kind of see the showerhead on the left. It isn't separated from the toilet, which is a squatty potty as you can see. The result is that the entire bathroom floor gets wet anytime anyone showers. (I have rubber flip flops outside the door for showering and for using the toilet if the floor is wet.)The only thing omitted is a tiny bit of the bathroom on the right side, which is full of assorted plastic tubs. I have no idea what they're for, but they complete the trashy appearance of the whole thing. :) You can't stand underneath the shower-head, you have to hold it, which is inconvenient. I hear that most people just fill up one of the aforementioned tubs and use that to rinse instead of the shower-head, kind of like you do when you're washing a young child's hair. Interesting.

the bed isn't a mattress. It's a "dilam", which is very common here. Basically, it's like a futon but not as firm or heavy. So kind of like a giant flat cushion. However, see my little stuffed animals on the bed? I use them as pillows/body supports in places where the bed sags, and it all works out great since I barely move when I'm asleep :)

This is my new dining room/kitchen/laundry room. Quite space-efficient, no? I'm allowed to cook here, which is great because many families who rent rooms don't allow you to cook, but I haven't yet, except for making noodles once last week to make with

my instant curry.

Cultural Relativism

• Is the alternative to Ethnocentrism

• Cultural relativism: “The practice of evaluating a culture by it’s own standards

• It involves understanding unfamiliar values and norms and suspending cultural standards we have known all our lives

So what do we mean by “Values and Norms”

ValuesSocially shared ideas about what is right

Norms the set of rules and understandings that control the behavior

of individuals and groups. They derive from and support values

Values, Norms and Sanctions- pgs46-55

American values

• Equal opportunity– People in the United States endorse not

equality of condition but equality of opportunity. This means that society should provide everyone with the chance to get ahead according to individual talents and efforts.

American values

• Achievement and Success– Our way of life encourages competition so

that each person’s rewards should reflect personal merit. Moreover, success confers worthiness on a person—the mantle of being “a winner

Material comfortSuccess in the United States generally means making money and enjoying what it will buy. Although people say “money won’t buy happiness” most pursue wealth all the same.

American Values

• Activity and Work– Popular U.S heroes, from fictional

archaeologist Indiana Jones to golf champion Tiger Woods, are “doers” who get the job done. Our culture values action over reflection and controlling events over passively accepting one’s fate

American values

• Practicality and efficiency– People in the United States value the

practical over the theoretical, or “doing” over “Dreaming”. Activity has value to the extent that it earns money. “Major in something that will help you get a job” parents say to their children

American Values

• Progress– We are an optimistic people who, despite

waves of nostalgia, believe that the present is better than the past. We celebrate progress equating the “very latest” with the “very best”

ScienceWe look to science and advanced technology to solve problems and improve our lives. We believe we are rational people, which probably explains our cultural tendency (especially among men) to devalue emotion and intuition as sources of knowledge

American Values

• Democracy and Free Enterprise– Members of our society recognize

individual rights that should not be overridden by government. We believe that a just political system is based on free elections in which adults select their leaders and on an economy that responds to the choices of individual consumers

American Values

• Freedom– Our cultural value of freedom means

that we place a higher value on individual initiative than on collective conformity. Although we know that everyone has responsibilities to others, we believe that people should be free to pursue their own personal goals with minimal interference from government.

American Values

• Racism and group superiority– Despite strong notions about individualism and

freedom, most people in the United States still evaluate individuals according to gender, race, ethnicity, and social class. In general, U.S. culture values males above females, whites above people of color, people with northwest European backgrounds above those whose ancestors came from other lands, and rich above poor. Although we like to describe ourselves as a nation of equals, there is little doubt that some of us rate as “more equal than others”

Values

• There are differences in how people interpret them and the extent to which they adhere to them

• The smaller the society, the greater the consensus

• Diverse societies generate conflict

Conflicting values 55-56• Individualism: it is to

everyone’s benefit to value individual accomplishment

• Or

• Excessive individualism creates too great a gap, which leads to suffering and crime.

Conflicting values over the distribution of wealth and

power

Conflicting values

What about “family” values?

(supreme court decisions)

Deliberating in a Democracy1-Rules for Deliberation

• Read the material carefully.• Focus on the deliberation questions.• Listen carefully to what others are saying.• Check for understanding.• Analyze what others say.• Speak and encourage others to speak.• Refer to the reading to support your ideas.• Use relevant background knowledge, including life

experiences, in a logical way.• Use your heart and mind to express ideas and

opinions.• Remain engaged and respectful when controversy

arises.• Focus on ideas, not personalities.

2

• Read the article carefully and underline facts and ideas you think are important and/or interesting

3

• Grouping and Reading Discussion

• Groups of 4 or 5. • Share important facts and interesting

ideas with each other to develop a common understanding of the article. Record these facts and ideas on Handout 2

4• Deliberation Question

• Should our democracy extend government support for higher education to immigrants who-as young people-entered the country illegally?

• Should our democracy permit physicians to assist in a patient’s suicide?

5

• Divide into 2 teams• Each team is responsible for selecting the

most compelling reasons for your position• A-Reread and find the most compelling

reason to support the question• B-Reread and find the most compelling

reason to oppose the deliberation question.

• Each person in group should come up with one reason

6• Each team will present the most

compelling reasons to support or oppose the deliberation question. opposite team listen carefully and list the reasons

• Team A will explain their reasons for supporting the deliberation question. If Team B does not understand something, they should ask a question but NOT argue.

• Team B will explain their reasons for opposing the deliberation question. If Team A does not understand something, they should ask a question but NOT argue.

7

• To demonstrate that each side understands the opposing arguments, each team will select the other team’s most compelling reason

8

• You will now drop your roles and deliberate the question as a group. You can use 1.what you’ve learned about the issue and 2. offer their personal experiences as you formulate opinions regarding the issue

• Find areas of agreement in your group. As an individual express your opinion to the group and write it down on worksheet

• You do not have to agree with the group.

9

• Entire Class-handout 3 for discussion and homework

• 10• On a scale of 1-5, where are you on

the deliberation question?

THE NORMATIVE ORDER

• This is the second major dimension of a culture

• Norms are the set of rules and understandings that control the behavior of individuals and groups in a culture

Norms can change quickly

SANCTIONS

• When norms are followed or violated, people may rewarded or punished. These rewards and punishments are called sanctions

Sanctions

• Vary in intensity

• Dress code violations?

• Check out your student planner for examples of sanctions

Normative Order

• The wide array of norms and sanctions that permit a society to achieve relatively peaceful social control is called its normative order

The normative orderWeakly sanctionedWeakly sanctioned Strongly sanctionedStrongly sanctioned

folkways

Misdemeanors

Taboos/Mores

Felonies

Language and Culture 39-45

• THERE IS NO CULTURE WITHOUT LANGUAGE

– Allows human experience to be cumulative

– Provides a shared past– Enables a shared future– Allows shared perspectives– Allows complex, goal directed behavior

Language and culture 39-45

• Non-verbal communication– Gestures– Body language– Emoticons

Language and Culture 39-45

• Linguistic Relativity (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis)

• Language determines thought-The words you have determine what you can think about

• Schadenfreude- Taking pleasure in the misfortune of others

Language reflects thought-What you

think about determines the words

you create and use In Carrier, the general word for beaver is

TSA, but a small beaver is a TSAYAZ; a mid-size beaver is a TSATUL; a large beaver is a TSATSUL; a young beaver is a TSACHENISBOO’; an adult male beaver is a TSATA’; a female beaver is a TSA’AT; a mother beaver is a TSADIYA; the foreman beaver is a TSACHO; and the list goes on…

Gender and language

• Gender neutral language expands our ideas about who belongs in what categories

• Gender differences in communication:– Women’s culture?– More group oriented– Consensus is valued– More indirect– Conversations seek common ground and

involve self-disclosure.

Gender and language

• Men’s culture– More competitive– Even their friendly gestures are often

“put downs”– Conversations involve bragging and

competition– Problem solving– Men converse on “safe” topics—it’s not

good to be vulnerable

When translation fails-just for fun

• “Engrish: Singapore Edition”

Technology 57-58handouts

Assimilation and Subculture 50-51

• Assimilation occurs When culturally distinct groups within a larger civilization adopt the language, values, and norms of the host civilization. Their acculturation enables them to assume equal status in the social groups and institutions of that civilization

• When a culturally distinct group fails to assimilate fully or has not yet become fully assimilated they may be considered a SUBCULTURE

Subcultures maintain certain rituals, norms, traditions and

values that set them apart from majority culture

Subculture• Age• Ethnic background• Religious groups• Social Class• Occupation• Geographic location• Political ideologies• Hobbies• School• Sexuality

You are what you eat

culture and food

Our food behavior like our clothing, can be part of our contrived public image

“Never order spaghetti on a dinner date”

We judge people through eating habits

• People will make judgments of others based on shopping list

• Food preferences play a role in judgment of social class– Lower class judged to prefer sweet foods– Drinks? Upper class drinks – white wine, scotch and water.– Lower classes drink rum and coke

(sweeter)

Why?

• Sweets represent immediate gratification of childhood, preference indicates inability to reach mature self-discipline

• It benefits the elite to demonstrate superiority by rejecting these preferences

• OR • Harshness of life demands immediate

visceral pleasure

Identifying self through food

• People develop preferences for foods that represent the type of person they admire or identify

• Social class climbers may abandon McDonald’s and Pizza Hut in favor of more upscale restaurants

• Buy groceries at specialty shops instead of supermarkets

• Many supermarkets have ‘gourmet’ food sections now

Gender identity and food

• Feminine foods include: • salads, yogurt, fruit, rice, cake, tea• Women are more aware of health

aspects of food than men are• Newly married feel responsible for

health of spouse• Masculine foods include:• meat, potatoes, coffee, corned beef

and cabbage

Food and special occasions

• Ethnically linked• Turkey and • Thanksgiving• Your family?

Music and cuisine

• Different music linked with different cuisine on basis of shared cultural stereotypes– Country and western with – bbq?– Rock and roll with– pizza and hamburgers?– Classical music and– lobster and filet mignon?

Adolescents and food

• Peer pressure• Conformity to group norms especially

noticeable among first or second generation American teen-agers

• Tendency to reject traditional ethnic foods in favor of “American” food.– Mexican –American teenagers in the

’40’s traded in their taco lunches for pb and j sandwiches

Adolescents and food

• Unhealthy food choices like junk food and fad dieting

• Weight-reduction dieting epidemic among teen-aged girls

• Change in diets from new information from coaches, friends, New experiences

Moral judgments and food

• Gluttony is a venial sin among Catholics• Kosher food for Orthodox Jews• Pork is forbidden for Muslims• Many religions consider it immoral to

waste food• We judge people by how they conduct

themselves at the table – To “eat like a pig” is to be unworthy of

respect

Ethnocentrism and food

• “Our” cuisine is right and smells good• “Theirs” is inferior an smells bad.• “Ours” is what we are familiar with• Food preferences easily become

prejudices• Food has become basis of ethnic slurs

– “Krauts”– “Beaners”

Ethnocentrism con’t.

• Beef consumption in America• Puppy dogs are a treat in parts of Asia• Americans reject kidneys, frog legs, and

snails• Prairie oysters (bulls’ testicles) an

rattlesnake meat are acceptable in parts of the western U.S.

• Sudan-raw baby camel’s liver and camel’s milk cheese patties that are cured in camel’s dung

• “Monkey feast” in China