Overview
This lecture covers the fundamentals of culture, including its definition, key characteristics, components, the role of socialization, and various cultural concepts such as values, beliefs, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, subcultures, and minority cultures.
What is Culture?
- Culture is a shared way of living, interacting, and perceiving reality, guiding behavior and meaning in society.
- Everyone has a culture, though it may feel “invisible” or “normal” to oneself.
- Culture acts like a blueprint for how we think, feel, and act.
Key Characteristics of Culture
- Culture is learned, not innate.
- Culture is universal; every society has culture, but not the same one.
- Culture is fluid and dynamic, changing over time with societal shifts.
Components of Culture
- Material Culture: Physical objects and artifacts (e.g., food, clothing, written language, national symbols).
- Non-Material Culture: Intangible elements (e.g., values, beliefs, norms, symbols, language in use, rules of conduct, non-verbal communication).
Language and Culture
- Language is both material (written, signed) and non-material (spoken, symbolic).
- The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests language shapes reality, and culture shapes language.
- Languages evolve to reflect cultural changes (e.g., new terms, shifting meanings).
Socialization and Culture
- Socialization is the process of learning culture via norms (rules of conduct) and values (ideas about what is good/desirable).
- Sanctions are consequences for breaking norms and teach conformity (can be correction, punishment, or social exclusion).
- Values describe what should be; beliefs describe what is.
Values vs. Beliefs
- Values: Ideals about what is good and desirable (e.g., equality).
- Beliefs: Convictions about what is real or true (e.g., whether equality is actually achieved).
Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
- Ethnocentrism: Judging other cultures by one's own cultural norms; believing one's culture is “natural” or superior.
- Cultural Relativism: Evaluating a culture by its own standards; requires understanding socio-historical context.
Subcultures and Minority Cultures
- Subculture: A smaller cultural group within a larger culture (e.g., regional, university, family cultures).
- Minority culture: Distinct cultural practices differing from the dominant culture (often ethnic, religious).
- Assimilation: Adopting the dominant culture; acculturation: blending elements from multiple cultures.
- Multiculturalism: Valuing and maintaining multiple cultural traditions within a society.
Cultural Differences: Dominant vs. Minority Cultures
- Dominant U.S. culture values individualism, punctuality, and rigid schedules.
- Some minority cultures value group orientation, flexible time, and relationship-building over strict schedules.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Culture — Shared system of meaning, behavior, and interaction within a group.
- Material Culture — Physical objects or artifacts of a culture.
- Non-Material Culture — Intangible cultural elements like values and norms.
- Socialization — The process of learning cultural norms and values.
- Norms — Rules and expectations for behavior.
- Sanctions — Consequences enforcing conformity to norms.
- Values — Ideals about what should be valued.
- Beliefs — Ideas about what is actually true.
- Ethnocentrism — Judging other cultures by one’s own standards.
- Cultural Relativism — Evaluating cultures by their own standards.
- Subculture — Smaller group with distinct cultural patterns within a larger culture.
- Minority Culture — Cultural group differing from the dominant culture.
- Assimilation — Absorbing into the dominant culture.
- Acculturation — Adopting traits from multiple cultures.
- Multiculturalism — Valuing coexistence of different cultures.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Read pages 75–76 in your textbook for more examples of cultural differences.
- Prepare for discussion questions in your lab section as facilitated by your TA.