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World CulturesUnit 1: What is a culture?
What is a Culture?
• Everyone is born into a culture• Our culture defines everything about us• Culture – all the things that make up a people’s
entire way of life
Examples
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In Eastern Asian countries, it is considered rude to look directly at a person of authority. Instead, they bow their heads and stare at the floor.
Examples
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In the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, it is considered rude to show the sole of your shoe. Shoe throwing is also considered a great insult.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFX-dKpcDz8
Examples
In the Western World, this symbol means “Victory”. If you flip this hand gesture in Australia, it means “I don’t care for you” in other words...
Examples
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Thumbs up means everything is good in America. In Europe, it is the gesture for the number one while in the Middle East it is considered rude.
Examples
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In America when people greet, they shake hands. In Europe and parts of Asia, it is normal for two people to embrace and give kisses on the cheek.
Examples
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When two or more people are talking, the distance they stand from each other differs greatly by country.
Examples
Are there any more you can think of?
Elements of Culture
• Culture is:• a BLUEPRINT for living
or• Learned behaviors that must be
followed by people to survive, socially and physically, in their societies.
• Do animals have culture?• Most anthropologists say:• “They do live in societies, but do not have
culture. Culture is something that people have created; animals live by instinct – they only do what comes naturally.”
• Society – a group of animals or people who occupy a specific spot and rely on each other for survival.
• Three Factors that Affect Culture• Environment• Climate, topography, natural resources
• Heritage• Important people or events
• Values and Beliefs• Cultural norms (folkways, mores,
taboos)
Environment
• People are suited differently for various climates and geography
• An Inuit man from Alaska is going to dress differently and raise his family differently from a Nigerian man
Heritage
• A culture is often deeply rooted in its history• Clashes between cultures may also be
rooted in historical events• Example: Problems in the Balkan
and Israel go back hundreds of years
Beliefs and Values
• Values• “Code of Ethics”• What an individual or group
considers to be important• These are backed up through Norms
Beliefs and Values
• Norms• Actions that are considered to be
standard in a society• “Normal” behaviors
Three Levels of Norms
• Folkways• “Minor” Norms• Informal, unwritten rules of behavior• Generally not universal• Ex: Fashion, etiquitte
• Mores• “Major” Norms• Written customs or rules believed to be necessary
for the welfare of a society (laws)• Many are universal• Ex: Murder, theft, etc.
Three Levels of Norms
• Taboos• Really bad stuff – a person instinctively
knows better• Universal taboos: Cannibalism, incest
Culture is:1. Learned
2. Shared
3. Symbolic
4. Intertwined with Nature
5. All-Encompassing and Integrated
6. Used Actively
Culture is…
• Learned• Newborns are the only people
without culture, but they are quickly bombarded by it
• Culture is learned both consciously and unconsciously• Conscious: The Pledge of
Allegiance, religious beliefs, how to dress, etc…
• Unconscious: Proximity (how close you stand to other people), language
• The unconscious only becomes obvious when you leave your own culture
Culture is…
• Shared• Any one of you could carry on a conversation
with any other teenager in the US – your lives aren’t that different• An American Catholic could follow a Mass in
Italy or the Philippines• The movement of ideas from one culture to
another is called diffusion• Diffusion happens when people migrate to a new place,
when one society conquers another, or today through globalization – the world linking-up via high speed communication
Culture is…
• Symbolic• We have symbols for
everything• Symbols are a way to
represent something abstract with something concrete
Culture is…
• Nature controls culture• Houses are constructed
differently• People worry about
different things in Florida, Kansas, Bangladesh, and Buffalo
• Culture controls nature• Every animal has to make
babies, eat, poo, etc.• Only people have rules
concerning these
• All-Encompassing and Integrated• What does this mean?• Everything we do is affected by culture,
and a change in one aspect would affect every part of our lives• Try to imagine if we:• Stopped speaking English• Stopped eating beef• Started using the metric system
Culture is…
Culture is…
• Used Actively• We are not mindless
robots – we mold and shape culture• Different aspects change
as necessary
Culture is…
• Multi-leveled• International:
McDonald’s is an international company
• National: McDonald’s in India serves lamb, in Mexico: tacos, and in Germany: beer!
• Local/Subculture: • Philadelphia - soda• Pittsburgh – pop• South - coke
Cultural Terms
• Ethnocentrism• The belief that your culture is superior to all
others
• Frame of Reference• The way you see the world• This is molded by experiences and culture
• Cultural Relativism• The attempt to study another culture through the
eyes of that culture• This is something that we are going to practice
this year!
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