• Ethnocentrism: the idea that “mine is better than yours”

–Your beliefs, values, rules of conduct, language and material items are better than others.

1. What qualities are necessary to be an “American?”

2. What qualities are necessary to be a “Teenager?”

3. What qualities are necessary to be a “<insert your family’s last name here>?”

Ethnographical Writing Assignment

15 min: Choose any group you know and write about them in ethnographical style (Like Horace Miner’s Nacerima).

Do NOT indicate the name of the group in your writing, use a code name.

5 minutes: THEN, trade with a friend and see if you can figure out who they wrote about

1. What is Culture

Culture

• A group’s beliefs, values, material objects, rules of conduct, and language.

–Who they are, what they stand for

Terms to know…• Culture traits: any aspect of culture

that clues us into “who” the group is <Christian, own a TV, waves to strangers they pass>

–Culture items: material culture traits that can be handled, seen, and used <the pyramids, houses, clothes, etc>

Another term to know…• Society: A specific territory of

people who share a common culture.–Culture vs. Society:

•Culture- environmentalism, Christians, vegetarians

•Society- American, Canadian, Mexican

Who Studies Culture?

• Anthropologists:The scientific study of the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans

–Archaeologist: social scientists who study the life and culture of ancient peoples, ex: Aztecs, Myans, ancient Romans, etc…

–Ethnologists: social scientists who study the life and culture of living cultures

Round Robin: What can you tell about this culture? What do you Know? What assumptions can you

make? What will remain a mystery?

Exit Ticket1. Draw a picture distinguishing

ethnologists from archaeologists

2. You are an ethnologist. Find a partner and discover everything you can about their family culture! Include: family traditions, eating habits/food types, beliefs, values, rules, signs or symbols