Culture

• Culture


  Shared, transmitted through learning, and helps shape behaviour and beliefs
• Culture


  One of the earliest definitions was put forth by Tylor in 1871: "Culture, or civilization, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society."
• Culture


  A society's shared and socially transmitted ideas, values and perceptions, which are used to make sense of experience and generate behaviour and are reflected in that behaviour
• Characteristics, dimensions, nature & attributes of culture


  • Culture is learned
  • Culture is shared
  • Culture is based on symbols
  • Culture is integrated
  • Culture is dynamic
• Biological adaptation in humans is important but humans have increasingly come to rely upon cultural adaptation
• Not all adaptation is good, & not all cultural practices are adaptive. e.g fast food, pollution, nuclear waste & climate change
• If it is maladaptive culture can adapt again in a positive way to find solutions
• Multiple cultural worlds


  • Class
  • Race
  • Ethnic group
  • Indigenous peoples
  • Gender
  • Age
• Cultural universals


  Asserts that all societies have developed common practices and beliefs that are adaptations to meet human needs
• Ethnocentrism


  Viewing one's own culture as the best and only proper way to behave and adapt
• Cultural relativism


  The principle that all cultures must be understood in terms of their own values and beliefs, not by the standards of another
• Sociobiology


  The systematic study of how biology affects human social behaviour
• Innovation


  1. Introducing a new idea or object to a culture

  2. Creating something new which is also of value

  3. Combining existing cultural items into a new form
• Cultural variation - subcultures, counter cultures


  • Inuit tribes
  • Farmers in Vietnam
  • Traditional houses in Indonesia
  • The Amish people
• Subcultures express themselves to express themselves
• Amish people


  • Do not smoke or drink
  • Are typically not sexually promiscuous
  • Work hard physically
• Amish occupations


  • Farming
  • Construction
  • Other production jobs
• Amish work hard to produce crops, build furniture and structures, and produce useful goods
• Amish grow and raise all their own food using time-tested, organic methods that provide them with healthy fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, and other untainted foods
• Amish food is rich in living enzymes, vitamins, and nutrients
• Compared to a life of sitting in office buildings all day, eating processed and genetically-modified junk food, and popping prescription medications, the Amish lifestyle is healthier
• The Amish people


  • South Africa
  • Ohio
• Subcultures


  • Rockers
  • Punks
  • Goths
  • Bikers in South Africa: Soweto and Limpopo
  • Hackers
  • Skinheads
• Why do people join subcultures?


  • To express themselves
  • To express their own identity
  • To develop their own style distinct from others
  • To show off
  • To identity with a particular subculture
  • To know who they are
  • To support (group) attitude and lifestyle
  • To be designed to shock
  • To have their own values and beliefs
  • To change the world to the best
  • To try out all sort of options
  • To protest against the parents
  • To rebel against the society/the older generation
  • To show rebellion against the society
  • To reject everything
  • To conform to society's standards
  • To be in a collective
  • To differ from social norms
• Hackers


  • Usually wear black and have hoodies
  • Main gadget they need is a pc
  • Spend tons of money on their pc
  • Use bugs or exploits to break into computer systems
  • Generally term means skilled computer expert that uses their technical knowledge to solve problems
• Goths


  • The goth subculture began in England during the early 1980s, where it developed from the audience of gothic rock, an offshoot of the post-punk genre
• Skinheads


  • The skinhead subculture originated among working class youths in London the 1960s & soon spread, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in the 1980s
  • Motivated by social alienation and working class solidarity
  • Have close-cropped or shaven heads and working-class clothing such as Dr. Martens and steel toe work boots, braces, high rise and varying length straight-leg jeans, and button-down collar shirts, usually slim fitting in check or plain
  • The movement reached a peak during the 1960s, experienced a revival in the 1980s, and, since then, has endured in multiple contexts worldwide
• Skinhead ideology is to beat all foreigners living in any country
• Political analysts believed creation of militia groups to fight insurgents would only serve interest of individuals and harm peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban
• Types of Norms


  • Formal Norms (written down laws with strict penalties)
  • Informal Norms (not precisely recorded, e.g. standards of proper dress)
• Mores


  Norms that are considered highly important, e.g. murder, treason, child abuse
• Folkways


  Norms that are less important, e.g. walking up and down escalator in an airport
• Types of Norms (by positive/negative and formal/informal)


  • Positive formal (salary bonus, medal, diploma, testimonial dinner)
  • Negative formal (demotion, firing from a job, jail sentence, expulsion)
  • Positive informal (smile, compliment, cheers)
  • Negative informal (frown, humiliation, bullying)
• Cultural values


  Collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable and proper, e.g. honoring one's parents, owning a home, marriage, divorce
• Values influence peoples behavior and serve as a criteria for judging others
• Values of a culture can change but remain stable during one person's lifetime
• There is polarization of society over controversial cultural elements like abortion, religious expression, gun control, sexual orientation
• Functionalist perspective


  Culture & society are mutually supportive, as social stability requires consensus and the support of society's members, and strong central values & common norms provide this support
• Conflict theorist perspective


  A common culture may exist, but it serves to maintain the privileges of certain groups and protect their self-interest, keeping others in a subservient position
• Ideology


  The body of ideals, principles, doctrine, myth or symbols of a social movement, institution, class, or large group that references some political and cultural plan