Download File

Chapter 2
The Role of
Culture
Understanding Race and
Ethnic Relations 5th
Edition
This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law.
The following are prohibited by law:
•any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;
•preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images;
•any rental, lease, or lending of the program.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2016
Learning Objectives
• Develop an awareness of cultural differences
and the role they play when people from
different cultures meet.
• How social structures affect intergroup relations.
• The role culture plays in creating gender
identities and sexual orientations.
• An examination of the theoretical constructs and
public expectations of how minorities should fit
into society.
The Concept of Culture
• Culture
– The values, attitudes, customs, beliefs, and
habits shared by members of a society.
Nonmaterial culture
Material Culture
Consists of
abstract human
creations and their
meaning in life.
Consists of all
physical objects
created by members of a
society and the meanings
attached to them.
The Reality Construct
• Culture is learned behavior, acquired
chiefly through verbal communication, or
language. Acculturation is the process in
which culture becomes internalized.
• Thomas Theorem
– If people define situations as real, those
situations become real in their consequences.
The Reality Construct
• Cultural transmission
– The process whereby each generation
transmits its culture to the next generation.
• Linguisitic relativity
– Individuals interpret the world around them
according to the structure of their language’s
grammar and vocabulary. Words come to
symbolize the world around us.
Walt Lippman: “First we look, then we
name, and only then do we see” (34).
Cultural Change
• Cultural Diffusion
– The process in which ideas, inventions, and
practices spread from one culture to another,
depeniding on societal attitudes, conditions, and
group distance.
– Linton estimates that any given culture borrows
90% of its elements (see pages 38-39 of text).
Cultural Change
• Cultural Change
– Can occur anytime people of different cultures
come into contact.
• Culture Shock
– Occurs anytime people’s cultural-bound
assumptions are jolted through contact with an
unfamiliar culture that supports different
expectations.
– Culture shock need not always occur.
– Two groups may peacefully coexist or they may
be in a dominant-subordinate relationship.
Ethnic Subcultures
• Chain Migration
– Happens when immigrants settle in an area already
containing family, friends, or compatriots.
• Parallel Social Institutions
– The recreation of the social world immigrants left behind,
usually in the form of their own clubs, organizations,
newspapers, stores, and religious institutions, and
schools.
• Ethnogenesis
– Ethnic subculture retains, modifies, or drops elements
from its cultural heritage as it adapts to new country.
Ethnic Subcultures
• Parallel Jewish Social Organizations
B’nai B’rith (Son of the Covenant): Founded in
October, 1843, when fraternal American organizations
would not accept Jewish members. Its structures and
activities were similar to those of the Elks or Masons.
Young Men’s Hebrew Association: Founded in 1874
and modeled after the Young Men’s Christian Association
(YMCA), when the later was imported from England in
1851 and refused admissions to Jews.
Ethnic Subcultures
• Convergent
Subcultures
– Ethnic subcultures
that tend toward
assimilation with
the dominant
society.
– Members may
experience
problems of
marginality.
• Persistent
Subcultures
– Ethnic subcultures
that are not
assimilated.
– Some ethnic groups
do not desire to do
so, and other ethnic
groups find
assimilation difficult.
Ethnic Subcultures
Irish Americans
• Marginality
- Living under stress in two
cultures simultaneously.
Irish Americans are an example of a convergent subculture.
While many older Irish still seek to preserve elements of
their old culture, the younger generation has largely
assimilated into the cultural mainstream.
Ethnic Subcultures
AMISH
The Amish are a persistent ethnic subculture. Descended from some of
the 16th century Anabaptist groups, the Amish speak a dialect of
German known as “Pennsylvania Dutch.” They have retained their
traditional agrarian way of life. Besides keeping their children out of
English-speaking public schools, the Amish shun modern appliances
and mechanical devices, stressing Amish values, a fundamentalist
interpretation of the Bible, and plain clothing.
LECTURE SUPPLEMENT:
Social Construction of Gender and
Sexuality
Slides 16-28
Schaeffer, Sociology in Modules, c 2011 The McGraw Hills Companies
Inc. Chapter 14.
Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis. Copyright  2009
by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Chapter 6.
Sex and Gender
The Biological Perspective
Assumes that innate
biological differences
between men and women
shape the contributions
that each can make to
society.
Schaeffer, Sociology in Modules, c 2011
The McGraw Hills Companies Inc.
Sex and Gender
Sex
The biological terms for male and female.
 Gender
The learned behavior involving how we
are expected to act as males and
females in society.
 Masculinity and femininity are learned.

Schaeffer, Sociology in Modules, c 2011 The
McGraw Hills Companies Inc.
Human Sexuality
Transgender: Is a general term applied to a
variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups
involving tendencies to vary from culturally
conventional gender roles. "Transgender" does
not necessarily imply any specific form of sexual
orientation.
Androgyny: Is a person who does not fit
cleanly into the typical masculine and feminine
gender roles of their society. They may also use
the term ambigender to describe themselves.
Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Two-Spirited or Two-Spirit
"Two-spirited" or "two-spirit" usually indicates a person
whose body simultaneously manifests both a
masculine and a feminine spirit. The term can also be
used more abstractly, to indicate presence of two
contrasting human spirits (such as Warrior and Clan
Mother) or two contrasting animal spirits (which,
depending on the culture, might be Eagle and
Coyote). These individuals were sometimes viewed in
certain tribes as having two spirits occupying one
body. Their dress is usually a mixture of traditionally
male and traditionally female articles. Two-spirit
people have distinct gender and social roles in their
tribes.
Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Sex and Gender
Sexism
The belief that one sex is innately
superior to the other.
Serves as justification for patriarchy.
Schaeffer, Sociology in Modules, c 2011
The McGraw Hills Companies Inc.
Gender Socialization in US
█
Gender Roles
– Boys must be
masculine:
•
•
•
•
•
Active
Aggressive
Tough
Daring
Dominant
– Girls must be
feminine:
•
•
•
•
Soft
Emotional
Sweet
Submissive
Schaeffer, Sociology in Modules, c 2011
The McGraw Hills Companies Inc.
Gender Socialization in US
█
Adults, older siblings, mass media,
religious institutions, and educational
institutions exert important influence.
Parents normally first and
most crucial agents of
socialization.
Schaeffer, Sociology in Modules, c 2011
The McGraw Hills Companies Inc.
Gender Socialization in US
█
Women’s Gender Roles
– Pervasiveness of
traditional gender roles
extends to education.
– Traditional gender roles
have restricted females
more than males.
Schaeffer, Sociology in Modules, c 2011
The McGraw Hills Companies Inc.
Gender Socialization in US
█
Men’s Gender Roles
– Attitudes toward parenting changing, but
little change in traditional male gender role.
– Boys who adapt to cultural standards of
masculinity may grow up to be inexpressive
men who cannot share their feelings.
Multiple masculinities:
Men play variety of gender roles.
Schaeffer, Sociology in Modules, c 2011 The
McGraw Hills Companies Inc.
Table 34-2: Sociological Perspectives on Gender
Schaeffer, Sociology in Modules, c 2011
The McGraw Hills Companies Inc.
Human Sexuality
Sexuality: The capacity to have erotic experiences and
responses.
Sexual orientation: Describes an enduring pattern of
attraction—emotional, romantic, sexual, or some
combination of these—to the opposite sex, the same
sex, both, or neither, and the genders that
accompany them. By the convention of organized
researchers (i.e. the social construction of reality),
the attractions associated with sexual orientations are
subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,
bisexuality, and asexuality.
Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Figure 6.2 (p. 157)
Four Sexual Orientations
A person’s level of same-sex attraction and opposite-sex attraction are two distinct dimensions that
combine in various ways to produce four major sexual orientations.
Source: Adapted from Storms (1990)
Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Sexual Orientation
 Heterosexuality
 Sexual attraction to someone of the other sex.
 Homosexuality
 Sexual attraction to someone of the same sex.
 Bisexuality
 Sexual attraction to people of both sexes.
 Asexuality
 No sexual attraction to people of either sex.
Sexual behavior is not the same as sexual
attraction
Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
What Gives Us a Sexual
Orientation
• Sexual orientation: A product of society
– Argues that people in any society attach meanings
to sexual activity.
• Meanings differ from place to place over time.
– Patterns of homosexuality differ greatly from one
society to another.
– Existence of global diverse patterns indicate that
sexual expression is socially constructed.
Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
• Sexual orientation: A product of biology
– Suggests that sexual orientation is innate.
– LeVay
• Studied the brains of heterosexual and
homosexual men.
• Found small but important difference in the size of
the hypothalamus.
– Part of the brain that regulates hormones.
– Genetics might also influence sexual
orientation.
• Evidence leads some researchers to think there
might be a “gay gene”.
Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Theories of Minority Integration
• Assimilation (Majority-Conformity) Theory
– the functioning within a society of racial or ethnic
minority-group members who lack any marked cultural,
social or personal differences from the people of the
majority group.
A+B+C=A
– Types of assimilation
• Cultural assimilation
• Marital assimilation
• Structural assimilation
Theories of Minority Integration
– Types of assimilation (cont)
• Identificational assimilation
• Attitude receptional assimilation
• Civic assimilation
Assimilation (MajorityConformity)
• Anglo-Conformity
- As a result of the transplanting of the English language,
institutional forms, values, and attitudes, there has always
been a tendency towards remaking immigrants according to
the idealized Anglo-Saxon mold.
- Americanization Movement: A movement that arose
during World War I in the aftermath of thirty years of
Immigration by southern and eastern European and
certain Asian groups. Attempt by government agencies at
all levels to encourage more immediate adoption of
American ways by all immigrants.
Acculturation (cultural assimilation)
Acquisition of the dominant group’s culture
by the minority. Acculturation can result
either in the partial or total removal of the
limitations imposed by the dominant group
upon the minority. If all limitations are lifted,
the minority group ceases to be a minority
and is fully assimilated.
Structural Assimilation
Dominant group acceptance of the minority.
Under the control of the dominant group, which
decides whether or not to open the doors of
access to members of a minority group. Two
steps: step one occurs at the level of secondary
groups (workplace, PTA, classroom, etc); step
two occurs at the level of primary relations
(dating, marriage, personal relationships).
Assimilation (cont)
Identificational assimilation: Development of
sense of peoplehood or ethnicity on host
society and not one’s homeland.
Attitude-receptional assimilation: Reaching
point of nondiscriminatory behavior.
Behavior-receptional assimilation: Reaching the
point of encountering no discriminatory behavior.
Civic assimilation: The absence of value and
power conflicts with native-born population.
Melting pot (Amalgamation)
A multicultural society in which members
of different groups intermarry, blending
their respective cultures into a new
culture that never before existed.
A+B+C=D
Amalgamation (Melting Pot) Theory
• Amalgamation (Melting Pot) Theory
– All the diverse peoples blend their biological
and cultural differences into an altogether
new breed—the American.
– Popularized in 1782 by J. Hector St. John de
Crevecoeur. Spoke of new breed of humanity
emerging from society called America.
– Frontier Thesis: Coined by F.J. Turner (1893).
Challenge of frontier catalyst that fused
immigrants into composite new national stock.
Accommodation (Pluralistic)
Theory
Persistence of racial
and ethnic diversity.
Minorities can maintain
distinctive subcultures
and interact with relative
equality in larger society.
A+B+C=A+B+C
Accomodation (Types)
Cultural pluralism: Two or more distinct
cultural groups live in same society in relative
harmony. Most common form.
Structural pluralism: Coexistence of racial and
ethnic groups in subsocieties within social-class
and regional boundaries.
Cultural Pluralism
Switzerland, population 8,100,000 (2012), is a multiethnic
society that has bucked the recent trend towards geographic
and ethnic fragmentation.
Correct Answers (Chitlin Test)
The answers are as follows:
1. (c)
2. (c)
3. (c)
4. (c)
5. (c)
6. (c)
7. (c)
8. (a)
9. (c)
10. (d)
11. (d)
12. (a)
13. (b)
14. (a)
15. (b)
White Culture
All racial groups have large social/cultural
characteristics that change over time.
Ethnic Whites have values, attitudes, shared
understandings, and behavior patterns that
distinguish them from other racial groups.