Download Cultural Variation

CULTURAL VARIATION
Ch 2.2
(30-39)
Traditional Japanese Dinner Norms
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Bring a gift to show appreciation
Take shoes off upon entering house
Kneel or sit on the floor
(Do not stretch legs out under the table – it is seen
as bad manners to show the bottom of feet)
Lift bowl to your chest
Slurping is accepted
DO NOT pour drinks for yourself!
Indian versus American Wedding
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What ways is an Indian wedding different from
traditional American wedding?
Cultural Universals
Things, such as rituals that ALL societies have.
George Murdock
 Examined hundreds of different cultures to
determine universals among all cultures
 EX-body adornment, cooking, dancing, family,
feasting, greetings, marriage, funeral ceremonies,
language, religion, tool making.
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How does the make-up of the family
differ from culture to culture?
In the Western world, a family consists of both
parents and their children (grandparents may be
included)
 In some parts of the world a man may have several
wives and their children.
While the make-up of the family may be different,
the purpose is the same-to bring new members
successfully into society.
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Cultural Variation – Margaret Mead
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Studied several small societies in New Guinea
(during the 1930s).
Wanted to find out if there was differences in basic
temperament – the emotional disposition of a person
– were they a result of inherited characteristics OR
from cultural differences.
The Arapesh
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Contented
Gentle
Non-aggressive
Receptive
Trusting
Society based on complete cooperation
The
Mundugumor
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Aggressive
Competitive
Violent
Hostility is emphasized (an ideal)
For a man, power and wealth = the number the
wives.
Children are often left unattended when mother
works outside
Mead’s Conclusion
Mead concluded that temperament is mainly a result
of culture, rather than biology.
Whorf’s main point about language
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People are conditioned by their language to notice
some features of the real world and to ignore
others. If the language does not have a word to
describe an object, that object has little or no
significance in that culture.
EX – Inuit have TONS of different words to describe
the snow (different conditions, etc.)
EX-1:00-7:55:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRMNrEo7CRw
&feature=related
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is the practice of
judging another culture by the
standards of one’s own culture.
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Cultural Relativism
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Cultural relativism views the behavior of
a people from the perspective of their
own culture.
Applying Cultural Relativism
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Cultural relativism helps anthropologists and
sociologists understand practices that seem strange
or different from their own culture.
OBJECTIVE not SUBJECTIVE!
Death customs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0m9p55XAqM
Cultural Discontinuity
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Cultural discontinuity is when subgroup members’
values, beliefs and practices differ from the larger
culture and are at odds with those of their
subculture.
EX-Cultural Discontinuity-Drop-out rates
among Native Americans
American education system is built on the competitive
model – preparing students for a competitive
market economy.
Native American society is not based on a competitive
model, rather it is based on the cooperative.
Achievement is based on the basis of effort,
commitment and degree of satisfaction.
While cultural discontinuity has existed, as attitudes
and beliefs about education change, drop-out rates
are predicted to go down (culture changes/adapts).
SUBCULTURE
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When a group within a society shares vales, norms
or behaviors that are not the same as the entire
population. MOST subcultures do NOT reject the
values of the larger society.
Unique groups – age, gender, religions, geographic
region, political, social class, occupations…
What states have the highest number
of immigrants?
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What types of questions might a sociologist have
based on the information presented in a map?
COUNTERCULTURE
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Group that rejects the major values, norms, and
practices of larger society = new set of cultural
patterns EX- hippies, anarchists, communists (?)
Cultural Variation in Society
Cultural variation in a society can give rise to
ethnocentric feelings – racism, prejudice, etc.
 It is important that sociologists maintain the
objective perspective = perspective/attitude of
cultural relativism.
BE OPEN MINDED ABOUT OTHER CULTURES!
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Cultural Change
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Cultural diffusion
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Cultural diffusion is the spreading of
culture traits from one society to
another
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Today it can happen almost instantly
Cultural Change
•Cultural lag
• Cultural lag is the time it takes for nonmaterial
culture to “catch up” to changes in material
culture
•Cultural leveling
• Cultural leveling is a process by which
cultures become more and more alike
• Some suggest it is the first step toward a
global culture