Agenda for 2/13

1.What is culture?

Read the excerpt below (in italics) about culture from this Sociology textbook.

Humans are social creatures. Since the dawn of Homo sapiens nearly 250,000 years ago, people have grouped together into communities in order to survive. Living together, people form common habits and behaviors—from specific methods of child rearing to preferred techniques for obtaining food. In modern-day Paris, many people shop daily at outdoor markets to pick up what they need for their evening meal, buying cheese, meat, and vegetables from different specialty stalls. In the United States, the majority of people shop once a week at supermarkets, filling large carts to the brim. How would a Parisian perceive U.S. shopping behaviors that Americans take for granted?

Almost every human behavior, from shopping to marriage to expressions of feelings, is learned. In the United States, people tend to view marriage as a choice between two people, based on mutual feelings of love. In other nations and in other times, marriages have been arranged through an intricate process of interviews and negotiations between entire families, or in other cases, through a direct system such as a “mail order bride.” To someone raised in New York City, the marriage customs of a family from Nigeria may seem strange, or even wrong. Conversely, someone from a traditional Kolkata family might be perplexed with the idea of romantic love as the foundation for marriage lifelong commitment. In other words, the way in which people view marriage depends largely on what they have been taught.

Behavior based on learned customs is not a bad thing. Being familiar with unwritten rules helps people feel secure and “normal.” Most people want to live their daily lives confident that their behaviors will not be challenged or disrupted. But even an action as seemingly simple as commuting to work evidences a great deal of cultural propriety.

How would a visitor from suburban America act and feel on this crowded Tokyo train?

Take the case of going to work on public transportation. Whether commuting in Dublin, Cairo, Mumbai, or San Francisco, many behaviors will be the same in all locations, but significant differences also arise between cultures. Typically, a passenger would find a marked bus stop or station, wait for his bus or train, pay an agent before or after boarding, and quietly take a seat if one is available. But when boarding a bus in Cairo, passengers might have to run, because buses there often do not come to a full stop to take on patrons. Dublin bus riders would be expected to extend an arm to indicate that they want the bus to stop for them. And when boarding a commuter train in Mumbai, passengers must squeeze into overstuffed cars amid a lot of pushing and shoving on the crowded platforms. That kind of behavior would be considered the height of rudeness in United States, but in Mumbai it reflects the daily challenges of getting around on a train system that is taxed to capacity.

In this example of commuting, culture consists of thoughts (expectations about personal space, for example) and tangible things (bus stops, trains, and seating capacity). 

Material culture refers to the objects or belongings of a group of people. Metro passes and bus tokens are part of material culture, as are automobiles, stores, and the physical structures where people worship. 

Non-material culture, in contrast, consists of the ideas, attitudes, and beliefs of a society. Material and nonmaterial aspects of culture are linked, and physical objects often symbolize cultural ideas. 

A metro pass is a material object, but it represents a form of nonmaterial culture, namely, capitalism, and the acceptance of paying for transportation. Clothing, hairstyles, and jewelry are part of material culture, but the appropriateness of wearing certain clothing for specific events reflects nonmaterial culture. A school building belongs to material culture, but the teaching methods and educational standards are part of education’s nonmaterial culture. These material and nonmaterial aspects of culture can vary subtly from region to region. As people travel farther afield, moving from different regions to entirely different parts of the world, certain material and nonmaterial aspects of culture become dramatically unfamiliar. What happens when we encounter different cultures? As we interact with cultures other than our own, we become more aware of the differences and commonalities between others’ worlds and our own.

2. Assignment #5 - Motivational Posters for American Cultural Values (non-material culture)

1. Choose the American cultural value that is the most important to you (see list below).

2. Find an image that represents that cultural value - and save that image to your photo album.

3. Write one sentence about your value that would motivate other Americans to believe in the importance of your value.

4. Go here to use your image and sentence to create a motivational poster for your value.

5. When complete, click "Share or Download," then touch and hold on the image, and choose choose save image, which will save the image to your photo album.

6. Go to eBackpack, and turn your poster into Assignment #5 (use the "Upload from album" option).

American Cultural Values:

1. Achievement and Success
2. Activity and Work
3. Moral Orientation
4. Humanitarianism
5. Efficiency and Practicality
6. Progress
7. Material Comfort
8. Equality
9. Freedom
10. External Conformity
11. Science and Rationality
12. Nationalism/Patriotism
13. Democracy
14. Individual Personality
15. Respect for Creativity
16. Traditional Family Families
17. Education
18. Religiosity
19. Self-Fulfillment
20. Ecological Concerns 

3. "They and We" from Rudyard Kipling

4. What is Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

• Ethnocentrism: the idea that your own group or culture is better or more important than others
• Cultural Relativism: the principle that an individual person's beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual's own culture.

 5. An Idiot Abroad

• India: 2:30-15:30
• China: 4:45-12:00
• Brazil: 3:44-24:00 

HW: Assignments 4 and 5