The-Meaning-of-Culture133578949494948.ppt

This is a PowerPoint presentation about the meaning of Culture.

1. The Meaning of Culture:
The Key to Human Diversity

2. Does this picture offend you?

3. If so, then you may be guilty of
Ethnocentrism!
•People who are ethnocentric apply their own values
in judging the behavior and beliefs of other people
raised in other cultures.
•Ethnocentrism contributes to social solidarity and a
sense of value and community.
•However, it also fuels conflict.

4. Culture is learned behavior
•Each child goes through a
process of enculturation
when they grow up in a
culture.
•Children learn by
observing the behaviors
of people in their
surroundings, including
the recognition of
symbols specific to that
culture.

5. Examples of cultural symbols

6. Culture is shared
•Culture is an attribute not of individuals per se but
of individuals as members of groups.
•Culture is transmitted by society.
•Enculturation unifies people by providing us with
common experiences.

7. Culture is symbolic
•Symbols can either be
verbal (linguistic) or
nonverbal (object,
written symbol).

8. Culture and Nature: Differences in How
we meet the call
•Culture defines what
people eat, how food is
prepared, and when
and how food is eaten.
•Waste elimination is
culturally prescribed.
•Sexual activities are
also dictated by culture
(with who, how, where,
and when).

9. Culture is all-encompassing and
integrated
•Culture envelopes each of us, and touches
every aspect of our lives.
•Culture is systematic and integrated (it is not
a random phenomenon).
•Cultures teach us to share certain core
values that helps shape the personality of
the individuals within a culture.

10. Cultures are dynamic: rules are made to
be broken
•Humans are creative animals and
always do not strictly follow the dictates
of their culture.
•There is individual interpretation of
each aspect of culture that is in part due
to family and personal history.
•Real vs. Ideal culture.

11. Culture can be both adaptive and
maladaptive
•Modern technology has
provided for the
adaptation of humans
to every part of the
globe, as ancient
technologies provided
successful to
environments on a
smaller scale.
•Short-term vs. long-
term adaptive
strategies.

12. Levels of culture
•National: learned behavioral patterns,
beliefs, values, and institutions shared
by the citizens of a nation.
•International: cultural traditions that
expand beyond cultural boundaries.
•Subculture: different traditions
practiced by groups set within a larger
culture. Frequently regionally based.

13. Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism, and
Human Rights
•The “human rights”
movement suggests that
there is a realm of justice
and morality that
supercedes the practices
of many cultures.
•Examples: female genital
mutilation in the Middle
East; male circumcision at
birth in the United States.

14. Universality, Generality, and Particularity
•Universal: found in all cultures.
Examples: Exogamy and incest taboo.
Generality: found in many cultures, but not all. Example: nuclear
family.
Particularities: found only in some cultures. Example: head hunting.

15. What makes cultures change?
•Diffusion: borrowing of traits between cultures.
•Acculturation: exchange of cultural features that results from long-
term exposure between cultures.
•Independent invention: Developing to solution to problems by
individual cultures. Example: agriculture.

16. One World Culture? Globalization in the
21
st
Century
•Cultures are increasingly coming in contact as a result of improved
trade relations, better communication, and easier travel.
•Multinational corporations and business “outsourcing” to the Third
World are becoming more commonplace.