Chapter 3

Culture

Chapter Outline Culture and Society in a Changing World Components of Culture Technology, Cultural Change, and

Diversity A Global Popular Culture? Sociological Analysis of Culture Culture in the Future

Sharpening Your Focus What are the essential components of

culture? To what degree are we shaped by

popular culture? How do subcultures and countercultures

reflect diversity within a society? How do the various sociological

perspectives view culture?

Culture The knowledge, language, values,

customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society.

Culture Culture is essential for survival and

communication with other people. Culture is learned through interaction,

observation and imitation. Culture is fundamental for the survival of

societies.

Material Culture Physical creations that members of a society make,

use, and share. Items of material culture begin as raw materials such

as ore, trees, and oil. They are transformed through technology. Technology is knowledge, techniques, and tools

that make it possible for people to transform resources into usable forms.

Nonmaterial Culture Abstract or intangible human creations of

society that influence people’s behavior. Language, beliefs, values, rules of

behavior, family patterns, and political systems are examples of nonmaterial culture.

A central component of nonmaterial culture is beliefs.

Culture Shock The anxiety people experience when they

encounter cultures radically different from their own.

Values Collective ideas about what is right or

wrong, good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a particular culture.

Ten Core American Values

1. Individualism

2. Achievement and Success

3. Activity and Work

4. Science and Technology

5. Progress and Material Comfort

Ten Core American Values

6. Efficiency and Practicality

7. Equality

8. Morality and Humanitarianism

9. Freedom and Liberty

10. Racism and Group Superiority

Smyrna, TennesseeFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Smyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. Smyrna's population was 26,614 people at the

2000 census.Smyrna is the location of a very large manufacturing facility

owned by Nissan, and has been since 1982. Many of the businesses in the town are related to manufacturing. Nissan has

attracted other companies which support their plant, such as Square D and PREMIER System Integrators.Other types of

businesses are the standard smaller town types: car dealerships, drug stores, banks, discount stores, and plenty of restaurants.

With the change of the liquor laws in the late 1990s, larger chain restaurants started moving in, such as O'Charley's, Ruby Tuesday,

Logan's Roadhouse, and Chili's.There are more residents in Smyrna than jobs, so many of the

residents commute to nearby Nashville and Beautiful Murfreesboro.

[edit] DemographicsAs of the census[1] of 2000, there were 25,569 people, 9,608 households, and 7,061 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,119.8 people per square mile (432.4/km²). There were 10,016 housing units at an average density of 438.6/sq mi (169.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 87.23% White, 7.82% African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.21% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.31% of the population.There were 9,608 households out of which 39.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.The median income for a household in the town was $44,405, and the median income for a family was $51,550. Males had a median income of $37,130 versus $27,325 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,704. About 6.7% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Nissan's Smyrna Plant Reaches Major Milestone in Tennessee REUTERS Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:00pm EDT 

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Nissan celebrates 25 years of making quality vehicles in Smyrna SMYRNA, Tenn., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nissan North America's (NNA) vehicle assembly plant in Smyrna, Tenn., celebrated 25 years of building high quality vehicles at the award-winning facility today. Since the plant produced its first compact pickup truck in June 1983, more than 8.2 million vehicles have been built in Smyrna. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080506/NISSANWOODMARKLOGO ) "Over the past 25 years, Nissan's Smyrna plant has placed its mark on this community, the southern United States, and the automotive industry," said Greg Daniels, senior vice president, U.S. Manufacturing, Nissan North America. "We are extremely proud of what we've accomplished over the past quarter of a century and are looking forward to the next 25 years." Nissan was the first foreign automaker to bring vehicle assembly operations to the southern part of the United States. The Smyrna plant represents a total capital investment of $2.5 billion over the past 25 years. Vehicles produced in Smyrna have won numerous awards including the 2002 Altima voted by U.S. and Canadian journalists as the "North American Car of the Year." Today, the plant's 5,650 employees build eight vehicles: -- Nissan Altima mid-size sedan -- Nissan Altima Coupe -- Nissan Altima Hybrid mid-size sedan -- Nissan Frontier King Cab pickup -- Nissan Frontier Crew Cab pickup truck -- Nissan Maxima sport sedan -- Nissan Xterra sport-utility vehicle -- Nissan Pathfinder sport-utility vehicle "Nissan's decision to begin manufacturing in Tennessee 25 years ago was a watershed event for our state and our nation," said Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. "With Nissan's continued success and the passage of time, it's easy to forget what a bold, innovative move that decision was and how it transformed our state's economy. The launch of the Smyrna facility was literally the first step in an explosion of automotive manufacturing in the southeast U.S. and the impact of the Nissan team is still being felt today." "After 25 years, Nissan's investment in Tennessee continues to reap benefits for our state each day," said Matt Kisber, commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. "From the thousands of good paying jobs to the additional employment provided by Nissan suppliers to the quality of the vehicles rolling off the assembly line, all of us in Tennessee are proud of Nissan's contributions to our state's economy." History -- 1980 - Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., established a U.S. manufacturing venture and announced plans to build a manufacturing facility in Smyrna, Tennessee. -- 1981 - Construction began on the $760 million plant and the first of 1,300 employees was hired. -- 1983 - Job 1 of Nissan's compact pickup rolled off the assembly line. -- 1984 - Nissan announced plans to assemble the Sentra sedan; the first Nissan car to be built in the United States, creating 1,700 jobs. -- 1985 - Sentra 1 rolled off the assembly line. -- 1989 - Nissan announced plans to assemble the Altima sedan, requiring a $490 million expansion and creating more than 2,000 jobs. -- 1992 - Altima Job 1 rolled off the assembly line. -- 1994 - The Smyrna plant was named most productive car plant and most productive truck plant in North America in The Harbour Report benchmarking survey. -- 1997 - The all-new Nissan Frontier pickup was launched. -- 1999 - The Smyrna plant launched the Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicle. -- 2000 - The Xterra was named "North American Truck of the Year". -- 2002 - The Altima was named "North American Car of the Year" . -- 2005 - It was announced Smyrna would begin building the Altima Hybrid in the summer of 2006 for the 2007 model year. -- 2006 - Smyrna earned the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR award which recognizes energy-efficient operations that have cut pollution, lowered energy consumption and reduced costs In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and http://www.nissandriven.com/www.infiniti.com . SOURCE Nissan North America Steve Parrett, Corporate Communications, Nissan North America, Inc., 0 +1-615-725-1448, C +1-817-819-0601

                                                           Location

TOP > FOR INVESTORS > Financial Announcements

             FY2008 2nd Quarter Financial Results, October 31, 2008Date

October 31, 2008 Venue

Tokyo headquarters Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced financial results for the first half of fiscal year 2008, ending March 31, 2009, as well as second-quarter performance. Net revenues amounted to 4.8693 trillion yen in the April-to-September period, down 3.9% compared with a year ago. Operating profit totaled 191.6 billion yen, down 47.8%, while the operating profit margin came to 3.9%. Ordinary profit amounted to 202.7 billion yen, down 43.7%. Net income after tax totaled 126.3 billion yen, down 40.5% compared with the same period last year. In the first half, Nissan sold 1,902,000 vehicles worldwide, up 4.7% compared with last year.Despite the lack of reliable economic and industry forecasts and taking into consideration most factors affecting our activities, the company has revised its operating profit and its net income forecast for the full fiscal year 2008 to 270 billion yen and 160 billion yen, respectively. As a consequence of the revised operating profit forecast, the company will pay an interim dividend of 11 yen per share. Details of the second payment, based on the approval of the shareholders, will be provided at the Annual General Shareholders Meeting in June 2009.

Ethnocentrism The assumption that one’s own culture is

superior to others.

Cultural Relativism Views and analyzes another culture in

terms of that culture’s own values and standards.

Cultural Universals Examples:

Appearance (bodily adornment, hairstyles)

Activities (sports, dancing, games, joking)

Social institutions (family, law, religion) Practices (cooking, folklore, gift giving)

Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis According to this theory, language shapes

the view of reality of its speakers. If people are able to think only through

language, then language must precede thought.

Languages Spoken at Home Other than English

LanguageTotal Estimated

Number of Speakers

English only 80.6%

Spanish 62%

Chinese 4.4%

French 2.7%

German 2.2%

Tagalog 2.7%

Languages Spoken at Home Other than English

LanguageTotal Estimated

Number of Speakers

Vietnamese 2.2%

Italian 1.5%

Korean 1.9%

Portugese 1.3%

Russian 1.6%

Polish 1.2%

Arabic 1.3%

Norms Norms are established rules of behavior

or standards of conduct. Prescriptive norms state what behavior is

appropriate or acceptable. Proscriptive norms state what behavior is

inappropriate or unacceptable.

Formal and Informal Norms Formal norms are written down and involve

specific punishments for violators. Laws are the most common formal norms.

Informal norms are unwritten standards of behavior understood by people who share a common identity. When individuals violate informal norms,

people may apply informal sanctions.

Folkways Everyday customs that may be violated

without serious consequences within a particular culture.

In the United States, folkways include: using underarm deodorant brushing our teeth wearing appropriate clothing for a

specific occasion

Mores Strongly held norms with moral and ethical

connotations that may not be violated without serious consequences. Taboos are mores so strong that violation is

considered extremely offensive and even unmentionable.

The incest taboo, which prohibits sexual relations between certain kin, is an example of a nearly universal taboo.

Laws Formal, standardized norms enacted by

legislatures and enforced by formal sanctions. Civil law deals with disputes among

persons or groups. Criminal law deals with public safety

and well-being.

Technology, Cultural Change, and Diversity

Changes in technology continue to shape the material culture of society:

Cultural lag is a gap between the technical development of a society and its moral and legal institutions.

Computers and Internet Access in the Home: 1984 to 2003

Discovery The process of learning about something

previously unknown or unrecognized.

Invention The process of reshaping existing cultural

items into a new form.

Cultural Diversity Cultural differences between and within

nations are caused by: Natural circumstances

climate, geography Social circumstances

technology, composition of the population

Heterogeneity of U.S. Society: Religious Affiliation Evangelical Protestants - 25.9% Roman Catholics - 23.4% Nonreligious - 18.5% Mainline Protestants - 18.0% Black Protestants - 7.8% Other Christians - 3.3% Jews - 2.0% Other - 1.1%

Heterogeneity of U.S. Society: Household Income Under $9,999 - 9.6% $10,000 to $24,999 - 20.0% $25,000 to $49,999 - 29.2% $50,000 to $74,999 - 19.1% $75,000 and over - 22.1%

Heterogeneity of U.S. Society- Race and Ethnic Distribution

White (non-Hispanic) - 68.3% African American - 13.0% Latino/a - 13.4% Asian - 4.3% American Indian - 0.9% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders -

0.1%

Heterogeneity of U.S. Society: Household Income Under $9,999 - 9.6% $10,000 to $24,999 - 20.0% $25,000 to $49,999 - 29.2% $50,000 to $74,999 - 19.1% $75,000 and over - 22.1%

Subculture A group of people who share a distinctive

set of cultural beliefs and behaviors that differs in some significant way from that of the larger society.

Counterculture A group that strongly rejects dominant

societal values and norms and seeks alternative lifestyles.

The Old Order Amish Subculture Strong faith in God. Rejection of worldly concerns. Rely on horse and buggy for

transportation.

Subcultures Although modernization

and consumerism have changed the way of life of some subcultures, groups such as the Old Order Amish have preserved some of their historical practices, including traveling by horse drawn carriage.

Examples of Countercultures Beatniks of the 1950’s Flower Children of the 1960’s Drug Enthusiasts of the 1970’s

Question An alternative to ethnocentrism is:

A. racism

B. Prejudice

C. cultural relativism

D. xenophobia

Answer: C An alternative to ethnocentrism is

cultural relativism.

High Culture Consists of activities patronized by elite

audiences, composed of members of the upper-middle and upper classes. Examples: classical music, opera,

ballet, live theater

Popular Culture Consists of activities, products, and

services that are assumed to appeal to members of the middle and working classes. Examples: Rock concerts, spectator

sports, movies, soap operas, situation comedies

Popular Culture Today, people of all ages

spend many hours each week using computers, playing video games, and watching television.

How is this behavior different from the ways in which people enjoyed popular culture in previous generations?

The Yanomamö Even as global travel

and the media makes us more aware of people around the world, the distinctiveness of the Yanomamö in South America remains apparent.

Three Forms of Popular Culture

1. Fads - a temporary but widely copied activity followed enthusiastically by large numbers of people.

2. Fashions - A style of behavior, thinking, or appearance that is longer lasting and more widespread than a fad.

3. Leisure activities

Fads

What kind of fad is shown here? Why are iPods and other music players so popular with such a wide variety of people?

Cultural Imperialism The extensive infusion of one nation’s

culture into other nations. If the world develops a global culture, it

will likely include a diffusion of literature, music, clothing, and food from many societies and cultures.

Immigrants

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of immigrants who have become U.S. citizens.

Disabilities

New technologies have made educational opportunities available to a wider diversity of students, including persons with a disability.

Exam Hints:

Relatively few questions referencing individuals; rather, emphasis on measuring understanding of concepts.

Relatively few questions addressing micro issues (i.e., like gender, roles, statuses; this will addressed in the next section of the class);

Rather, focus is on addressing what constitutes culture, society and sociology as a scientific endeavor.