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List as many “American values” that you can think
ofRemember values are the standards by which people define good and bad, beautiful and ugly
Basic Values
According to sociologist Robin Williams, 15 basic values are dominant in US culture:
Success -ScienceHard work -External conformityEfficiency -IndividualismMaterial comfort -In-group superiorityMorality -EqualityHumanitarianism - FreedomProgress - PatriotismDemocracy
Value Clusters
Made up of related core values that come together to form a larger whole
Example: SuccessWe find hard work, education, efficiency, material comfort and individualism all bound together
Value Contractions
Some values conflict with each other
Example: There cannot be full expressions of democracy, equality, racism and sexism at the same time
As society changes some values are challenged and undergo modification
Culture War
Core values do not change without meeting strong resistance
Today’s clash in values is so severe that it is referred to a culture war
Values blind people
Values and their supporting beliefs may blind people to other social circumstances
Example: the emphasis on individualismSo high that many people in the US believe that everyone is free to pursue the goal of success
Blinds them to the consequences of family poverty, lack of education and dead-end jobs
Ideal Culture v. Real Culture
Ideal Culture- refers to the ideal values and norms of people
Most people fall short of this
Real Culture- norms and values that people actually follow
Changing Society
As society changes over time new values emerge that reflect changed social conditions
For example: leisure, physical fitness, self-fulfillment, concern for environment
Culture Changes is 3 waysInvention- creating new cultural elements
Telephone, airplane, internet
Discovery- Recognizing a better understanding of something already in existence
X-Ray, DNA
Diffusion- The spread of cultural traits from one society to another
Jazz music, slang words, etc.
technology
Central to material culture is technology
Refers to tool but can include the skills or procedures to make and use those tools
New technologies refer to the emerging technologies that have a major impact on human life
Culture Lag
Term coined by William Ogburn
Refers to a situation in which not all parts of a culture change at the same pace
A group’s material culture usually changes first
Non-material culture lags behind
Sometimes non-material culture never catches up
Cultural diffusion
The transmission of cultural characteristics
Material culture is more likely to change because of cultural diffusion
One consequence: Cultural levelingThe process in which cultures become similar to one another
Example: Japan adopting western culture
Culture Clash
Differences among cultures can be expected to generate most of the conflict around the worldComing in contact with radically different cultures produces culture shock
Challenging our basic assumptions about life
Ethnocentrism
The attitude that one’s own culture is superior to those of other people
Can serve as the glue to hold society together
Strong sense of unity as a nation
Cultural Relativism
The belief that a culture must be understood on its own terms
Looking at a culture from their own perspective and understand why they do things their way
Can contribute to international peace
Multicultural
US is made up of different culturesI.e. Anglo, Hispanic, African
Multiculturalism- a state in which all subcultures in the same society are equal to one anotherVaries in degree from 1 society to another
Switzerland most multicultural (Fr, Gm, It)Bosnia- minorities are despised and often killedUS somewhere in between
US Multiculturalism
Eurocentrism- view the world from the standpoint of European cultureAfrocentrism- the view of world from the standpoint of African culture
Pop Culture
Popular culture consists of relatively unsophisticated artistic creations that appeal to the mass audience
Movies, tv shows, music
Cultural UniversalsAll human beings have the same needs that must be met in order to survive
Biological needs- food and shelterSocial needs- clothing, complex communication, peaceful coexistence, aesthetic spiritual experiences
These needs are universal
Cultural Universals- practices found in all cultures as the means for meeting the same human needs
Food gathering - art formsBuilding houses - religionDeveloping language