Culture and Civilization

1
Culture and Civilization

• Until now, youve been allowed to use the words
  culture and civilization the same way. Maybe
  you even thought they meant the same thing. After
  all, most definitions we use in Social Studies
  have a common meaning thats much broader.

2
Culture and Cvilization

• You may have been told once, when you were
  behaving badly, Act like youre civilized! The
  same person could have told you, Show me you
  have some culture! In each case, youd know they
  wanted you to act in a more appropriate way. But
  what do culture and civilization mean to
  social scientists?

3
Definition of Culture

• Write down in your notebook what you think the
  formal definition of culture is. In a minute,
  well sample your responses.

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Definition of Culture

• To a social scientist, the definition of culture
  is the shared way of life of an organized group
  of people, including the initial steps in the
  development of the seven G.R.E.A.S.E.S.
• You remember the G.R.E.A.S.E.S., dont you? Write
  them from memory in your notebook

5
The G.R.E.A.S.E.S.

• For those who forgot, or are new to Lower
  Moreland, the G.R.E.A.S.E.S. are as follows
• Government
• Religion
• Economics
• Arts and Architecture
• Science and Technology
• Education
• Social Structures

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The G.R.E.A.S.E.S.

• We can use the G.R.E.A.S.E.S. to study one
  civilization at a time, or to compare/contrast
  two or more civilizations

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The G.R.E.A.S.E.S.
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The G.R.E.A.S.E.S.

• Any group of people is going to have some early
  stage of each of the G.R.E.A.S.E.S., but when we
  study a civilization, were going to use the
  G.R.E.A.S.E.S. as our basis for organizing all
  the information we learn about it. With that as a
  hint, write down in your notes what you think is
  the formal definition of civilization

9
Definition of Civilization

• To some social scientists, there are six
  requirements for a culture to be considered a
  civilization
• 1) Food Surplus, which implies
• 2) Domestication of Plants/Animals
• 3) Cities, which implies
• 4) Specialization of Labor
• 5) Written Language
• 6) Fully developed G.R.E.A.S.E.S.

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Definition of Civilization

• Because 1 implies 2, and 3 implies 4, Im
  satisfied if you remember four requirements
• 1) Food Surplus
• 2) Cities
• 3) Written Language
• 4) Fully developed G.R.E.A.S.E.S.

11
Civilization

• Next, were going to look at some groups of
  people from around the world, to see if they meet
  the requirements of a civilization. Some of the
  answers wont be clear-cut, but if you apply the
  formal definition, you should come to the same
  conclusions as your classmates.

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Does this represent a civilization?
13
Does this represent a civilization?
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Does this represent a civilization?
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Does this represent a civilization?
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The answers are no (for the New Guinea tribes),
yes (for the Afghan villagers), yes (for the
drunk staggering out of the club in New York),
and yes (for the Appalachian mobile home/decrepit
auto).
Thats all for this show. Next we need to talk
about drives, instincts, reflexes, and
sociobiology.