Topic:%20Introduction%20to%20Culture

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Topic Introduction to Culture
Unit 2 Culture
A Filipino boy participates in Palm Sunday rites
outside the Holy Family Parish Church in Quezon
city, north of Manila, Philippines on April 13.
Palm Sunday marks the triumphant entry of Jesus
Christ into Jerusalem and ushers in the Holy Week
observance among Catholics worldwide.

• Culture can be defined as.
• Elements of my own culture include

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Culture is

• A series of learned behaviors, beliefs, traits,
  and customs transmitted through generations by
  imitation, instruction, and example.
• Creates a framework for group and individual
  relationships
• Culture is universal all humans have a culture

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ACTIVITY Social Interaction Culture
Male-Female
Female-Female
Male-Male

• I need 3 sets of 2 volunteers to come to the
  front of the room.first

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• Start a conversation with each other about
  anything you like. Each one of you should make a
  comment.
• After 1 exchange, take a step closer to one
  another.
• Repeat until you personally feel uncomfortably
  close to the other person

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Micro-Sociological Interactions Personal Space
Discussion
What did you notice about the different
personal space interactions? What factors
impacted how comfortable or uncomfortable people
felt? Why do you think this is? How might
this differ in other cultures?
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• Here are some facts about personal space bubbles
• The bubble is larger if you are talking to a
  stranger.
• The better you know the person you're talking to,
  the smaller the bubble may be.
• The bubble is usually larger for two men than for
  two women.
• The bubble may be very small for a man and a
  women if they are in a relationship.
• The bubble may be larger than normal for a man
  and a women who are strangers to each other.
• The bubble size may differ for different cultures.

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Americans have 4 social distance zones Public,
social, personal, and intimate
Public beyond 12 ft.
Social 4 to 12 ft.
Personal 18 in. to 4 ft.
Intimate under 18 in.
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Cultural Word Association (notebook)

• List 1-4 in your notebook
• For each of the following terms, write down in
  your notebook the first word that comes to mind
  that you associate with the original word.

TRANSPORTATION
CALL
PARTY
SUCESS
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Number 1-4 again
List 1 color that you associate with happiness
The number of children in a typical family
What did you notice about the commonality of
answers? Why is this?
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Discussion
What did you notice about your collective response
s? Why was this?
How might answers have differed in culture other
than your own? (party, success,
transportation, call)
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Types of Culture
Material Culture The tangible objects of a
culture - Examples? Nonmaterial culture The
non-tangible aspects Of a culture - examples?
What aspect of each do you personally Consider
the most essential to YOU?
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• Ethnocentrism Using your own culture as a
  standard against which to judge other cultures
• Cultural Relativism Accepting other cultures as
  different than your own

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A riddlewhich may not be a riddle to you at all
A father and son are in a terrible car accident
and the father is killed, but the son is rushed
to the hospital and prepare for surgery. The
doctor comes in, looks down at the boy on the
operating table and exclaims Oh, God, I cant
operate, thats my son!
-Why does the doctor Say this? -Is the riddle
obvious To you? -How might it not be Obvious to
other Cultures?
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Child Brides in Yemen. The girls are 10 and 13
years of age. Is this practice acceptable in your
opinion? Are you a cultural relativist or
ethnocentric?
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Sub-Cultures (a culture within a culture) groups
with their own dress, specific language (argot),
values, norms, rituals, and perspectives on the
world. Sub-cultures have values that exist
harmoniously within the dominant culture of
their society. Lets take the example of a sports
team
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Sports Team (any)
How do they dress to distinguish themselves?
What do they collectively value?
How are new members initiated into the group?
Specialized argot?
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Counter-Cultures A sub-culture whose Values run
in opposition to the dominant culture
--Think of examples of counter-culture? How do
their values go against what the dominant culture
finds important?
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An annotated reading of
Were going to read a few select passages from
Horace Miners Famous anthropological cultural
study, Body Ritual Among the Nacirema
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Identify and describe some aspects of American
culture that Miner is Satirizing in his famous
essay
Nowidentify one contemporary aspect of American
culture And describe it as Miner would havecan
be anything at all.
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Cultural Universals Adaptations that meet human
needs that all societies practice
Can you think of any other cultural universals?