SOC 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Cultural Diversity, Eurocentrism, Safe Sex
31 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
CULTURE
• What is culture?
o 2 types of culture
▪ non-material culture-=ideas created by members of a society
▪ material culture=physical things created by members of a society
• culture shock
o disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life because of
▪ immigration
▪ visit a new country
▪ move between social environments
o no way of life is natural to humanity
▪ we view our own behaviour as natural
• elements of culture
o symbols
▪ anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who
share a culture
• ie words, gestures, actions
• a Canadian gesture considered normal here may be insulting in
another country
o language
▪ system of symbols that allow people to communicate with one another
• ie written or unwritten
• hot chocolate in Canada is tea in Ghana
▪ key to cultural transmission
• process by which one generation passes culture to the next
▪ shapes reality- sapir-whorf hypothesis
• people perceive world through cultural lens of language
o values and beliefs
▪ values
• broad
• define good
• direct our behaviour
▪ beliefs
• specific
• statements people hold to be true
▪ inconsistency and conflict
• one key cultural value that contradicts another
o ie in Canada
▪ we believe everyone should be treated equally but
racism still exists
▪ we believe healthcare but we complain about taxes
▪ global perspective
• cultures have their own values
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