SOCI 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Osmosis, Cultural Relativism, Charlton Ogburn
Culture
➢ Culture- the a of life of societ; eerthig a societ produces ad shares the a
e do thigs here
➢ Hoard Becker’s defiitio is doig thigs together- culture allows us to do things
together. Everything we do, in some way, is together.
○ E. Ee if ou sit i our dor roo all da listeig to usic ad do’t
interact all day, you are still doing something together since someone had to
build that dormitory and someone had to pay for you to be there.
○ Hard to iagie doig soethig i societ that does’t rel o culture
➢ Two aspects of culture
○ Material culture- all physical objects that a society produces and gives meaning
to
■ Stairs, railings, designated areas for handicapped people, etc.
○ Nonmaterial culture- abstract human creations that have meaning
■ Poetry, literature, music, philosophy, knowledge, ideas, etc.
➢ Components of Culture
○ Norms- shared rules or expectations by which society guides the behavior of its
members
■ Most of the societal ors are uritte ad are leared b ososis,
the process of growing up & interacting with a society
■ Watching the different tasks that mothers and fathers tend to do in the
household can give children ideas of gender norms
■ Folkways- (type of norm) ordinary conventions of everyday life,
conformity is expected but not required
● E. ou’re ot supposed to fart i public. Does aoe lear this
from their parents or do they just begin to understand this after
growing up?)
● Change depending on societies. For example, in some societies it
is actually appreciated when someone farts/burps after a meal
because it says they thoroughly enjoyed it
■ Mores- (type of norm) strong norms that have moral significance;
violations of mores are considered serious
● E. burig the Aerica flag is legall ithi soeoe’s rights,
but there would be a strong, condemning reaction as a result of
doing so.
■ Taboo- (type of norm) a powerful social belief against a specific act that
is considered loathsome
● Ex. a father having sex with his daughter
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Document Summary
Culture- the (cid:363)a(cid:369) of life of societ(cid:369); e(cid:362)er(cid:369)thi(cid:290)g a societ(cid:369) produces a(cid:290)d shares (cid:883)(cid:907)the (cid:363)a(cid:369) Ho(cid:363)ard becker"s defi(cid:290)itio(cid:290) is (cid:907)doi(cid:290)g thi(cid:290)gs together(cid:908)- culture allows us to do things (cid:363)e do thi(cid:290)gs here(cid:908)(cid:884) together. Everything we do, in some way, is together. Hard to i(cid:289)agi(cid:290)e doi(cid:290)g so(cid:289)ethi(cid:290)g i(cid:290) societ(cid:369) that does(cid:290)"t rel(cid:369) o(cid:290) culture. Material culture- all physical objects that a society produces and gives meaning to. Stairs, railings, designated areas for handicapped people, etc. Nonmaterial culture- abstract human creations that have meaning. Poetry, literature, music, philosophy, knowledge, ideas, etc. Norms- shared rules or expectations by which society guides the behavior of its members. Most of the societal (cid:290)or(cid:289)s are u(cid:290)(cid:363)ritte(cid:290) a(cid:290)d are (cid:907)lear(cid:290)ed b(cid:369) os(cid:289)osis(cid:908), the process of growing up & interacting with a society. Watching the different tasks that mothers and fathers tend to do in the household can give children ideas of gender norms.
