Overview

Components of Culture Interaction of People and Environment Subsystems of Culture Culture Change Cultural Diversity Language Religion Ethnicity Gender and Culture Other Aspects of Diversity

Components of Culture

Culture is learned, not biological Through imitation, instruction, example

Culture is not homogenous Culture trait

Single distinguishing feature of a culture Culture complex

Group of culture traits that are functionally interrelated

Components of Culture

Culture system Shared, identifying traits uniting two or more culture

complexes Culture region

Portion of the earth’s surface in which common cultural characteristics prevail

Culture realm Collective of culture regions sharing related culture

systems

Interaction of People and Environment

Cultural ecology Study of the relationship between a culture group

and the natural environment it occupies Environments as controls

Environmental determinism The physical environment molds human behavior and

conditions cultural development Possibilism

People, not environments, are the dynamic forces of cultural development Physical environment offers a set of opportunities and

limitations

Interaction of People and Environment

Human Impacts Cultural landscape

The earth’s surface as modified by human action Relationship between technological advancement

and impact on the environment

Subsystems of Culture

Technological subsystem Material objects and techniques people use to carry

out their productive activities Technologically advanced countries

Many people employed in manufacturing or services High per capita incomes, levels of education and nutrition,

life expectancies, medical services Economic and political power

Technologically less-advanced countries High percentage of people engaged in farming Lower GNI and per capita incomes, life expectancies,

literacy rates

Subsystems of Culture

Sociological subsystem Common patterns of interpersonal relations

Define the social organizations of a culture Social institutions are closely related to the

technological subsystem Ideological subsystem

Ideas, beliefs, knowledge and means of their communication

Cultural integration Interconnectedness of all aspects of culture

Culture Change

Cultures are always in a state of flux Three types of change

Innovation Spatial diffusion Acculturation

Innovation

Comes from within the social group Premodern societies typically are not

innovative or receptive to change Agricultural Revolution

Occurred independently in several areas Affected every aspect of society

Culture hearth Area of innovation from which key culture elements

diffused Innovation is common in modern societies

Spatial Diffusion

Outward spread of a phenomenon from its point of origin to other areas People move to a new area and take culture with them Information about an innovation spreads

Receiver culture may selectively adopt some goods or ideas and reject others

Syncretism is a major feature of culture change Fusion of old and new culture elements

Acculturation

Culture group or individual undergoes major modification by adopting many characteristics of another, usually dominant, culture group May occur in a conquered or colonized region Population relocations

Amalgamation theory Multiethnic societies become a merger of the culture

traits of their member groups Assimilation

Merging into a composite culture and becoming culturally homogenized

Cultural Diversity

Prominent differentiating culture traits of societies and regions Language Religion Ethnicity Gender

Language

Most important medium by which culture is transmitted

6000-7000 languages spoken in the world Many languages are disappearing

Language family Group of languages thought to have descended from

a common ancestral tongue E.g., Indo-European languages

Spoken by about ½ the world’s peoples

Language Spread and Change

Language spreads through dispersion of speakers or acquisition of speakers

Evolution and spread of English ≈ 400 million native speakers

≈ 600 million use it as a second language Official language of 60 countries

Standard and Variant Languages Standard language

Represents norms of syntax, vocabulary, pronunciation Dialect

Regional or socioeconomic variation of a language Pidgin

Auxiliary language derived from other languages Simplified grammatical structure and reduced vocabulary

Creole Native tongue developed from a pidgin

Lingua franca Used by people whose native tongues are

incomprehensible

Language and Culture

Gender differences A common language fosters unity Bilingualism or multilingualism complicates

national linguistic structure Toponyms

Place names Record of past and present cultures

Religion

Value system that involves formal or informal worship and faith in the sacred and divine Joins adherents into a moral community

May affect all facets of a culture

Classification of Religions

Universalizing religions Claim applicability to all and seek conversion

Christianity, Islam, Buddhism

Ethnic religions Identified with a particular ethnic group

Judaism, Hinduism, Shinto

Tribal (traditional) religions Ethnic religions specific to small, preindustrial

cultures having close ties to nature Secularism

An increasing part of many modern societies

Principal Religions

Judaism Monotheism laid foundation for Christianity and Islam Emerged 3000-3500 years ago in the Near East Descent from Israel, the Torah, Jewish traditions Diaspora State of Israel was a fulfillment of Zionism

Christianity Jesus believed to be the messiah Division of Western Church and Eastern Church Protestant Reformation Catholic vs. Protestant cultural landscape

Principal Religions

Islam Mohammed revered as the prophet of Allah (God) Observance of “five pillars” and surrender to Allah Spread quickly outward from source region of Arabia Division between Sunnis and Shi’ites

Hinduism Oldest major religion

No founding event or initial prophet A Hindu is one born into a caste

Member of a complex social, economic, religious community Expression of the eternal transmigration of souls

Principal Religions

Buddhism Founded 6th century B.C. in northern India Moral philosophy taught by Siddhartha Gautama Enlightenment and salvation lie in “four noble truths” Spread to other parts of Asia

Various schools of thought Amalgamated with other belief systems

East Asian ethnic religions Confucianism Taoism Japanese Shinto

Ethnicity

Usually refers to the ancestry of people who share some common characteristic Language, religion, national origin, unique customs

Ethnocentrism Feeling that one’s own ethnic group is superior

Territorial segregation Strong and sustaining trait of ethnic identity

Gender and Culture

Socially created distinctions between femininity and masculinity

Gender relationships and role assignments differ among societies Influenced by economic development, religion, customs

General egalitarianism in hunting and gathering cultures Agriculture altered the structure of gender roles Subordinate role of women changed only in the later 20th

century in more-developed countries

Mixed impact of economic globalization

Other Aspects of Diversity

Culture is the sum total of the way of life of a society

Many other elements of culture, including: Architectural styles Music Food Games