This presentation shows the categories of culture and ways of looking at culture.

1. 文
Categories of and
Ways of Looking at Culture

2. 文
Categories of culture

3. Two categories
material culture
any physical
object to which
we give social
meaning
symbolic culture
the ideas
associated with a
cultural group

4. Material Culture

5. Symbolic Culture
What is the meaning of the red light in each
picture?

6. 文
Ways of looking at culture

7. Cultural universals
common practices and beliefs in a society
adaptations to meet essential human needs, such
as the need for food, shelter, and clothing
athletic sports cooking
dancing,
visiting
personal
names
marriage medicine religious ritual

8. Ethnocentrism
refer to the tendency to assume that one’s
own culture and way of life represent the
norm or are superior to all others.
Opposite of xenocentrism

9. Cultural Relativism
viewing people’s behavior from the perspective
of their own culture
places a priority on understanding other cultures,
rather than dismissing them as “strange” or
“exotic.”

10. Cultural Relativism
it does require a serious and unbiased effort to
evaluate norms, values, and customs in light of their
distinctive culture.
Example:
Children marrying adults in West Africa and South Asia
Genital mutilation in some parts of Africa

11. 文
End
USA:
Good Job!
Australia:
Up yours!