Vermette - Transcript - Chapter 3 – culture and society

Chapter 3 – Culture and Society
• 1. Culture and Society Chapter 3 Introduction to Sociology Ninth
Edition Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P.
Appelbaum, & Deborah Carr
• 2. Culture and Society Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton &
Company 2 • Who is more likely to use the latest Internet
social networking technologies to develop networks of online
friends, who are mostly persons they have never met?
Teenage students in: – (a) Silicon Valley – (b) Beijing – (c)
London – (d) New York
• 3. Learning Objectives Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton &
Company 3 • Basic Concepts – Know what culture consists of
and recognize how it differs from society • The Sociological
Study of Culture – Learn about the “cultural turn” and
sociological perspectives on culture – Understand the
processes that changed societies over time
• 4. Learning Objectives Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton &
Company 4 • Research Today: Understanding the Modern
World – Recognize the legacies of colonialism and the effects
of globalization on your own life and the lives of people
around the world • Unanswered Questions – Understand the
debate over the influence of biological and cultural factors
on behavior – Learn how the Internet and global culture
influence local cultures
• 5. Basic Concepts Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 5

• Culture is made up of – Values • Abstract ideals about right
and wrong – Norms • Standards of behavior – Material
goods • The objects and goods a society creates –
Languages and symbols
• Cultural universals – Grammatically complex language –
Family systems and marriage – Incest prohibition – Art,
dancing, and body adornments – Games, gift giving, and
joking – Rules of hygiene
• Language – Linguistic relativity hypothesis – Speech and
writing – Signifier – Symbols – Semiotics
• 9. The Sociological Study Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton &
Company of Culture 9 • Culture is not the same as society •
Society – Group of people living in a given territory governed
by a common political authority and guided by a common
culture • Culture makes society possible • Cultural turn in
sociology
• 10. The Sociological Study of Culture Copyright © 2014, W.W.
Norton & Company 10
• 11. The Sociological Study of Culture • Hunting and Gathering
Societies – Oldest but now close to disappearing (<250,000
worldwide) – Very small—typically 30 to 40 people – Few
material possessions – Tended toward equality and
cooperation Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 11

• 12. The Sociological Study of Culture • Pastoral and Agrarian
Societies – Second oldest type of society – Pastoral—tending
of domesticated animals – Agrarian—cultivation of crops –
Some accumulation of material possessions – More
inequality, competition, and concentration of power
Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 12
• 13. The Sociological Study of Culture • Traditional Societies –
Third oldest type of society – Disappeared in the 1800s –
Cities, great inequalities of power and wealth, and ruled by
kings or emperors Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton &
Company 13
• 14. The Sociological Study of Culture Copyright © 2014, W.W.
Norton & Company 14
• 15. The Sociological Study of Culture • Industrialized Societies –
Industrialization destroyed the forms of society that
dominated prior periods – Machine production based on use
of inanimate power resources – Mostly urban – More
developed political systems Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton
& Company 15
• 16. Research Today: Understanding the Copyright © 2014, W.W.
Norton & Company Modern World 16 • Colonialism – Global
South • Most nations only independent post-World War II •
Agriculture remains the main economic activity • Extremely
high levels of poverty
• 17. Research Today: Understanding the Modern World Copyright
© 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 17

• 18. Research Today: Understanding the Modern World • Cultural
Conformity – Accomplished in two ways • Learn norms
beginning in childhood with parents playing an important
role • Social control when a person fails to conform
Diversity – Subcultures – Assimilation – Multiculturalism
• 20. Research Today: Understanding the Modern World Copyright
© 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 20
• 21. Research Today: Understanding the Modern World •
Ethnocentrism – Judging other cultures though the lens of
one’s own culture – Can lead to misrepresentations and
unfair judgments Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton &
Company 21
Relativism – Judging other cultures by their own standards to
understand them better – Useful for understanding
differences in culturally diverse societies Copyright © 2014,
W.W. Norton & Company 22
• 23. Unanswered Questions Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton &
Company 23 • Nature or Nurture? – Influence of sociobiology
• The application of biological principles to explain the social
activities of human beings – Nature and nurture interact to
produce human behavior

Company 24 • Does the Internet Promote a Global Culture? –
The Internet is in many ways compatible with traditional
cultural values
• 25. The Sociological Study Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton &
Company of Culture 25
Company 26 • Does Globalization Weaken or Strengthen
Local Cultures? – Role of globalization in cultural change –
Nationalism
Company 27 • How Easily Do Cultures Change? – China:
Then and Now
Company 28
• 29. Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company Concept Quiz
29 Culture can be defined as ___ . (a) artistic forms of
expression that help cultivate the intellect of members of a
society (b) expectations about modes of behavior appropriate
to participating in a particular community or society (c) the
values, norms, and material objects characteristic of a
particular group (d) scientific understandings and the
technological advancements that come from them, by which
society is built
30 Which of the following might be considered a cultural
universal? (a) using smart phone and the Internet (b) having

conflict with one’s in-laws (c) decorating one’s body (d)
teaching children how to be self-sufficient
31 ___ consists of the physical objects that a society creates
that influence the ways in which people live. (a) Scientific
technology (b) Artistic propaganda (c) Infrastructure (d)
Material culture
32 What is the main difference between pastoral societies
and agrarian societies? (a) Pastoral societies relied mainly on
domesticated animals, while agrarian societies relied on
agriculture. (b) Agrarian societies predated pastoral societies
by at least several thousand years. (c) Agrarian societies were
marked by much more divisive inequalities than pastoral
societies. (d) Pastoral societies only existed in Africa and the
Middle East, while agrarian societies were spread across the
entire globe.
33 Secret documents revealed by Edward Snowden in 2013
revealed a NSA program collecting vast amounts of
information on the communications of Americans. Which of
the following are characteristics of industrial societies that
sociologists might use to put these revelations in context? (a)
rapid technological developments based on advanced
scientific knowledge (b) more extensive control over many
aspects of citizen’s lives than previous types of human

societies (c) advanced modes of military organization (d) the
rise of a rational-legal mode of social organization
34 Disparaging attitudes towards polygamy (a marriage that
includes more than two people) in the United States may be
a form of ___ . (a) social control (b) ethnocentrism (c) cultural
relativism (d) assimilation
• 35. Discussion Question: Thinking Copyright © 2014, W.W.
Norton & Company Sociologically 35 Mention at least two
cultural traits that you would claim are universals; mention
two others you would claim are culturally specific traits. Use
case study materials from different societies to show the
differences between universal and specific cultural traits. Are
the cultural universals you have discussed derivatives of
human instincts? Explain your answer.
• 36. Discussion Question: Thinking Copyright © 2014, W.W.
Norton & Company Sociologically 36 What does it mean to
be ethnocentric? How is ethnocentrism dangerous in
conducting social research? How is ethnocentrism
problematic among nonresearchers in their everyday lives?
37. This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter
3

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