A Little Bit of Sociology Culture

Transcription

1 A Little Bit of Sociology Culture

2 Big Ideas Culture is defined broadly as the learned norms, values, knowledge, artifacts, language, and symbols that are constantly communicated among people who share a common way of life. Culture includes our beliefs about what is important in life, and it shapes our interpretations of what events mean. We praise democracy, worship in certain ways, and value competition in part because our culture teaches us to do so. Romantic love a cultural phenomenon?

3 Big Ideas Culture also encompasses common, trivial, everyday habits that we so take for granted we hardly notice them. How we answer the phone Behavior in specific positions Lawyers, waitress/waiter, teachers, CEOs, politicians So what is sociology? Material Culture all the physical objects or artifacts that people make and attach meaning to. Nonmaterial Culture consists of human creations that are not embodied in physical objects (govt, language).

4 Values A general idea that people share about what is good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable, desirable or undesirable. The values people hold tend to color their overall way of life. Values provide the framework within which people in a society develop norms of behavior.

5 Norms Is a specific guideline for action; it is a rule that says how people should behave in particular situations. Spoken and unspoken Folkways Mores

6 Symbols Objects, gestures, sounds, or images that represent something other than themselves.

7 Language A system of verbal and written symbols with rules about how those symbols can be strung together to convey more complex meanings. Social Action Social Marker Social Structure

8 Knowledge The body of facts, beliefs, and practical skills that people accumulate over time.

9 Diversity Cultural Integration Cultural Diversity and Subcultures Ethnocentrism Cultural Relativism

10 The Production of Culture Social Action Social Structure Power Relationships Cultural Gatekeepers Culture and the Media

11 Socialization Through socialization people develop distinctive orientations to social action. These include broad styles that are characteristic of their culture. Socialization also shapes the distinctive characteristics of individuals, because it is a process not only of learning but also of developing identity.

12 Socialization Continued Socialization helps to maintain a society s functional integration. The social structure influences socialization both by determining what kinds of skills or motivations are needed by the society (big or small) and by determining who gets access to what sorts of socialization. Power

13 Nature vs. Nurture Biological makeup vs. Environment in which we live Is a baby truly a blank slate? Do genes play a role in the make up/development of our social behavior? Genes never completely dictate how humans act toward one another, but they do enable a large range of possibilities.

14 Temperaments Genetic in origin? Behavioral dispositions

15 Life Course Childhood Infantsà toddlersà childrenà adolescents Americanization

16 Looking Glass Self Sense of self seeing ourselves reflected in other people s attitudes. Appearance What others think of us

17 Role-Taking I and Me Dependence vs. independence

18 Internal Dynamics Freud - psychology Id Ego Superego

19 Social Class & Values Lower class Middle Class Upper Class What values did each seem to bring to the table?

20 Agents of childhood What all comes into play with childhood socialization? The Family Peers Mass Media Schools What about in adulthood?

21 Groups and Organizations By: Jess Rohr and Emily Mitchell

22 Social Group Define: instead of people who identify with one another and interact in informally structured ways based on shared values, norms, and goals. (link our private lives to the larger society) - Provides security/support - shapes our attitudes, values, and behaviors. - Organizes us to accomplish tasks, make decisions, and control deviance.

23 Four Characteristics for Groups 1) Regular interaction among members 2) Structured interactions among one another. 3) Agreement on norms, goals, and values. 4) Sense of shared identity.

24 Group Dynamics Define: Recurrent patterns of social interaction among the members of a group. Influenced by -Group Size -Conformity to Norms -Leadership/Power Relations

25 Leadership Leadership patterns change as a social group is put in different situations Instrumental leadership and expressive leadership are the two roles of leadership. It starts off as one person in charge of both roles and ends up two people dividing the roles

26 Types of Groups -In Group: where a person identifies and feels at home. -Out Group: Person does not identify and feels like an outsider.

27 Group Decision Making (four stages) 1) Orientation (analyze tasks, info, and suggestions) 2) Evaluate Possibilities 3) Eliminate less desirable options 4) Restoring equilibrium

28 Three Main Types of Groups 1) Primary Group- Close knit nature 2) Secondary Group- Opposite of primary 3) Reference Group- a group where people refer to for them to evaluate their behavior, even though they may not belong to the group itself. Provides standards for evaluating people/life situations.

29 Community Reading pages ,

30 In your journal: consider your reading and our activities, then take a look at the following 3 quotes and define IN YOUR OWN WORDS the idea of community and what you think it truly is.

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34 Community is valued as a way of life. Urbanization is the process whereby large numbers of people leave the countryside and small towns to settle in cities and surrounding metropolitan areas. Carrollton vs. Canton Dalton vs. Wooster Marlington vs. Alliance

35 People who form a community that have common values and interests, engage in frequent face to face interactions, feel close to one another, and tend to think of themselves as part of a group. What has urbanization done to community? Social problems?

36 Suburbs Considered the normal American community Spinoffs of metropolitan centers Canton South Canton East Canton North Canton Jackson

37 Communities are the basic building blocks of social structure. They join people together through webs of social relationships that extend beyond families and friends. These relationships themselves are structured in various ways: by inequalities of wealth and power, by various degrees of closeness, by greater or lesser reliance on some common institutional base like shared religion or a single dominant employer. Thus, cities are typically much more differentiated than small towns, and commonly are divided by much greater inequalities or wealth and poverty.

38 Communities I belong to Look at your lists Last week I asked you to develop some lists, one of the communities you are involved in, and one of the communities you have access to but are not necessarily a member of Canton local, Canton South high school, Massillon rec league softball, Massillon Rec Center, Westbrook Park church, Bleacher Creatures, SLT, Stark State Dual Enrollment teachers Communities I have access to Sandrock Water Company, Cleveland Clinic vascular center, Aultman Heart Center, Sandy Valley Elementary, Walker Elementary, FMMS, Massillon City schools, Shearer s Foods, Kaufman Auctioneers, Massillon Eagles

39 Before class tomorrow You need to observe a community or part of a community It can be one that you are a part of a small pocket of team members at practice, the clarinet section in the band, your sibling and their friends, another table at lunch in the cafeteria, a group of teachers, just folks who are a part of a community. Write down your observations and reflect considering all the information we have learned in the past week. Try to incorporate our terminology.