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COURSE: GLOBAL STUDIES IIYEAR: 2015

University of South East- Asia

Chapter 1: CONCEPTS OF CULTUREUNIT 2: COMPONENTS OF SYMBOLIC CULTURE

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Components of SYMBOLIC CULTURETerminology:symbolic culture

another term for nonmaterial culture

symbolsomething to which people

attach meanings and then use to communicate with others

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7 COMPONENTS OF SYMBOLIC CULTURE1. GESTURES2. LANGUAGE3. VALUES4. NORMS5. SANCTIONS6. FOLKWAYS7. MORES

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1. GESTURESThe ways in which people use

their bodies to communicate with one another.

Gestures can differ in meanings around the world.

It is important to learn the gestures of another culture if you want to get along fine with that culture.

Some fundamental emotions are inborn( sadness, anger, fear, etc.)

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2. LANGUAGEA system of symbols that can be

combined in an infinite number of ways and can represent not only objects but also abstract thoughts.

The primary way in which people communicate with one another.

This separates humans from animals in terms of communication

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Some properties of language

Language allows human experience to be cumulative

Language provides a social or shared past

Language provides a social or shared future

Language allows shared perspectives or understandings

Language allows complex, shared, goal-directed behavior

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3. VALUESThe standards by which people

define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly

Values underlie our preferences, guide our choices, and indicate what we hold worthwhile

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4. NORMSThe expectations, or rules of

behavior, that develop out of values

It describes what are acceptable and usually-followed actions or behavior

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5. SANCTIONSAn expression of approval or

disapproval given to people for upholding or violating norms

Positive or negative reactions to the ways in which people follow norms

There are two types of sanctions;1) Positive sanction2) Negative sanction

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Positive sanctiona reward given for following norms, ranging from a smile to a prize

Negative sanctionan expression of disapproval for breaking a norm, ranging from a mild, informal reaction such as a frown to a formal prison sentence or an execution

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6. FOLKWAYSNorms that are not strictly

enforcedThese are the actions that we

can allow to occurExamples:

People picking their nose in publicSpitting on the street

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7. MORESNorms that are strictly enforced

because they are thought essential to core values.

Examples of mores:Societies do not accept or do not

take lightly on:A person who steals, rapes, and

kills

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Folkways vs. Mores“ A man who walks down a street

wearing nothing on the upper half of his body is violating a folkway; a man who walks down the street wearing nothing on the lower part of his body is violating one of our most important mores, the requirement that people cover their private parts in public.’

Ian Robertson (1987)sociologist

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TABOOa norm so strong that it

brings revulsion if violated

Examples:Eating human fleshHaving sexual relationship with own parents