INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY

July 19 th

Alonso Octavio Aravena Méndez

Baylor University
 PSA for Incoming
AssignmentS

Intro to Sociology -Summer ‘21

GHD 1 – What Can Sociology REALLY do for
you? On July 19th

ECO 3 – One Dollar a Day

Quiz 2 on July 20th

Read instructions and guidelines

 Cultural Studies

Components of Culture

Symbols, Language & Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Characteristics of Culture and Human Behavior

Consequences of Cultural Differences

Today’s Work
What do we look at
when we study
Culture?
 • Values
• Beliefs
• Norms
• Mores
• Folkways
• Symbols
• Language

Components of Culture
 Symbols—such
as gestures, signs, objects, signals, and
words—help people understand that
world. They provide clues to understanding
experiences by conveying recognizable
meanings that are shared by societies.

Symbols
 Language is a
symbolic system through which people
communicate and through which culture is
transmitted. Some languages contain a
system of symbols used for written
communication, while others rely on only
spoken communication and nonverbal
actions.

Language
 Reality is culturally
determined, and any
interpretation of reality is
based on a society’s
language
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Opposing Example?
What are Cultural
Studies and what
will they turn you
into?
 Is this a
CLAW or a
PAW?
Where did we see in
One Dollar a Day that
language matters?
What are ways we
have to approach
the study of
Culture?
 MATERIAL
vs
NONMATERIAL
What are other ways
to study Culture?
 Ethnocentrism
Cultural Imperialism
Cultural Relativism
Xenocentrism
 What would Chino
be classified as if he
came to the USA?
Components
of Culture
 Values are a culture’s
standard for discerning what is good and
just in society. Values are deeply
embedded and critical for transmitting and
teaching a culture’s beliefs

Values
 Beliefs are the tenets or convictions that
people hold to be true. Individuals in a
society have specific beliefs, but they also
share collective values

Beliefs
 So, how do we
distinguish between
values and beliefs?
 Values → Ideal Culture
Beliefs → Faith-based Culture

Values can determine how

beliefs are established

Beliefs can determine how

values are assessed
 MEN
HOLDING
HANDS
“Jose Sucuzhanay died five days after he
and his brother were beaten by two men
as the Ecuadorians. The brothers were
walking arm in arm, and the two
assailants yelled anti-gay and ethnic
slurs as they beat the victims”
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/nyregion/14ecuadorea
n.html
Could this happen in
the United States?
 Jose Sucuzhanay died in December 2008,
five days after he and his brother were
beaten by two men as the Ecuadorians
were walking home late at night from a
New York City church party. The brothers
were walking arm in arm, and the two
assailants yelled anti-gay and ethnic slurs
as they beat the victims.
 Back to
Fundamental
Concepts
NORMS
 They can be
formal or informal

And they can

oppose each other
Aside from normality, we
also assess norms’
regularity
 MORES
vs
FOLKWAYS
 Norms that embody the moral views
and principles of a group. Violating them
can have serious consequences. The
strongest mores are legally protected with
laws or other formal norms

Norms -Mores
norms without any moral underpinnings.
Rather, folkways direct appropriate
behavior in the day-to-day practices and
expressions of a culture. They indicate
whether to shake hands or kiss on the
cheek when greeting another person (Not
Moral?)

Norms -Folkways
Are there any Norms
and Folkways that
are specific to
Baylor?