PROCESSING TEDTALK

CULTURE
DEFINITIONS, ELEMENTS,
AND THEORIES
 CULTURE
The totality of
learned, socially
transmitted behavior.
 CULTURE
All the products of a society.
Society – a large number of people who
live in the same territory, subject to a
common political structure, and
participate in a common culture.
 CULTURE
Society is the interaction.
Culture is the product of the
interaction.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
CULTURE
SHARED
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

LEARNED
Also known as enculturation
CHARACTERISTICS OF
CULTURE
INTERGENERATIONAL
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
CULTURE
A HUMAN CONSTRUCTION

Thousands of years in the making: Biology (brains,

hands, vocal), and Universal: practices at general
level--language, food, housing, sport, families, etc.
VS. variation at the specific level.
 CULTURE
As a stable system

• It is our world, taken as

natural
• Resists change
 CULTURE
As a stable system

• Cultural lag
Ex. In the 80’s, songs in the
city would take months
before reaching the province
 SOURCES OF
CULTURAL CHANGE
1.INNOVATION
A. Invention – creation of new
things.
 SOURCES OF
CULTURAL CHANGE
1.INNOVATION
B. Discovery – finding knowledge not
previously known or recognized.
Usually helped by an invention.
 SOURCES OF
CULTURAL CHANGE

2. DIFFUSION – the spread of

one society’s culture to
another.
 ELEMENTS
1.NONMATERIAL
A. Symbols – anything given
with representational
meaning by members of a
society
 ELEMENTS
1.NONMATERIAL
B. Language – a system of patterned
sounds, often with written symbols,
used by members of a society for
communication
 ELEMENTS
Swardspeak (elab-elab)
Sineklavu ititch? (Tagalog)
Ashnik ayish? (Bisaya)
LANGGAM
 ELEMENTS
Cebuano - Ako ngalan Pedro.
Bahasa - Aku nama Pedro.
Tagalog - Ang pangalan ko ay Pedro.
Waray - Ak ngaran Pedro.
 ELEMENTS
1.NONMATERIAL
C. Values – cultural standards
of what is right, good, and
desirable.
 ELEMENTS

1.NONMATERIAL
D. Norms – rules of culture,
what is expected of each
member.
 ELEMENTS
D.Norms
a. Mores (morays) – norms
with strict social sanctions.
Considered as essential to
the well-being of a society.
 ELEMENTS
D.Norms
b. Folkways – norms not
strictly implemented by
society.
 ELEMENTS
D.Norms
c. Laws – norms officially adopted by
a society to regulate its members’
behavior.
 ELEMENTS
D.Norms
d. Taboos – norms strongly
held by society that to violate
them is unthinkable.
 Incest is a BIG taboo in most societies:

Ethiopia's Orthodox Christians have the

most prohibitive laws on
consanguineous marriages: it bans
marriage between relatives up to 6th
cousins. They believe that if you share a
common ancestor in the paternal line
within 6 generations then you are still
brothers and sisters, thus prohibited
from getting married.

South Korea prohibits cousins marrying

up to 3rd cousins; Taiwan, China, and the
Philippines up to first cousins. In the
United States there are 31 of the 50 states
that ban first cousin marriage.
 ELEMENTS
2. MATERIAL
A. Technology – body of knowledge
that society applies to their
environment for them to survive
 ELEMENTS

2. MATERIAL
B. Artifacts – physical things
society use to apply their
technology.
 Technology Artifact
Radio Technology Cellular phones
Internet Technology Laptops and tablets
Information Technology Laptops and tablets
 Cultural Variation

Despite the universality of culture, some

similar practices and beliefs have variations
within or even outside a culture.

Ex: Catholicism in the Philippines is more

“folk” Catholicism versus Catholicism in
Spain.
 Subculture
1. Participate in dominant, yet distinctively different at the same time.
2. Boundary, defines in and out, maintains distinctive identity.
3. Conflict: inequality.
4. Functionalism: Complexity and Variety
5. Interactionism: Shared meaning systems

Types and Examples

• Regionalism, age, beliefs, interests, oppression.

• Various holidays: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah,Winter solstice.
• Drug Users
• Filipino Sexual Minorities
• Emos, Jejes, etc.
 Counterculture
1. Rejects societal norms and values
2. Seek alternative lifestyles
3. Typically oriented towards changing dominant culture, but may be
isolationist.

Types and Examples

• Revolutionary Groups (ex. MILF, NPA)

• Hippies
• White supremacist groups
 Culture Shock
Culture shock refers to feelings of uncertainty, confusion,
or anxiety that people may experience when moving to a
new country or experiencing a new culture or
surroundings. This cultural adjustment is normal and is the
result of being in an unfamiliar environment.
 CULTURAL INTEGRATION

The process of one culture gaining ideas,

technologies and products of another.
Necessary at a basic level.
Also known as ACCULTURATION.