Artifacts
This final section ties everything together: the "material" (cows, pigs, iPhones) dictates the "nonmaterial" (laws, holiness, language). It’s a reality check on our own biases—what we dismiss as "superstition" or "weird" is usually a brilliant, localized solution to a survival problem. Whether it's an Indian farmer protecting a cow or a New Yorker protecting a data plan, we are all just tending to the artifacts that keep our world running.
GPS devices now dominate so much of modern life.
Personal Connections
Ive felt that mini panic where I search my pockets trying to find my phone. Its essentially an extension of my brain and my primary way of "being" in my culture.
artifacts are much more numerous and complex in industrial societies. Because of technological advances during the past two decades, many such societies today may be said to have a wireless culture, as smartphones, netbooks and laptops, and GPS devices now dominate so much of modern life.
Cultural concepts
Wireless culture is a modern state where digital artifacts dominate social interaction
The Maring sleep next to pigs, give them names and talk to them, feed them table scraps, and once or twice every generation have a mass pig sacrifice that is intended to ensure the future health and welfare of Maring society.
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Text mentions mass pig sacrifices to keep the population managable but doesnt explain the emotional toll of killing animals that people name and talk to.
The last element of culture is the artifacts, or material objects, that constitute a society’s material culture. In the most simple societies, artifacts are largely limited to a few tools, the huts people live in, and the clothing they wear.
this is the key idea
The Work Ethic
The american work ethic is a double edged sword. On one hand it shows personal ambition and on the other hand it creates a lack of empathy for those who struggle.
Once again we see evidence of an important aspect of the American culture, as U.S. residents were especially likely to think that hard work brings success.
Personal Connections
Ive seen shows where the most common date question is "what do you do?" It shows much of our identity is tied to our labor.
Figure 1.1.3.12 presents WVS percentages of respondents who said the most important reason people are poor is “laziness and lack of willpower.” As expected, Americans are much more likely to attribute poverty to not working hard enough.
Cultural concepts
A concept where the victims of social problems (like poverty) are held responsible for their own plight
Using earlier World Values Survey data, Figure 1.1.3.10 presents the percentage of people in United States and three other nations from different parts of the world—Mexico, Poland, and Japan—who take “a great deal of pride” in their work.
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Text shows americans have the highest "pride" in their work but it doesnt define what pride feels like. Is it the pride in the output produced or the pride of being a "hard worker?"
Americans had come to view hard work not just as something that had to be done but as something that was morally good to do
This is the key idea
Individualism in the United States
Brief Reflection
Our legal system is just a mirror of our hearts. We sue eachother because our values tell us that our individual "right" is more important then the "harmony" of the neighborhood.
In Appalachia, for example, people view themselves as rugged individuals who want to control their own fate. At the same time, they have strong ties to families, relatives, and their neighbors.
Personal Connections
Ive been in situations where ive wanted to handle things on my own to prove i'm "strong" but I realize that sometimes i do need some help.
The Japanese value system is a bit of an anomaly, because Japan is an industrial nation with very traditional influences. Its emphasis on group harmony and community is more usually thought of as a value found in traditional societies, while the U.S. emphasis on individuality is more usually thought of as a value found in industrial cultures.
Cultural Conceptions
A social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control
Lawsuits over the most frivolous of issues are quite common and even expected.
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The text claims lawsuits over "frivolous issues" are common and expected but it doesnt clarify if this is a statistical reality or a stereotype that americans hold about themselves.
The American culture extols the rights of the individual and promotes competition in the business and sports worlds and in other areas of life.
this is the key idea
Values
Values act as the "instruction manual" for how to feel while norms are the "actions" we take.
The Japanese place great emphasis on harmonious social relationships and dislike interpersonal conflict.
Personal Connections
I'm still learning to use personal restraint while in a group setting as to not disturb the good mood.
Japanese do their best to minimize conflict by trying to resolve the disputes amicably.
Cultural Concepts
Using face-saving to avoid public shaming to protect a persons reputation
Lawsuits are thus uncommon; in one case involving disease and death from a mercury-polluted river, some Japanese who dared to sue the company responsible for the mercury poisoning were considered bad citizens
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the text uses the 1976 Minamata case to show the stigma of suing but its unclear how modern Japanese view climate litigation.
Values are another important element of culture and involve judgments of what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable.
this is the key idea
Changing Norms and Beliefs
This section is a reminder that "that the way things are" is just "the way things are right now." What is todays controversial topics will be tomorrows norm.
The first type, called nonmaterial culture, includes the values, beliefs, symbols, and language that define a society. The second type, called material culture, includes all the society’s physical objects, such as its tools and technology, clothing, eating utensils, and means of transportation. These elements of culture are discussed next. Symbols
The key idea is dual nature of culture
When the Beatles first became popular in the early 1960s, their hair barely covered their ears, but parents of teenagers back then were aghast at how they looked.
Personal Connections
Reminds me of how my grandparents react to my own generation's tattoos or piercings
also taken from several years of the GSS, shows that the percentage saying that women should take care of running their homes and leave running the country to men declined from almost 36% in the early 1970s to only about 15% in 1998, again, when the GSS stopped asking the question.
Cultural Conceptions
Evolving expectations of womens "roles" (moving from the home to the public sphere)
If anything, clothing styles change even more often than hairstyles. Hemlines go up, hemlines go down. Lapels become wider, lapels become narrower. This color is in, that color is out. Hold on to your out-of-style clothes long enough, and eventually they may well end up back in style.
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the text mentions fashion and hairstyles cycling back but will moral norms (e.g., abortions) cycle back or if cultural evolution only moves in one direction.
It is also true that norms change over time within a given culture.
This is the key idea
Rituals
📝 Brief Reflection This section perfectly illustrates how rituals turn a "biological" event into a "social" one. A first period or a birthday is just biology/math, but the ritual turns it into a story about who you are becoming. It makes me realize that without these ceremonies, our lives might just feel like a blur of time rather than a series of meaningful steps.
Graduation ceremonies in colleges and universities are familiar examples of time-honored rituals.
Personal Connections
Practicing the "walk" for graduation felt unnecessary and like a chore but looking back, it was the only thing that made me feel like i had actually "finished" being a student in high school.
In some cultures, special ceremonies also mark a girl’s first menstrual period. Such ceremonies are largely absent in the United States, where a girl’s first period is a private matter. But in other cultures the first period is a cause for celebration involving gifts, music, and food
Rites of Passage
Ceremonies marking a change in social status (e.g., child to adult)
In some cultures, special ceremonies also mark a girl’s first menstrual period. Such ceremonies are largely absent in the United States, where a girl’s first period is a private matter. But in other cultures the first period is a cause for celebration involving gifts, music, and food (Hathaway, 1997).Hathaway, N. (1997). Menstruation and menopause: Blood rites. In L. M. Salinger (Ed.), Deviant behavior 97/98 (pp. 12–15). Guilford, CT: Dushkin. Boys have their own initiation ceremonies, some of them involving circumcision.
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It isn't clear if the impact on the individual is different when a ritual is mandated by faith versus social custom.
In many societies, rituals help signify one’s gender identity.
This is the key idea
Norms
brief reflection
This section is a masterclass in how much of our "natural" behavior is actually programmed by our environment. It’s fascinating to see how even physical discomfort—like someone standing "too close"—is a cultural reaction rather than a biological one. It makes me realize that "common sense" is just "local sense."
In the United States, people who are not intimates usually stand about three to four feet apart when they talk. If someone stands more closely to us, especially if we are of northern European heritage, we feel uncomfortable.
Personal Connections
I take a step back if someone stands too close to me and my personal bubble.
For example, many traditional societies are simple hunting-and-gathering societies. In most of these, men tend to hunt and women tend to gather.
Cultural Concepts The idea that "men hunt, women gather" is a cultural choice rather than a biological rule.
Table manners are a common example of informal norms, as are such everyday behaviors as how we interact with a cashier and how we ride in an elevator.
? This mentions table manners and elevator behavior but doesn't explain how society punishes these people who break these "rules"
Norms are often divided into two types, formal norms and informal norms.
This is the key idea
📝 Brief Reflection This section is surprisingly hopeful. It suggests that prejudice isn't a permanent "bug" in human nature, but a result of isolation. If symbols and language create barriers, then shared experiences—like living in a 10x10 dorm room—can act as a universal translator that breaks those barriers down. It reminds me that "exposure" is often the best cure for fear.
work supporting contact theory suggests that efforts that increase social interaction among people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds in the long run will reduce racial and ethnic tensions.
Personal Connections I thought it would be different having a stepdad from a different ethnic background but it wasn't that different at all.
Studies of such roommates find that whites with black roommates report lowered racial prejudice and greater numbers of interracial friendships with other students (Laar, Levin, Sinclair, & Sidanius, 2005; Shook & Fazio, 2008).Laar, C. V., Levin, S., Sinclair, S., & Sidanius, J. (2005).
? Did the "lowered racial prejudice" last after the students move out or did they return back to their old ways?
People from many different racial and ethnic backgrounds live in large countries such as the United States. Because of cultural differences and various prejudices, it can be difficult for individuals from one background to interact with individuals from another background.
This is the key idea.
Language
📝 Brief Reflection Language isn't just a way to label the world; it’s a filter. The section on sexist and racist language is a powerful reminder that the words we choose aren't "neutral"—they carry the weight of history and power. It makes me wonder: if we changed our vocabulary entirely, would we actually become a more empathetic society?
Symbols
📝 Brief Reflection This text reveals that we aren't just living in a physical world, but a "meaning" world. It’s a reminder that "common sense" isn't universal; what feels like a friendly wave to me could be a declaration of war to someone else. It makes me wonder how many daily misunderstandings are just "symbolic" wires getting crossed.
Language and sexism.
Personal Connections I have noticed around me that terms have changed (e.g., policeMAN to police officer)
The famous but controversial Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, named after two linguistic anthropologists, Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, argues that people cannot easily understand concepts and objects unless their language contains words for these items (Whorf, 1956).Whorf, B. (1956). Language, thought and reality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
cultural concept The "Sapir-Whorf" concept that language limits or expands our reality (e.g., the Japanese word for kiss).
Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\) illustrates this variation with data from 186 preindustrial societies called the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS), a famous data set compiled several decades ago by anthropologist George Murdock and colleagues from information that had been gathered on hundreds of preindustrial societies around the world (Murdock & White, 1969).Murdock, G. P., & White, D. R. (1969). Standard cross-cultural sample. Ethnology, 8, 329–369. In Figure 1.1.3.3, we see that only about one-fourth of the SCCS societies have a written language, while about equal proportions have no language at all or only pictures.
? Its unclear of these percentages are true in todays world or if globalization and technology have increased the presence of written language in those same societies.
Perhaps our most important set of symbols is language. In English, the word chair means something we sit on. In Spanish, the word silla means the same thing.
This is the key idea.
Certain parts of the Middle East and Asia would be offended if they saw you using your left hand to eat, because they use their left hand for bathroom hygiene.
As being left handed, I would have trouble in this area of the world.
Personal Connection
if we make an “O” by putting our thumb and forefinger together, we mean “OK,” but the same gesture in certain parts of Europe signifies an obscenity.
? It would be helpful to know specifically which countries view the "OK" sign as an obscenity
However, the same gesture can mean one thing in one society and something quite different in another society
? Can the same gesture carry different meanings depending on the cultural context?