The last element of culture is the artifacts, or material objects, that constitute a society’s material 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.

Some of the most interesting norms that differ by culture govern how people stand apart when they talk with each other

Other evidence for cultural variation in norms comes from the study of how men and women are expected to behave in various societies. For example, many traditional societies are simple hunting-and-gathering societies.

Every student should put his books under his desk,” the teacher obviously means students of both sexes but may be

sexist language

kissu

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

One of the most important developments in the evolution of society was the creation of written language.

subcultures

Humans have a capacity for language that no other animal species possesses. Our capacity for language in turn helps make our complex culture possible. In the United States, some people consider a common language so important that they advocate making English the official language of certain cities or states or even the whole country and banning bilingual education in the public schools (Ray, 2007).Ray, S. (2007). Politics over officia

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. As long as we agree how to interpret these words, a shared language and thus society are possible

Here pigs are held in the highest regard

In India, cows also act as an essential source of fertilizer, to the tune of 700 million tons of manure annually, about half of which is used for fertilizer and the other half of which is used as fuel for cooking.

if they work hard enough. The WVS asked whether success results from hard work or from luck and connections. Figure 1.1.3.11

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. These two figures depict declining racial and gender prejudice in the United States during the past quarter-century.

However, the sheer number of unsafe, illegal abortions over the next several decades helped fuel a demand for repeal of abortion laws that in turn helped lead to the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 that generally legalized abortion during the first two trimesters.

If anything, clothing styles change even more often than hairstyles. Hemlines go up, hemlines go down.

Nacirema

In some cultures, special ceremonies also mark a girl’s first menstrual period.

“natural” experiment

Whorf hypothesis

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”

erm Alternative Businessman Businessperson, executive Fireman Fire fighter Chairman Chair, chairperson Policeman Police officer Mailman Letter carrier, postal worker Mankind Humankind, people Man-made Artificial, synthetic Waitress Server He (as generic pronoun) He or she; he/she; s/he “A professor should be devoted to his students” “Professors should be devoted to their students”

Every student should put his books under his desk,” the teacher obviously means students of both sexes but may be sending a subtle message that boys matter more than girls.

sexist language

kissu

linguistic

preindustrial societies

Politics over official

subcultures

underscore

patriotism