Chapter 3: Culture

Chapter 3 was quite interesting to me. I really learned alot about different views of others culture. The test describes culture as one of sociology's core concepts, and it is essential in society. Culture is a collection of values, beliefs, knowledge, norms, language, behaviors, and material objects shared by a people and socially transmitted from generation to generation. To me, everything such as what we eat, drink, how we dress, how we behave in different settings, language, how we speak, and how we think is a part of ones culture and every one has their own. What may seem normal to Americans may not seem normal to people from other countries, and what may be normal to other countries may not seem normal to us Americans. Based upon the article "The Body of Nacirema" , the ritual of the mouth-rite, didnt really seem normal to me, and us as Americans going to the dentist to clean our mouths may not seem normal to those who practice the mouth-rite. I also learmed the different elements of culture, which are material culture and nonmaterial culture. Material culture refers to physical objects produced by people in a particular culture, including tools, clothing, toys, works of art and housing, while non material culture refers to the ideas of a culture, including values and beliefs. Also culture has alot to do with values which is a deeply held principle or standard that people use to make judgments about the world, beliefs which are the specific convictions or opinions that its people generally accept as being true, knowledge which is the range of information, awareness, and understanding that helps us navigate our world, and norms that are culture's rule and expectations for "appropriate" behavior. There is also cultural diversity which involves dominant cultural subcultures, and countercultures, high culture and popular culture, the commercialization of culture, and multiculturalism. Culture basically has a significance in our every day lives.