Our SHSubculture

HW: Read Kohl's Values Americans Live By in your packet.

Subcultures are smaller worlds within larger cultures.  Subcultures follow the overall culture of a society, but they have distinct elements of their own culture that separate them. 

1.  Individually:  What is a subculture that you are a part of?  Use your notes to help you, if you are not sure what a subculture is.  Why is this group a subculture?  What are some unique, interesting aspects about this group that the non-members will not know?

2.  In small groups, discuss the culture at Stevenson.  What makes us so special that visitors from all over the country come to visit and study us?  Is there enough of a difference to consider ourselves a special subculture?  As a group, find elements of culture that make us different from America:

Today's lesson was about what makes a subculture.  A subculture is part of a larger culture, but it has its own unique cultural aspects.  To illustrate how this works, we used our school as an example.  Why do so many visitors come here to see us?  What makes us so different?  Is our school a subculture?  To examine this, we reviewed these cultural traits and applied them to our school:

• Material Culture;  all the physical stuff unique to our school:  the buildings, uniforms, guidebook
• Mores: really serious norms that would disrupt the culture if violated: Walking on the right side of the hall/stairwell, not stopping in the hall or stairwell, not cheating, not fighting, knowing where to park, knowing how to be called out.  All of these are important norms.  If you violate them, there will punishment or judgement against you.
• Folkways: norms that do not have serious moral implications;  being late to class, saying the pledge, no drinks or snacks outside the commons and not wearing green & gold on spirit days all are norms that are frequently violated without serious disruption to the school culture.
• Taboos; Norms that are so accepted, they are not even talked about:  pregnancy & sex, use of drugs outside of school; these are activities that are embarrassing to even talk about.
• Language: PAC, link, traveller, FMP, LOP, Glass commons, wood commons, 
• Symbols: the Patriot (six fingers :-), the SHS seal, the statue, green and gold, 
• Values: going to college, grades, competitiveness; These values are the most important in shaping our school culture.  They pervade every part of the school culture and they are a part of students, teachers, parents and administrators, but this is the hardest aspect of culture to see.  

For some perspective, here are some examples of other schools' cultures.

Do you see how the values we have here might separate us from other schools?  Do you see how they shape so much of what we do here?  I do not know if it counts as a "subculture" by sociological standards, but I think these values are what many of those visitors are searching for in their own schools. For your own thoughts, what subculture(s) are you a part of? What are the traits that make your subculture unique?

Takeaway (For more info see Ferris and Stein 83-85):

What is a subculture?

Why are values important to a culture?

What is a counter culture?

How did the chicken cross the road?

Yesterday's Mindfulness Takeaway:
Gestures and language.  Why are these important?

Today: Cultural Norms - What is expected behavior?

Levine and Wolff published an article about different ways that social scientists researched time in various cultures.  See the article called Social Time here.

 Using the article, please answer these questions:

1. What is the authors' overall claim?

2. What evidence did the authors cite from Brazil?

3. What evidence does language provide?

4.  What other data did researchers use to study time around the world?

Here is more research about time around how time is socially constructed.

Different cultures' perceptions of time are another component of non-material culture called norms.

Norms are what a culture considers normal, acceptable behavior.  Norms vary around the world. One example of this is the norms centered around time. How do people from different cultures think about time differently? What do they consider late or early? These are norms.  Here is a list of other norms from around the world.  It is important to recognize these norms in cross-cultural communication. If we fail to acknowledge these differences we run the risk of offending someone or worse, a whole culture of people.

And this graphic explains varying norms from around the world.

When traveling to different cultures, 'how' the chicken crossed the road seems to be more relevant than 'why'. When I was in Italy, it took me six days to figure out how to cross the street. There were scooters and cars swerving everywhere and honking. Every time I tried to cross the street, cars would screech to a stop and swear at me in Italian. Then I figured out how to do it. Just walk a steady pace across the street and let them avoid you - and it worked! This knowledge of how to cross the street is an important norm, what sociologists call a more.   Mores are important to the order of a society. If you violate them, it will cause a disruption in the social setting. Other norms that are less important are called folkways. Folkways are not crucial to the order of society and if you were to violate a folkway people would not necessarily judge you. The more of how to cross a street can be found in lots of videos on youtube. Watch this video from India. Note how the person crossing the street is aware of the norms of traffic and so the pedestrian successfully crosses without getting hit. It is worth noting that these mores, although very important to the society, are not necessarily laws. Similar to the ideas of time being a social construct, they are just the way that people operate and even though they are not written into laws, they are important to the function of society. Watch this video of an intersection in India and think about who has the right of way? There may not be a law about it, but those drivers know what they are doing, but would an American?

Have you experienced a different set of norms from another culture either by traveling somewhere or by meeting a foreigner here in America? What was it like? Were there misunderstandings?
Something else that you might want to inquire about is another culture's norms;  where you would like to travel?  What are all of the norms you should know if you travel there?  Find out what unique norms exist in their culture. Here is a link to cultural etiquette around the world.

This port-a-potty was the creation of an artist in Switzerland.  Would you be able to use it?
It looks like this from the inside:

Would you be able to use a toilet if it looked like everyone could see you, even though you knew they could not? This is a taboo because even though people could not see us, the mere thought of them seeing us would make us hesitant. In other words, simply thinking about doing this is embarrassing and so we don't want to even think about it. Perhaps, that is why we have so many euphemisms for using the toilet: using the john, the restroom, the bathroom, the lavatory, the men's room, etc...

Takeaway:

Norms 

Folkways

Mores

Taboos

           

            Moral holidays

Moral holiday places

Sanctions 

For more info see Ferris and Stein 79-80

Okay? You called me a what?! Gestures and Language

Homework:  Before our next class, please read Social Time.



We have been examining the components of culture. The non-material aspects of culture are often the most important but we are often unaware of them.

One type of non-material culture is symbolic culture, or gestures and language.

Gestures are important to understanding and communicating within a culture.  Understanding a culture's gestures can also help us avoid ethnocentrism and culture shock.  Here is a guide for international business travelers to help them understand the impact gestures can have on their interaction with other cultures.  Here is a link to a list of some single hand gestures from around the world.

Gestures are also an example that culture is resut of shared meaning among people.  And among groups of people, meaning can change over time.  Here is a post about the Bellamy Salute, a gesture that has changed its cultural meaning over time.

Language

Look at these two shapes.  One is called a maluma and one is called takete.  Which is which? Even if you don't know, take a guess. Write it down without telling anyone what your answer is.

Now Look at these three color chips.  Which one does not belong?

Another important aspect of symbolic culture is Language.  first studied by Saphir and Whorf. Sapir-Whorf has been critically contested in recent years, but the NY Times ran a story about how there is still some merit to the idea of language affecting our thoughts. See that article here. Also, see this post about politics and how the use of English frames every debate especially the debate over gun violence.
Here is a list of untranslatable ideas about love from around the world.
Here is a book that highlights untranslatable words from around the world.
Language is important too as it affects how we think. When we think about something, we are using language inside of our heads so if we use certain words or do not have certain words, it may affect how think about things especially how we categorize something. Here are 11 words that have no translation. When bilingual students think about some ideas they have to shift from one language to another because sometimes it is easier to think about something or express an idea in one language because there are not proper words to describe it in another.

Here (see page 43 of this doc) is a lesson from Carol Mukhopadhyay on classifying in other cultures.  For each of the following sets, choose the item that does not belong:

Set 1. Auto, turtle, basket, bird

Set 2. Laundry, beer, clothing


Set 3. A chair, a spear, a couch 

After you have made your selections, click here for an explanation. 


The ASA's Society Pages shares research by sociologist Matt Wray highlighted on NPR's Code Switch.  Why would the term "White Trash" be derogatory to other races?

This New Yorker article explains the research of professor Adam Alter on the hidden power of words and naming.

Also, here is a study explaining that with out language, numbers do not make sense.

Here is a link to Rabbi Heschel who insightfully explained "words create worlds."

Hidden Brain is a social science podcast from NPR and this episode explores how language shapes how we think.


Takeaway:

What are examples of symbolic culture? 

Why is it necessary to understand symbolic culture? 

            What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis? What are examples of it in our culture?

For more info, see Ferris and Stein page 77-79. 

Our culture is in the toilet...material culture

1 - please take out your ipads and search for a pictureof a thing that represents American culture.  Save that picture, then:

Yesterday we examined two metaphors for understanding culture: The card game and the fishbowl. Take a minute and think about how each of these is like a culture.
2. Turn to a person next to you, the older partner share how the card game was a metaphor for culture.
3.The younger partner share how the fishbowl is like a culture.

Today, let's examine a real life cultural situation. The Danish mother visiting NYC. For example, it is normal for Danish parents to leave their babies in a buggy while they eat inside a restaurant. American culture, especially New Yorkers do not accept this. But this is very accepted in many Scandanavian cultures. So when a Danish mom left her child outside in a baby buggy for over an hour while she ate dinner in a restaurant, it created quite a stir among New Yorkers.
 In this scenario, who experienced culture shock?  Ethnocentrism? And, who was culturally relative?

Could sociology have helped all of the participants to be more understanding of each other? Have you ever been to a foreign culture and experienced culture shock?


My best example of culture shock was the Japanese toilet. At first, the experience can be a culture shock as the traditional Japanese toilet is very different from ours. As we examine this toilet as well as other cultural components we must remember to be culturally relative. In other words, try not to be ethnocentric, but in stead understand each culture from its own perspective.

When understanding culture, sociologists examine material culture (things) and non-material culture (gestures, language, norms, values). Material culture often reflects non-material culture. 

In the case of the Japanese toilet, not only does it look and function differently from ours, but it also represents fundamentally different non-material culture. The Japanese are very germ conscious and they try hard not to spread germs. They also do not have a lot of furniture - they do not sit on furniture in their houses so why would they sit on a porcelain throne in a bathroom? And finally, they are used to sitting and squatting in positions difficult for westerners.






The Japanese do have a "Western style" toilet that  is more like the toilet we are used to however, it still represents differences in both - its material and non-material culture.

In either case, the point is that there is nothing natural about culture.  In other words, there are no weird ways of doing things that come quite natural to us.  There are only different ways of doing things.  And material culture, although physically different, often represents a different non-material culture, such as a different way of thinking about the world.

Back to the image you found at the start of class.  What non-material culture might this image represent?

Another example would be how people eat around the world.  That is, what utensils they eat with.

Speaking of toilets, here is an NPR story from Goats and Soda about toilets around the world.  checkout this post from NPR about a movie in India which stars a toilet! :-)



And here is a post from Nathan Palmer about how gendered material culture reflects nonmaterial culture.

And this post is about the cultural meaning of athletic wear like yoga pants.

Takeaway:
-->

What is material culture?

Why is it important?

           

For more info, see Ferris and Stein page 76.

Culture can be tricky...

Today we are playing cards!  (No - not Hold 'Em, sorry)

We are playing a game similar to Spades or Hearts or Euchre, called a "trick" game.

The game is made up for sociology.  Teach each other how to play.

Once we start, I will ask that you PLAY WITHOUT LANGUAGE.

When I clap, the one winner of the most tricks from each group will rotate clockwise.

The one loser from each group will rotate counter clockwise.

Rock paper scissors to decide ties.

NO TALKING PLEASE!

Welcome to Unit 2: Culture!

Download the packet for Unit 2 here.




Today in class we examined how people react when they come into contact with different cultures. Culture is essentially all the rules we learn about how to live our lives. We played a card game that illustrated this. When we are exposed to other cultures and we see such different rules, we are sometimes in shock of how different the other culture is (culture shock). If this shock results in our judging a culture based on the rules we have learned that is called ethnocentrism. Instead, sociologists try to use cultural relativity when examining a culture.

 Another metaphor for culture that we use is a fishbowl. All of the stuff in the fishbowl is material culture. But what you can't see (the water) is just as important (if not more so): the ph value of the water, the temperature, whether it is salty or not, etc... This is called nonmaterial culture. Additionally, the fish has never known life out of water just like we have been surrounded by culture from the moment we are born. And lastly, the fish must look through the water to see the world just as we always look through our culture to understand the world. We are limited and shaped by our cultural experiences. If the water in the bowl is blue then the whole world looks blue to the fish.

Takeaway:
-->

Identify the following reactions to culture:

            Culture Shock -

           

Ethnocentrism -

            Cultural Relativity –

How is culture like a fish bowl?

Social Network

Nick Christakis is a sociologist and medical doctor who found that the influence of social networks goes far beyond who we see on a daily basis.  Read an excerpt here.

"Renowned scientists Christakis and Fowler present compelling evidence for our profound influence on one another's tastes, health, wealth, happiness, beliefs, even weight, as they explain how social networks form and how they operate."

Here is Christakis explaining his research at TED:






This is a link to my post about Gephi, a social network visualizer which is especially useful for Facebook and Twitter.
Here are 2 samples of what Gephi can do:

Here is research from The American Sociological Review about how Master Status can be so difficult to change and a powerful influence on an individual.  Here is an explanation of the research on The Society Pages.

Unit 2: Sociological Research

HW: Please read Venkatesh's Gang Leader for a day, due in 2 days.

Unit 1 should have given you an understanding of how sociologists view the world (aka a sociological perspective).  This unit will build on that perspective by giving you an understanding of how sociologists gather research to inform their perspectives.

Let's start with a simple quiz using common sense.  All of these questions are based on sociological research, but if you don't know the research, just answer based on your instinct or your first guess.

Here is the quiz Take the quiz and answer True or False for each.  Answer quickly using common sense.  Then click here to check your answers and see what the point is.

So the point is, that sociology is based on research and sometimes that research reveals that our common sense is not the reality.  And that is why sociology is a scientific study.   Sociological research often shows up in secondary sources.  These sources might mention the conclusions of a study without explaining the methodology that the sociologist used.

Some examples of secondary sources include:

• Often cited in news articles;  Here is a Google search for "sociology" in the NYT.
• The textbook for our class; Real World Sociology by Ferris and Stein. Here are the references for the text.
• Contexts magazine; A publication by the American Sociological Association that explains the latest research in an accessible way for students and general public to understand.  Here is the Contexts website, especially in the In Brief section
• The Society Pages:  Website of sociology resources, especially Discoveries page.

Browse the secondary sources for sociology and find an interesting article.  What did the research find?  Does it explain how the authors did the research?

Ferris and Stein References

Constructing a teenager

What do you think Coontz’s claim/thesis is?  Find a passage from the text that summarizes her claim.

Evidence:

3. What evidence does Coontz provide for her claim?

Application

4.  Can you think of examples from your own life that support Coontz’s thesis?  If you can’t think of examples that apply directly to you, perhaps you can think of examples that apply to siblings, relatives, or friends?

We read an excerpt from sociologist Stephanie Coontz called "Parent-Teen Conflicts."  Hopefully the article helped you see that the idea of a "teenager" is a social construction.  The idea of a teenager has only been around since the 1940s.  Before that, individuals went more from childhood to adulthood very quickly.  Now, the process of childhood has a long drawn out middle period.  This encompasses the "teenage years" but it also includes what sociologists call "young adulthood."  Sociologists estimate the average age of independence in the United States  to be 27.  That is when (on average) individuals can be self-sustaining financially and emotionally and socially enough to have a family and residence of their own.  So this leaves a long middle period between the age of puberty (10) and independence (27).  And throughout that time, there are many mixed messages being given to young adults.  This results in "rolelessness," or a feeling of not knowing what is expected of you during those years.  One example was the lack of meaningful work.  Teens generally have jobs that society deems as unworthy or meaningless.  This can leave teens feeling like they don't matter.  Can you see how Coontz makes that point?  Do you see how that can be true?  Can you see how being a "teenager" is a social construction?

What should be the marker for independence?

For more on the difficulties of determining adulthood, see this November 2016 Contexts article, Growing Up is Harder to Do.2 - After the Great Recession.

What are some of the ways teens feel when dealing with adults and expectations whether it's parents, school, work, laws or rules?  How are these feelings a social construct?

And this follow-up from Contexts about research showing different routes to adulthood depending on one's race, social class and other factors.

Imagine this...with Sociology

As you enter, please take out your gold Framework guide and read this post:

We have been talking about a how sociologists view the world.  Another way to understand how to have a sociological perspective is through what C. Wright Mills calls a "sociological imagination".  Mills described the sociological imagination as the "connection of biography to history".   Biography is who a person is.  History is when and where you live.  So, a sociological imagination is the understanding that people are shaped by when and where they live.

One example of sociological imagination is through the Beloit Mindset list. Every year, Beloit College publishes a list of how the current year's freshmen will experience and have experienced the world differently.

Click on the link above and think about how your world is different than the one in which your parents grew up.

Data/example:  How is this an example of the sociological imagination?

A couple examples of this are from the NY Times:
Here is an article about students not writing in cursive.
And, this link is about the changing role of the wristwatch.

Both show that being born in a different time means students will experience the world differently.  This might sound obvious, but there is a tendency for people to think that they are simply who they are regardless of time or place.


Conclusions and inquiry:  How might kids being born today experience the world differently than you have?  Or, how might kids being born in 2013 be influenced differently than you have?  And yet another way to think about this is, how might you have been different if you grew up somewhere else?  Especially for those of you who have moved, try to imagine what your life would be if you still lived somewhere else.


Another example is this video of a child who is trying to use a magazine like an ipad:



This is a great post from the Everyday Sociology site that explains how a sociological imagination can be used to analyze how individuals are affected by where they live.

Student Notes:

What is a sociological imagination?
What does it mean to be the intersection of history and biography?

What is does SI have to do with personal troubles and public issues?

Refer to Ferris & Stein (textbook) pgs. 9-13, 17 for more info.