Values and Cultural Change Flashcards
Values
emotionally charged preferences
Core-Values can be Highly Variable cross-culturally
examples
Americans value freedom & free-choice: marriage, vote, career, speech VS Socialist/communist of collective good countries not the same because of political history
Pre Marital Chastity
Bodily Functions (Japan vs US)
Dowry
where bride’s family gives groom’s family or couple
Bride Price
the groom’s family is paying for right of the bride
Nude Bathing
customary to bathe before or after dinner with others when visiting someone’s house in Japan
“shut” and “unchi”
japanese ad based on a california raisin ad which was a toilet cover ad where poop sang instead of raisins
Condom factory
street sign that advertised this very boldly
Idiosyncratic
How many values are dependent upon the individual
EX: vegitarianism
Values are often highly Divisive in nature + Examples
emotionally charged preferences.
Suffrage for Native Americans - 1924, big in native american populated states
Pro Life vs Pro Choice - putting 2 strong opinions against each other, when is it actually alive
Capital Punishment yes or no - death penalty
Core values can be very Ethnocentric example
Tasmania - wiped out and treated very inhumane
Cultural extinctions - 87 extinctions in the last century
Values tend to Reflect, or be consistent with, other areas of culture example
Extended Postpartum Sexual Taboos - refrain from having sex for long after having a kid (2+ years), done in cultures with limited sources of protein (done to allow full milk feeding of child)
* Horticulture and Kwashiorkor
Not compatible in Western culture because we have food
Values Change example
Integrity of the government
* 1950s everyone would agree in integrity
* A lot of people agreed after 9/11 because they believed that gov would respond
* Now no one agrees
Two types of cultural change (innovation)
Invention and discovery
Innovation
basis of all culture change, the Ultimate Source.
“Any new practice or custom, tool or element of technology, value or principle of knowledge, that becomes Widely Embraced by a Significant Number of Individuals in a given society.”
Invention
a novel rearrangement or use of preexisting knowledge or technologies.
Examples of Invention
Rugby → football
Cricket → baseball
Airplane - wright brothers used pre existing technology (kites, birds, air balloons, gliders, gliders on wheels)
Warfare - Spear → spear thrower (longer stick that makes up for short limbs) → bow and arrow (+bow drill for fires) –> cosmetic rockets (after discovery of gunpowder) → dangerous rockets (projectiles, cannons, artillery, missiles) → guns
Discovery
A wholly new Technology or Knowledge, becoming aware of existing phenomena.
Examples of Discovery
- Microwave Energy - led to invention of radar, microwave ovens (weren’t used often because people were scared of it)
- Pasteurization - huge impact of food storage and safety
- Penicillin - huge impact of medicine that was spread widely quickly And other antibiotics invented based on penicillin
- Fermentation - alcohol was an inevitable discovery because food storage causes fermentation. Eventually developed very well. Almost everything can be fermented.
Alcohol (like rubbing alcohol or hard spirit) is more of an invention that originated from a discovery. A still was invented to capture the vapor - Oil - led to the invention of a lot of petroleum products (plastic, gas, etc.)
- Nuclear energy
- DNA - a lot of genetic works
Diffusion
the spreading of cultural traits over time and geographical space. Sometimes modified to fit the culture that is borrowing the item.
Americanized Food - everything is fried
Spread across the world from US - coke, fast food (modified to fit culture), Hollywood (American films), consumerism
100% American
book that demonstrates where the common items are from somewhere else.
* Everything is imported & invented from somewhere else
* Glass, rubber, silk, cotton, coins, pottery, steel, etc
Why are Cultural Traits Adopted?
Relative Advantage (with tech before) & Compatibility (does it fit or be easily modified)
Entertainment, style, status, taste good, nostalgia
Diffusion of the Horse
Culture trait adopted because it was compatible with the lack of predators.
Horses made it easier to hunt buffalo which provided a lot of resources and just gather resources + travel in general.
Examples of Compatibility
McDonalds in India - Changed because a lot of India don’t eat cows (veggie burgers)
Steak Houses & Sushi - Japanese steak houses was very popular in the US (American japanese food)
