Culture and how the world is viewed

According to Sociology the Fifteenth edition by John J. Macionis, “Culture is the way of thinking, the ways of acting, and material objects that together form a people’s way of life.” Culture can define everything about someone, but the real question is, “How did culture begin?” Culture describes everything about a person, to the way that person walk, eat, speak and live their life. Culture also can determine the past and the future.

Culture is broken up into two main categories, which are nonmaterial culture and material culture. An example of nonmaterial culture is how someone worships, and an example of material culture is a flag or someone clothes. Everything someone does represents a symbol, anything that creates a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture according to Sociology the Fifteenth. Symbols can represent almost everything a person can wear and say, as in language, clothes, values and beliefs. Values are culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful, and that serve as broad guidelines for social living. Beliefs are specific ideas that people hold to be true. These two definitions can be classified as symbols and can define Culture very well. All of these definitions and language defines culture.

Culture can also determine norms. Norms are my favorite part of this chapter because norms are the things we do on a normal basis and don’t realize that we do them. A norm is the rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members. A norm can be broken up into two parts, depending on the punishment. A mores norm are widely observed and have a great moral significance, in other words, a mores norm is when someone breaks the law or do something foolish to earn jail time or something severe. Another type of norm is folkways norm, which is for routine or casual interaction. In other words, an example of a folkway norm can be not using the proper utensils to eat a salad or soup, or facing the opposite direction in the elevator.

Lastly, Culture can be a part of Sociobiology. Sociobiology is a theoretical approach that explores ways in which human biology affects how we create culture. I chose this topic last to represent Culture because this definition talks about how culture is a system of behavior that is shaped by human biology. This definition also resembles how someone was raised into culture and how culture patterns are rooted in humanity’s biological evolution. By applying the evolutionary perspective, sociobiology explains double standards and how men treats women as a sexual object instead of how men treat other men. This perspective comes from the male domination. In conclusion, everything we do and say comes from culture, if you know or not. Everything we were taught to do, say, and wear came from culture. Culture defines someone in their behavior and in their language. Culture is important because without it, you wouldn’t know who the real you would be.

http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/culture-effects-the-way-we-think/ 

http://www.parachutedigitalmarketing.com.au/blog/the-online-user-experience/im-inspired-by-how-different-cultures-engage-online/