Week 1 - Concepts and Elements of Culture & Society PDF

TSLB1094 CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL STUDIES CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL STUDIES TSLB1094 LSY/TSLB1094/2021  TASK In your respective groups, discuss your understanding of social studies. LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Definition of Social Studies the study of people in relation to...

TSLB1094 CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL STUDIES CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL STUDIES TSLB1094 LSY/TSLB1094/2021  TASK In your respective groups, discuss your understanding of social studies. LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Definition of Social Studies the study of people in relation to each other and to their world. issues focused and inquiry-based. interdisciplinary study - draws upon history, geography, ecology, economics, law, philosophy, political science and other social science disciplines. fosters students’ understanding of and involvement in practical and ethical issues that face their communities and humankind. enables students to develop an understanding of who they are, what they want to become and the society in which they want to live. LSY/TSLB1094/2021  TASK Study the MK, what do you think is the perspective of SOCIAL STUDIES that you would “learn” for this course? LSY/TSLB1094/2021  COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME 1. Explain concepts and elements related to culture and society. 2. Analyse issues related to gender and society. 3. Evaluate communication and environmental issues in multicultural contexts. LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Course Topics (1) concepts and elements related to culture and society (4) environmental (2) issues related to issues in gender and society multicultural society (3) communication issues in multicultural LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Focus Activity Take a scrap piece of paper and draw a picture of social studies. Be sure to use images and not words. Share drawings with classmates. Discuss the details of the drawings. Compare drawings for substance with classmates. Does your drawing share common themes/elements with classmates? If so, what are the themes/elements? LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Think About It… What one descriptive word best pulls together your image of contemporary social studies? Do you think there is any truth in this statement? Justify. Many students do not see the link between social studies programme and social participation in the classroom, school, community, nation and the world. LSY/TSLB1094/2021  What is the purpose of social studies? Preparing responsible citizens to: acquire knowledge & skills in social studies develop skills to think and to process information develop appropriate values and beliefs have opportunities for citizenship/social participation Developing awareness & understanding of social issues Developing healthy self-concepts Teaching the methods of social scientists Developing the ability to solve problems and make decisions Developing culturally responsive “global” citizens LSY/TSLB1094/2021 What is the purpose of social studies? Preparing responsible citizens Preparing students who have the knowledge and skills in social studies needed Developing awareness and understanding of contemporary social issues Developing healthy self-concepts Teaching the methods of social scientists Developing the ability to solve problems and make decisions Developing culturally responsive “global” citizens LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Quiz—Testing Your Common Sense? Around the globe, people make assumptions about the way the world “is.” Common sense, the things that “everyone knows are true,” may or may not be true. Some findings of sociology support commonsense understandings of social life while others contradict them. Can you tell the difference? LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Henslin, J. M. (2019). Essentials of sociology: A down-to-earth approach. (13th ed.). Pearson. Quiz—Testing Your Common Sense? 1. True/False With life so rushed and more women working for wages, today’s parents spend less time with their children than parents of previous generations did. 2. True/False It is more dangerous to walk near bars than fast- food restaurants. 3. True/False Most rapists are mentally ill. 4. True/False A large percentage of terrorists are mentally ill. 5. True/False Because bicyclists are more likely to wear helmets now than a few years ago, their rate of head injuries has dropped. LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Henslin, J. M. (2019). Essentials of sociology: A down-to-earth approach. (13th ed.). Pearson. 1. With life so rushed and more women working for wages, today’s parents spend less time with their children than parents of previous generations did. False. Today’s parents actually spend more time with their children (Bianchi et al. 2006). LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Henslin, J. M. (2019). Essentials of sociology: A down-to-earth approach. (13th ed.). Pearson.  2. It is more dangerous to walk 3. Most rapists are near bars than fast- mentally ill. food restaurants. False. False. Sociologists compared the The crime rate outside fast-food restaurants is psychological profiles of considerably higher. The prisoners convicted of rape likely reason is that bars and prisoners convicted of hire private security and other crimes. Their profiles parking lot attendants were similar. Like robbery, (Linz et al. 2004). rape is a learned behavior (Scully and Marolla 1984/2007). Henslin, J. M. (2019). Essentials of sociology: A LSY/TSLB1094/2021 down-to-earth approach. (13th ed.). Pearson.  5. Because bicyclists are 4. A large percentage more likely to wear of terrorists are helmets now than a few mentally ill. years ago, their rate of False. head injuries has Extensive testing of dropped. Islamic terrorists shows False. that they actually tend Bicyclists today are more to score more “normal” likely to wear helmets, but on psychological tests their rate of head injuries is than most “normal” higher. Apparently, they people do. As a group, take more risks because the they are in better helmets make them feel mental health than the safer (Barnes 2001). rest of the population (Sageman 2008b:64). LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Henslin, J. M. (2019). Essentials of sociology: A down-to-earth approach. (13th ed.). Pearson.  The customs, arts, social What is institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or CULTURE? other social group: (Oxford dictionary) LSY/TSLB1094/2021  CULTURE IS …. What is culture? - the beliefs and behaviour s that a social group Little, W. (2016). Introduction to Sociology: 2nd Canadian Edition. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontosociology2ndedition/ LSY/TSLB1094/2021 TASK In your respective groups, explain the development of culture as a human strategy for survival. LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Explain the development of culture as a human strategy for survival. Culture is a way of life. Culture is shared by members of a society. Culture shapes how we act, think and feel. Culture is human trait. Although several species display a members of a society. Culture is a product of evolution. As the human brain evolved, culture replaced biological instincts as our species’ primary strategy for survival. LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Macionis, J. (2019). Sociology. (17th ed.). Pearso Explain the development of culture as a human strategy for survival. We experience culture shock when we enter an unfamiliar culture and are not able to ‘read’ meaning in our new surroundings. We create culture shock for others when we act in ways they do not understand. culture – the ways of thinking, the ways of acting, and the material objects that together form a people’s way of life material culture—the physical things created by members of a society (such things as jewelry, art, buildings, weapons, machines, and even eating utensils, hairstyles, and clothing) nonmaterial culture - ways of thinking (its beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world) LSY/TSLB1094/2021 and Macionis, doing J. (2019). (its(17th ed.). Pearso Sociology.  Think About It… Why must we understand culture? Look at the cultural contrasts. Can you see how the cultures of these women have given them not only different orientations concerning the presentation of their bodies but also of gender relations, how they expect to relate to men? Vignet te Henslin, J. M. (2019). Essentials of sociology: A LSY/TSLB1094/2021 down-to-earth approach. (13th ed.). Pearson. Read this vignette. What do you think culture means from this extract? The author found these unfamiliar behaviours unsettling. They violated his basic expectations of “the way people ought to be” He did not even realize how firmly he held these expectations until they were challenged. His nonmaterial culture failed him. He experienced a disorientation known as culture shock. LSY/TSLB1094/2021  Culture and Taken-for-Granted Orientations to Life It is essential to understand how culture affects people’s lives. We usually take our speech, our gestures, our beliefs, and our customs for granted. We assume that they are “normal” or “natural,” and we almost always follow them without question. As anthropologist Ralph Linton (1936) said, “The last thing a fish would ever notice would be water.” So also with people: Except in unusual circumstances, most characteristics of our own culture remain unnoticeable to us. Culture is so essential in determining the type of people we become. It touches almost every aspect of who and what we are We all acquire culture - and have taken it for granted. Sociologists call this culture within us. These learned and shared ways of believing penetrate our beings at an early age and quickly become part of our taken-for-granted assumptions about what normal behavior is. Henslin, J. M. (2019). Essentials of sociology: A LSY/TSLB1094/2021 down-to-earth approach. (13th ed.). Pearson. THE ELEMENTS OF CULTURE Symbols Language Values Rituals/ Beliefs Norms LSY/TSLB1094/2021  SYMBOLS Culture relies on The fact that different meanings can come to be symbols in the form of associated with the same words, gestures and symbol. actions to express meaning. Humans transform elements of the world into symbols. Societies create new symbols all the time. For example, new computer Macionis, J. (2019). Sociology. (17th ed.). LSY/TSLB1094/2021 technology – new cyber- Pearson.  LANGUAGE Language is uniquely human and the key to all human activities. It is the vehicle through which the Gertrude Boyd, world can be 1973 understood and appreciated. Without language people are isolated and helpless. Transmission of Culture: Creation and transmission of culture depends heavily on symbols and language Cultural transmission – the process by which one generation passes LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Macionis, J. (2019). Sociology. (17th ed.). Pearson. culture to the next  L A N G Language is the symbolic system by which people in a U culture communicate with one another. A People use language – both spoken and written – to transmit culture from one Because every culture is different, each language has words or expressions not G generation to the next. Macionis, J. (2019). Sociology. (17th ed.). LSY/TSLB1094/2021 found in any other language. Pearson.  TASK Does language shape reality? Discuss. Does someone who thinks and speaks using Achinese, an Austronesian language, experience the world differently from other Malays who think in Bahasa Melayu? LSY/TSLB1094/2021  The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis The hypothesis of linguistic relativity by Edward Sapir & Benjamin Whorf How we think about a thing is directly related to the number Human Languages: A Variety of and complexity of words to Symbols describe it. Since language differs, perceptions differ. How many words describe “Time”? People see and understand How many words the world describe through cultural “Kiss”? lens of language. Macionis, J. (2019). Sociology. (17th ed.). LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Pearson.  VALUES Values are abstract standards of what ought to be (for e.g. equality of opportunity). Values can sometimes be in conflict with one another. Can you give examples? Lower-income countries have cultures that value survival; higher-income countries have cultures that value individualism and self-expression. Explain. values – culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good and beautiful and that serve as broad guidelines for social living Macionis, J. (2019). Sociology. (17th ed.). LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Pearson.  BELIEFS/ RITUALS Beliefs are specific statements that people who share a culture hold to be true (for e.g., “A qualified woman could be elected prime minister”). Explain. beliefs – specific ideas that people hold to be true Macionis, J. (2019). Sociology. (17th ed.). LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Pearson.  NORMS Rules that guide human behaviour: mores – e.g. sexual taboos, which have great moral significance folkways – e.g. greetings or dining etiquette, which are matters of everyday politeness Mores and folkways are the basic rules of everyday life. Norms make dealings with others more orderly and predictable – even though sometimes we resist pressure to conform. Observing or breaking rules of social life – response would be in the form of punishment or reward. Sanctions – a system of social control. Give examples. Macionis, J. (2019). Sociology. (17th ed.). LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Pearson.  NORMS norms – rules and expectations by which a society guides the behaviours of its members mores – norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance folkways – norms for routines or casual interactions social control – attempts by society to regulate people’s thoughts and behaviours In everyday life, people respond to each other with sanctions, rewards or punishment that encourage conformity to cultural norms. Macionis, J. (2019). Sociology. (17th ed.). LSY/TSLB1094/2021 Pearson.  Guided Learning Activity (e- pembelajaran) In 5 groups, each group chooses only one element (no repetition of elements). Search the internet for these elements of culture. Prepare infographic posters with information to explain LSY/TSLB1094/2021 REFLECTION You receive an interview just as you were losing hope of find a job. During your interview, an enthusiastic committee member asks you, “What do you believe to be the goals and purpose of social studies?” Your response could be the difference between being offered the position or not. Write down how you would answer the enthusiastic committee member. Be sure to clearly discuss the goals and purpose of social studies. LSY/TSLB1094/2021 MORE ACTIVITIES…. How would you characterize the problems approach to social studies? Why would a map-creation exercise be critical in an English class when the pupils are studying on a topic about countries? In what areas would you have impact as a future primary school teacher having gone through TSL1094? In what ways would TSL1094 stress on the role of thinking skills in social studies? LSY/TSLB1094/2021