Professor’s instructions: In Week 3 we will be talking about the characteristics of culture.
1) Within our culture, there are many subcultures (a group of people who hold many of the values and norms of the large culture but also hold onto certain beliefs, values, and
norms, that set them apart.) Are you familiar with any subcultures or ethnic minorities in your own society? Could you make friends with or even marry someone from another subculture? What kind of problems would you be likely to encounter? (Student: the answer is yes for the last part of the question.)
2) As noted in the readings, culture is based on symbols. What is a symbol of your culture and what does it signify?
3) Peoples in all cultures across the world display ethnocentrism, but some more so than others. Considering todays globalization (as described in Chapter 1), do you think ethnocentrism poses more of a problem than in the past? What are the positives and what are the negatives of ethnocentrism?
