Many societies tend to be ethnocentric—those living in them believe that their own culture’s norms, values, and traditions are better than those of other cultures. In many cases, newcomers are expected to assimilate, or to replace elements of their own culture with elements of the dominant culture. Groups that do not want to assimilate entirely may engage in identity politics, or try to use their power to strengthen the position of the cultural groups with which they identify. A society that values multiculturalism accepts and even embraces the cultures of many different groups and encourages cultural diversity. Multicultural societies often embrace cultural relativism, or the belief that there are no cultural universals.
Key forms of culture are global culture, consumer culture, and cyberculture.
Key Terms
Americanization, 84
anti-Americanism, 84
assimilation, 79
consumer culture, 85
countercultures, 77
cultural imperialism, 84
cultural relativism, 83
culture, 68
culture jamming, 87
culture war, 78
cyberculture, 88
ethnocentrism, 83
folkways, 72
ideal culture, 75
identity politics, 83
ideology, 76
language, 73
laws, 72
material culture, 73
mores, 72
multiculturalism, 79
norms, 72
real culture, 75
sanctions, 72
subcultures, 76
symbolic culture, 73
values, 71
Review Questions
1 What do you and your peers think of Juuling? Are you considered “cool” if you Juul? If you don’t Juul?
2 How and why might the American value of democracy have created tensions in Iraq and Afghanistan?
3 As part of our material culture, what values do smartphones reflect? In what ways have “brand communities” or other subcultures formed around smartphones and their use?
4 Consider the terminology that has developed around the internet. How does this language reflect changes in the world around us? In what ways does it shape the world around us?
5 Skateboarders constitute a subculture because they have certain cultural differences (in language, dress, values) that set them apart from other groups in society. What is another example of a subculture in the United States, and what elements of this culture (both material and symbolic) make it unique?
6 How does a counterculture differ from a subculture? Is it reasonable to say that computer hackers are part of a counterculture? Can you think of other examples of countercultures?
7 What is the difference between assimilation and multiculturalism? Would you say that the United States is an assimilationist or a multiculturalist society? Would you say that multiculturalism is more a part of the ideal culture or the real culture of the United States? Why?
8 What are some of today’s important culture wars? In what ways and to what degree are you engaged in them? Even if you are not active in them, how is your life affected by them?
9 What do we mean by the term global culture? Do you think the evolution of popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter is related more to the evolution of a global culture or to Americanization? In what ways are these sites reflective of cultural hybridization?
10 To what extent are you and your friends embedded in a consumer culture? How has the development of technology (the internet, smartphones, and so forth) contributed to the development of cyberculture? What is the relationship between consumer culture and cyberculture?
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Descriptions of Images and Figures
Back to Figure
The map shows the extent of laws enforced by different states of the United States against cell phone use and texting while driving as of 2018.
A legend below the map has five categories. The states that fall under these categories are:
Handheld phone use ban for all drivers: California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, Georgia, West Virginia, New York, DC, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Hawaii
Primary enforcement of texting ban for all drivers: Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, North Dakota, Alaska, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts
Secondary enforcement of texting ban for all drivers: South Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio and Florida
Texting ban for novice/beginner drivers: None
No texting ban in the state: Montana
Back to Figure
A map of the world illustrates how major languages are distributed. The legend lists 11 major languages namely; Arabic, Chinese dialects, English, French, German, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian and other Slavic, Spanish, Turkic and Others.
The data for the map has been collated from Data from Languages of the World, One World, Nations Online Project.
Major nations that the languages are spoken in are mentioned below:
Arabic: Arabian Peninsula nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, Syria; North African nations of Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, and Morocco
Chinese dialects: China
English: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Nigeria, Zambia and Kenya in Africa; Australia; United States and Canada in North America; United Kingdom
French: Congo, Mali, Niger, Ivory Coast and Guinea in Africa; France; French Guiana in South America
German: Germany; Austria, and Switzerland
Hindi: India, Pakistan
Portuguese: Portugal, Brazil, Angola and Mozambique
Russian and other Slavic: Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Serbia, Czech Republic, Bosnia, and Slovakia
Spanish: Mexico, Central American states such as Panama, EL Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba, Costa Rica; South American countries including Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina
Turkic: Turkey, Uzbekistan,