Material and Nonmaterial Culture
There is a clear difference between material and non-material culture. Material cultures are things that are physical and nonmaterial are things that one cannot see. Material cultures are things that refer to physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture. These include homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools, churches, offices, factories and plants, tools, goods and products, stores, and so forth. Nonmaterial culture refers to the nonphysical ideas that people have about their culture, including beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language, organizations, and institutions. For instance, the non-material cultural concept of religion consists of a set of ideas and beliefs about God, worship, morals, and ethics. These beliefs, then, determine how the culture responds to its religious topics, issues, and events. All of these physical aspects of a culture help to define its behaviors and perceptions.
In the story where Sarah was on her way to grab some coffee from a break from studying, I notice that she has a lot of non-material culture than material culture. She took a break from her study and decided to grab some coffee. She got into her car which was her new convertible Mercedes, and since car is transportation and a physical object it is consider a material. So as Sarah was on her way to the coffee shop she received a text message, and now we know that she has a cell phone with her which is another material object. As she looked down at her cell phone to see the message she didn’t notice that she ran a stop sign, and that’s when the police pulled her over.
The Essay on Diversity: Culture and Physical Qualities
1. What is diversity? Why is diversity valued? Diversity is the condition of being different. For example: culture, race, education, religion, experiences, gender, physical qualities, sexual orientation, etc. Diversity is valued because it enriches us with its multiplicity of opinion and ecperience. Nobody is completely the same, our differences and diversities can lead to growth in our society in ...
The officer had a thick Southern accent which made it a non material culture for using language. As Sarah was handing the officer her driver license and insurance she realized that she was wearing her Spring break t-shirt, she then started to shout out to the officer that she is a college student, and that she hasn’t been drinking at all, she was only going to get coffee. I believe that with that statement that she made it is a non-material culture because she described who she was to the officer. After receiving the ticket it stated that she was contemplating the rest of the way to the coffee shop and that is also a non-material culture because that is a moral and ethic behavior and it is the law to go by the speed limit.
I feel that Sarah was so exhausted from her study that she lost track of what was going on around her. She ran through a stop sign while attempting to check her incoming text, which was a very dangerous thing to do. In conclusion the difference between material and non-material culture is that it is easier to change the material culture of any society than the non material part of it. It’s because culture is a socially learned behavior. Norms, values, ideas, and beliefs are largely dependent on the kind of culture we belong to as the products of this non material culture. The non material aspects of any culture are its customs, philosophy, beliefs, patterns and ways of communication verbal and non-verbal.
