In chapter 3, you will notice that your chapter that there are various components of culture (such as material culture, symbols, language, values, norms, and rituals). Depending on the needs of the society and the history of a society, different cultural components develop differently.
Warning for this assignment: I have found that students sometimes oversimplify cultures they are not familiar with. Do not do this, you will lose points. I find this is extremely common when people describe Muslims, Africans, or Asians. These represent huge populations with varying cultures and customs. Be as specific as you can (if you are showing a picture from Saudi Arabia, you are likely representing a SAUDI ARABIAN cultural trait, not just a general Muslim trait).
Your job in this thread is to illustrate this. You must:
1) Choose one of the components of culture as defined by the chapter. Make sure to clearly state which component you are attempting to illustrate. Include a small description (in your words) of this component. I only need enough of a description to show you understand what this component is.
2) Look through the internet for a visual, video, or descriptively textual depiction of this same component represented by two different cultures – provide the appropriate links. To be clear, I’m looking for two links. One for each specific culture.
3) Give a brief (a short paragraph – at least 100 words) description of the component example (make sure we understand what you are attempting to show us), their differences, and why you believe these differences exist (ie. Why might two particular cultures eat different foods?). I’m looking for all three of these elements in your description.
4) Provide a brief analysis of what this tells us about the concept of culture (and perhaps your own thoughts about it).
5) Make sure that you do your best to make your post readable. It will be graded on 1) appropriateness of examples given 2) how well thought out the explanation appears.
Make an initial discussion board post answering the questions and thoughtful response (at least 50 words) post to two of your fellow students