Discussion Questions

  1. Culture is an important aspect of society because accurate awareness of cultural scripts can give an inhabitant of a society the ability to navigate social situations more easily. Imagine you were tasked with welcoming new inhabitants to your city. What would they need to know? What might they be expected to eat? What might they be expected to do for fun? How might they be expected to transport themselves around town? Who might they need to avoid, and who might they need to turn to in cases of emergency?
  2. Group affiliation is another important part of culture. What are some of the groups that you belong to? What purpose do they serve in your life? How does belonging to these groups provide you with a sense of identity? What groups might your groups oppose? Why is it important for your group(s) to oppose this/these other group(s)? Is it possible for any of these two opposing groups to agree? What situation might warrant such an agreement?
  3. Read this article--https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/diversity-in-the-nba-the-nfl-and-mlb/--and respond to the following questions: (1) how does the diversity in professional sports teams reflect attitudes toward diversity in American culture; (2) looking at these data objectively, which of William’s core American cultural values does this most accurately reflect; (3) do you believe this trend has implications in other aspects of American culture, and why or why not?
  4. Imagine you had the power to change one aspect of American culture. What would it be, and why? How would this change serve to improve society, in your perspective? How might this change affect other Americans? How might it influence cultures outside of the United States?