Topic 1: Culture and Ethnic Groups in Malaysia

Culture and Human Diversity

Definition and concept

o Patterned ways of behaviour are necessary for a group of people to
live together
o Dos and donts of appropriate behaviour
o Feel comfortable if others share same culture (know the meaning of
their words and actions)
o Allows us to predict to how others will behave in certain situations
o Culture is a set of human-made objective and subjective elements
that in the past have increased the probability of survival and
resulted in satisfaction of the participants in an ecological niche and
thus became shared among those who could communicate with
each other
Objective something that has a tangible form, such as
agricultural tools, at works, houses, means of transportation,
communication tools and so on.
Subjective something abstract such as norms, morals, and
values
o Dynamic some slow to change, some changes have relatively
small impact on culture, some changes have dramatic impact.
Technology -> changes traditional customs & beliefs.
Characteristics of a culture
o Can be learned teach children manners and dress codes, table
manners & communication with elderly
o Can be shared traditional food or certain ehnic
o Universal animal loving culture & environment
o Can be inherited Chinese tradition prohibited colour for clothing
CNY
o Dynamic continuous change -> time
o Contains symbolic element flags, logos & symbols -> specific
meaning
o World view
Categories
o Material culture
Equipment & economic systems, eg. Goods, clothing
o Non material culture
Abstract, knowledge, beliefs, customs, values and rules
related to behaviour, folk stories, songs, language
Culture
o Part & parcel of human life
o Refers to way of life practiced by most people, habits and way of
thinking being in herited
o Develops as the society progress
o Change with time and place
Teachers role
o Understanding the diversity of cultures and groups among students
in classroom
Major cultural roles

Build countrys image to create character and identitiy

Foster rational conscious and nationhood based on the
characteristics of spiritualiy, humanity and mentalitiy
7 elements of culture
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