Conceptions of Culture

• Erving Goffman studied how norms were developed through interactions between individuals, establishing unwritten rules
• Goffman observed how pedestrians on busy streets prevented collisions through their interactions, not by strict laws or clear lessons, but by unwritten rules
• Postmodernists reject the idea of one culture, focusing on diversity; Strinati notes mass culture as mass propaganda leading to mass oppression
• Popular culture is diverse and influenced by politics; postmodernists believe no culture is superior to another
• Interactionists believe culture is created by interactions between individuals, not imposed by society structures; people shape and are shaped by culture
• Functionalists emphasize consensus in culture, where society agrees on behavior and values, maintaining social order and effective functioning
• Marxists view culture as serving the ruling class to sustain capitalism; mass culture creates false needs and transmits capitalist ideology
• Feminists argue that mass culture benefits the patriarchy, promoting stereotypes and controlling society for the powerful
• Culture refers to a way of life for a particular society or part of society, consisting of beliefs, behaviours, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a group or society
• Culture is socially developed and transmitted through socialization
• Contemporary society is characterized by cultural diversity, meaning differences between cultures and a wide range of cultural values within one society
• Multiculturalism is the view that minority cultures deserve to have their differences acknowledged and celebrated within a dominant political culture
• Homogenization of culture is the idea that cultures have become similar or more alike due to globalization
• Subculture is a smaller group sharing its own norms, customs, and values, distinct from the main culture of a society but existing within it
• Mass culture is a set of norms and values shared by the vast majority in a population, developed from common exposure to the same media, news sources, music, and art
• Folk culture refers to the culture of ordinary people, particularly those living in pre-industrial societies, characterized by local traditions and practices passed down through generations
• High culture is considered superior and beneficial, including high-quality cultural products like opera, ballet, and great works of literature
• Low culture, often referred to as popular culture, includes cultural products with mass appeal like football, soap operas, and popular TV and cinema productions
• John Storey (1996) proposes six definitions of popular culture, including quantitative, residual, commercial, democratic, hybrid, and relative definitions
• Postmodernists raise questions about the impact of globalization on culture, leading to multicultural, diverse, and technology-driven societies
• Functionalist views see culture as the social glue that maintains social order through shared norms and values
• We are not born with a particular culture, but we are born with the capacity to learn any culture
• Culture

  A set of beliefs, practices, and symbols that are learned and form an all-encompassing integrated whole that binds people together and shapes their worldview and life ways
• Symbol


  Something that stands for something else, often without a natural connection
• Belief

  Not just what we believe to be right or wrong, true or false, but also includes values, norms, philosophies, worldview, knowledge, and more
• Cultural symbols convey shared or conflicting meanings across space and time
• Humans are one of the most dynamic species on earth, able to change both culturally and biologically
• Humans are biological beings with natural needs and urges shared with other animals
• Culture constantly changes in response to both internal and external factors
• Beliefs and practices can vary within a culture depending on age, gender, social status, and other characteristics
• Social order is the stability of society based on the collective agreement to rules and norms that allow
• Practices


  Behaviors and actions that may be motivated by belief or performed without reflection as part of everyday routines
• Technology changes rapidly in dominant American culture while deep-seated values change very little over time
• Symbolic meanings

  • Red octagonal sign signifies stop
  • Confederate flag can symbolize pride in southern heritage or a legacy of slavery and racial oppression
• Culture allows us to understand that people everywhere are thinkers and actors shaped by their social contexts
• Enculturation


  We learn to become members of our group directly through instruction from our parents and peers and indirectly by observing and imitating those around us
• Cultural practices can impact our biology, growth, and development
• Culture matters to sociologists and anthropologists because it plays an important role in the production of social order
• Karl Marx: 'In the realm of non-material culture, a minority is able to maintain unjust power over the majority by subscribing to mainstream values, norms, and beliefs'
• Culture is important to anthropologists and sociologists because

  It plays an important role in the production of social order