Sociologists for culture

• Robert Redfield

  • Folk societies were based off of extended families, supportive communities and a local culture. In todays society, this no longer exists as a result of globalisation
• Bourdieu

  • there is no such thing as high culture. It is only used to reinforce status of the bourgeosie
• Functionalist views of culture, socialisation and identity formation

  • Culture: Durkheim believes culture ensures consensus in society by acting as a social glue
  • Socialisation: Durkheim believes that socialisation teaches children from a young age about what is right and wrong- this puts a constraint on human nature act in an orderly way to fit into society.
  • Parsons also argues family is the main agent of socialisation and education teaches the values needed to achieve success
  • Self Identity: there are manifest functions and latent functions of institutions in shaping your identity
• Marxist views of culture:

  • Frankfurt school sociologists believe that culture can promote false needs and promotes a capitalist ideology
  • Bowles and Gintis believe that the hidden curriculum in education reinforces the norms and values of the capitalist system that oppresses the proletariat in work
• Neo-Marxist views of culture

  • Gramsci believes that culture has become more homogenous but the mainstream culture allows the existence of other cultures to portray the idea it is a fair system where all ideas can be equal
  • They also believe that people are not completely passive in this process and they can rebel against the indoctrination of capitalist ideology
• Interactionist views of culture

  • Culture: Goffman studied unspoken rules on a pedestrian crossing in the US and found there was learned behavior about the norms and values in interaction
  • Socialisation: Handel discovered that 3 stages in childhood development are key to their primary socialization: communication, empathy and the creation of a sense of self
  • Self identity: Goffmans dramaturgical model describes how we play different characters like we are on a stage dependent on the people we are with, Charles Cooley looking glass self
• Feminist views of culture:

  • Ferguson and McRobbie studied the impacts of magazines on teen girl culture
  • Oakley studied the impact of primary socialisation in gender differentiation: manipulation, canalisation, verbal appellation and differential activities
• Postmodern views of culture:

  • Hall describes the increase in diversity has led to fragmented identities between ethnic identities
  • Lyotard describes how cultures are only competing with truth and people can choose their own identity, no institution has monopoly dominance
• Types of socialization and agencies of socialization:

  • Bowles and gintes- hidden curriculum
  • Durkheim- consensus
  • Althuser- media has replaced religeon
• Age and identity:

  • Bradley- age is now less significant because it is temporary
  • Biags talks about media representation of different ages
• Social class and identity

  • sugarrmann- different norms and values for each class
  • bourdieu- middle class have the cultural capital to fit in and can turn it into economic capital
  • Bradley- class is now less important as identity has become more fragmented
• Ethnicity, nationality and identity

  • Hill- there has been a generational conflict where younger ages will pick and mix their identities
  • Gillbourne- labelling and self fulfilling prophecy
  • Hall- new ethnic identies are being created
  • Balsity- there are now combinations of ethnic identities
• Gender, Sexuality and identity

  • Ann Oakley: manipulation, canalisation, verbal appelation and differential activities
  • McRobbie and Wolf study magazines and impact of ideal image
  • Rutherford explores how media portrays a new identity of the metrosexual male
• Disability and Identity

  • Shakespeare, a stigmatised identity based on labelling
  • Cumberbatch and Negrine- media creates characters of pity whose lives revolve around their disability
• The relationship of identity to production, consumption and globalisation

  • Willis- people will use leisure time to build an identity as work is not satisfying
  • Parker describes the extension pattern, the neutrality pattern and the opposition pattern
  • Lucy desccribes how shopping is now a lesiurely activity
  • Hall describes how globalisation has strengthened national identity