Sociology — culture and identity

• What are the different types of culture?

  mass culture

  high culture

  low culture

  popular culture

  folk culture

  global culture

  consumer culture

  dominant culture

  subculture
• culture?


  The way of life of a social group. More specifically, ‘patterns of belief, values, attitudes, expectations, ways of thinking, feeling and so on’ which poeple use. The concept of culture is used to describe the beliefs, customs and ways of life of a society of a group within society.

  cultural diversity — the range of different ideas and cultures that exist.
• culture?


  culture includes a shared set of …

  • norms — rules about everyday behaviour. examples, brushing your teeth and queuing.
  • values — ideas concerning what is good and what is bad. For example, crime is bad, listening to those above us.
  • Roles — Behaviour expected of a person in a particular situation. for example teachers teach you what you need to know.
  • status — the standing giver by society to individuals. there are two types of status, ascribed and achieved. ascribed= statuses given by birth. achieved = status that you can earn.
• what is mass culture?


  It is the idea that there is a set of norms and values that the vast majority in the population share, developed from a common exposure to the same media, news source and area.
• What is high culture?


  it is a term that relates to the kinds of culture enjoyed by those with higher status / position in society.

  example.

  • opera
  • met gala
  • red carpet events
  • classical music
  • ballet
• what is an example of mass culture?

  • mass media
  • fast food
  • fast fashion
  • advertising
• what is low culture?


  it is a term used for some form of popular culture and refers to cultural products and pursuits characterised by their production for and consumption by, ‘the masses’.

  examples…

  • food
  • entertainment
  • sports
  • shopping
• what is popular culture?

  refers to the pattern of cultural experiences and attitudes that exist in mainstream society.

  examples…

  • movies
  • music
  • various forms of technology
  • news
  • fashion
  • television
  • video games
  • sports
  • entertainment
• what is folk culture?


  consists of local customs and beliefs that directly reflects the lives and experiences of the people.

  examples…

  • traditional dance
  • oral folklore
  • traditional crafts
  • traditional clothing and dress
  • regional dialect and slang.
• what is global culture?


  Some sociologists today predict that the word is moving closer to a global culture.

  Social forces that are creating it includes electronic communications, the mass media and the new media.

  examples…

  • pop music
  • fast food chain restaurants
  • hollywood films
• What is consumer culture?


  it is defined as a culture where social status, values and activities are centred on the consumption — the act of buying goods or services.
• what is dominant culture?


  this is the main culture in a society, which is accepted without opposition, by the majority of the people.

  for example…

  • patriarchy
  • christianity in the west
  • heteronormativity.
• what is subculture?


  A subculture is a smaller group of people or a break off group that shares its own norms, customs and values, distinct from those of the main culture of a society, while still existing within it.

  For example, …

  • Goths
  • Hipsters
  • Hippies
  • Skinheads
  • Emos
• who is strianti?

  they are a postmodernist, and argues that the distraction between high culture and popular culture is weakening.
• what is cultural hybridity?


  it is when two cultures are combined, new, different forms of culture emerge. very much linked to the globalisation process which refers to the increasing of interconnectedness of the world.
• what is Marxists perspective on culture?

  Marxists view culture as working on behalf of the ruling class in order to sustain the capitalist system and to control the working class. this is achieve through cultural socialisation — this is linked to how culture is learned and expressed?
• what is neo-Marxists perspective on culture?


  Neo-Marxism is also known as new Marxism. they argue that the media is the mai way in which the dominant ideology is transmitted. the cultural products of the media encourage the working class to accept their fate.
• what does Adrono argue?


  he argues that mass culture creates false needs; it makes people believe they need something and then go out and so sure it.
• what is commodity fetishism?


  the process of ascribing magic ‘phantom-like’ qualities to an object, where by the human labour required to make that objet is list once the object is associated with a monetary value for exchange. It is the idea that the object possesses qualities that will enhance your life some where.
• what is the functionalists view of culture?


  functionalists argue that culture is important as it is the social glue that keeps society together and functioning smoothly to benefit all. it performs four main functions:

  • value consensus
  • social solidarity
  • social order
  • subsystems
• what is value consensus?


  it is when everyone agrees on and participates in the culture oof society. this results in the shared Norms and values among individuals. this creates a collective consensussness — everyone on what is important and how to behave.
• what is social solidarity?


  as a result of the value consensus, social solidarity is created — members feel a sense of togetherness, a part of something bigger then themselves.
• What are subsystems?


  that society is made up of four sub-systems that help to maintain social order.

  these sections are;

  • economic
  • political
  • family / kingship
  • culltural
• what idea does Gramsci say /use?


  Hegemony.

  Gramsci uses this idea how the ruling class were able to control the working class without coercion of force. it is a similar idea to false class consciousness in that it explains how working class individuals come to support the very system that exploits them.
• what is feminisms perspective on culture?


  they believe that mass culture benefits the patriarchy. they particularly focus on how popular culture regularly stereotypes women into particular social roles, and in so doing makes patriarchy seems normal.
• what is interactionists perspectives on culture?


  they focus on the way in which culture is created by interactions between individuals, rather than being imposed by structures of society.

  fundamentally, people choose how to behave; culture is created, shaped, changed and developed by people: it isn’t not external to them or done to them.

  in this way, culture is c hanged “from below”
• what is globalisation?


  the increasing interconnectedness of the world.
• What is the postmodernists perspective on culture?

  they reject the idea that there is one culture that is external to people.

  instead they focus on the idea that culture is diverse.

  cultural relativism: no culture is superior to another. The concepts of high and low culture are therefore redundant.

  globalisation has meant that high and low cultures have merged together.
• Does high and low culture still exist?


  most sociologists today would agree with postmodernists in wanting to avoid making judgements about some culture being superior to others.

  cultural relativism — some cultural practices are harmful and damaging (e.g. FGM) and it is important they have not defended on the basis of just being a different culture.
• what are the nature explanations of human behaviour?

  nature explanations argue that biological inheritance and genetics determine human behaviour; nurturge explanations argue tat society, culture and social processes such as socialisation explain human behaviour.
• what are the nurture expansions of human behaviour?


  Nurture arguments focus on the way people are brought up and how their environment moulds their personality and behaviour.
• what are the historical evidence against theories?

  evidence suggest that human behaviour isnt dissimilar to animal behaviours which is based on automatic responses of pre-determined modes of behavior or that our behaviour is pre-determined by our genes.

  however, human behaviour has changed significantly throughout history whilst animals behaviour has only changed slightly over a long period of time.
• What is the anthropological evidence against nature theories?

  anthropologists are people who study and compare societies from all over the world. If our behaviours was in our genes then people all around the world would behave the same way.
• What are feral chilldren?

  it is a child who has lived in isolation from human contact Roma a very young age, which could have a result in the child having little or no experience of human care, loving or social behaviour.
• summary of the debate of nature vs nurture?

  natrue refers to innate qualitites like human nature or genetics. Nurture refers to care given to children by parents or, more broadly, to environmental influences such as the media and marketing. the nature versus nurture debate raises philosophical questions about determinism and free will.
• What is socialisation?


  Socialisation is the process by which we learn the things that make us ‘fit in’ with our society, such as language, norms and values, and ways of behavior appropriately in different situations.

  socialisation is seen as a lifelong process. It starts at birth and ends whenA person dis.

  it is also the process by which we acquire the beliefs, habits and kills necessary to play an appropriate role in society.

  re-socialisation and rehabilitation is when criminals are brought back into society
• how does socialisation happen?

  in terms of how this happens, we are taught the correct norms and values for our society b imitating others, people such a as parents, family members, teachers, celebrities. Role model behavior and we copy it.
• what are the types of socialisation?


  primary

  secondar

  adult

  anticipatory

  re-socialisation
• what are the features of socialisation?

  introduces basic disapline

  helps to control human behaviour

  socialisation is rapid if there is more humanity Amon the agencies of socialisation.

  socialisation takes place formally and informally.

  socialisation is a continuous process.
• what are social institutions?

  religion

  education

  healthcare

  religion

  family

  media