Download Chapter Three - Cameron University

Chapter 3
Culture
and
Society
Anthony Giddens
Mitchell Duneier
Richard P. Appelbaum
The Sociological Study of
Culture
What Is Culture?
– Values
– Language
– Norms
– Symbols
– Material goods
The Sociological Study of
Culture
What Is Culture?
– Values
• Abstract ideals shared by group
Can change over time
May differ within culture
– Norms
• Principles or rules of social life
Can change over time
May differ within culture
– Material Goods
• Physical objects a society creates that influence
the ways people live
Material culture is rapidly becoming globalized
The Sociological Study of
Culture
Culture and Society
– Society is a system of interrelationships that
connects individuals
• Culture could not exist without society and vice
versa
– Culture serves as an important source of
conformity within society
• Members learn norms in childhood
• Social control is used when a person fails to
conform
The Sociological Study of
Culture
Culture and Change: A “Cultural Turn” in
Sociology?
– Cultural turn:
• Sociology’s recent emphasis on understanding
role of culture in daily life
Cultural tool kit: variety of scripts to draw on
depending on situation
No single “reality” is applied to social situations
The Development of Human
Culture
Early Human Culture
– Culture enabled early humans to compensate
for physical limitations
•
•
•
•
•
Made tools
Hunted animals
Used fire
Made clothing
Established cooperative way of life
The Development of Human
Culture
Nature or Nurture?
– Are we shaped by biology or products of
learning?
– Biologists, psychologists
• Emphasize biology
– Sociologists
• Stress role of learning and culture
• Humans make conscious choices, therefore
neither biology nor culture wholly determines
behavior
The Development of Human
Culture
Nature or Nurture? (cont)
– Sociobiology
• Began in 1975 with Edward O. Wilson
• Genes influence physical traits and behavior
• Social scientists criticize sociobiology for claiming
that likelihood of displaying certain behaviors
(such as violence) is genetic
The Development of Human
Culture
How Nature and Nurture Interact
– Sociologists acknowledge biology helps
shape behavior but their main concern is how
behavior is learned through interactions with
society
• If biology were all-important, cultures would be
similar or identical but this is not true
• All cultures have common characteristics
(language, sexual behavior, etc.) but large variety
exists in how they are played out
The Development of Human
Culture
Cultural Diversity
– Industrialized societies have subcultures
• Diverse cultures within a society
• Different languages or cultural patterns
– Culture helps perpetuate norms, but
subcultures offer opportunities for creativity
and change such as the following:
• Can reject prevailing values and norms
• Can promote alternatives to dominant culture
• Can act as force of change
The Development of Human
Culture
Assimilation vs. Multiculturalism
– Assimilation is the process by which different
cultures are absorbed into mainstream culture
(melting pot)
– Multiculturalism calls for respecting cultural
diversity and promoting equality of different
cultures (salad bowl)
The Development of Human
Culture
What Is Ethnocentrism?
– Ethnocentrism is judging other cultures in
terms of one’s own standards
• Sociologists try to avoid this
– Cultural relativism is judging a society by its
own standards
• Sociologists believe a culture must be studied in
terms of its own meanings and values
The Development of Human
Culture
Cultural Universals
– Common features of human behavior found in
all societies are called cultural universals,
such as:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Language
Marriage
Prohibition against incest
Art
Dance
Joking
Hygiene
The Development of Human
Culture
Language
– Language is involved in virtually all our
activities
– Means by which we organize what we do
– Involved in ceremony, religion, poetry, etc.
– Allows us to extend scope of thought and
experience
The Development of Human
Culture
Language
– Linguistic relativity hypothesis
• Language influences our perceptions of the world
– Language gives permanence to a culture
• Outlives people
• Develops a sense of history and cultural continuity
• Helps shape identity
The Development of Human
Culture
Speech and Writing
– All societies use speech as vehicle of
language
– Invention of writing marked major transition in
history
– Speech is limited to the context in which
words were spoken, but text can endure for
thousands of years
Premodern Societies
The Earliest Societies
– Hunters and Gatherers
• For most of human existence we lived in small
hunting and gathering societies
• Gained livelihood from hunting, fishing, gathering
edible plants
• Focused on religious values and ritual activities,
not material wealth
• Little inequality existed
Premodern Societies
Pastoral and Agrarian Societies
– Pastoral societies relied mainly on
domesticated livestock
• Some still exist in modern world; found in regions
not amenable to agriculture
– Agrarian societies grew crops
• This more reliable food supply supported larger
communities
• Because people did not move around as much,
they developed larger stocks of material
possessions
Premodern Societies
Traditional Societies or Civilizations
– Based on the development of cities
– Large
– Pronounced inequalities existed between
those with or without wealth and power
– Ruled by kings or emperors
– Developed writing, art, science
– Many were empires
Societies in the Modern World
Industrialization
– Industrialization:
• The emergence of machine production based on
the use of inanimate power resources (such as
steam, or electricity)
Societies in the Modern World
Industrialization
– Industrialized (modern) societies differ in
several key respects from previous social
order
•
•
•
•
Technological advances occur much faster
Majority employed in factories, offices, shops
Majority live in towns or cities
Political systems are more developed
Nation-states: political communities with clear
borders
Government has large impact on citizens’ lives
• Based on industrial production and generally free
enterprise
Societies in the Modern World
Global Development
– Colonialism helped shape the social map of
the globe as we know it today
• Societies that were not colonialized have become
industrialized
First world (United States, Europe, Canada,
Australasia, South Africa, Japan)
• Societies that were colonialized experienced much
a lower level of industrial development and are
referred to as the developing world
Third world (majority in Asia, Africa, and South
America)
Societies in the Modern World
The Developing World
– Some countries never ruled by Europe are
still strongly influenced by colonial
relationships
– Most nations in the developing world became
independent states only since World War II
only after bloody struggles
– Most are nation-states
Societies in the Modern World
The Developing World (cont)
– Most people live in rural areas, but cities are
developing rapidly
– Poverty, low life expectancy, lack of
education, malnutrition, and substandard
housing exist
– Gender inequalities exist
The Effect of Globalization
Global Culture
– Increased global communications and
economic interdependence represent more
than the growth of world unity
– Forces that produce a global culture:
•
•
•
•
•
Television
Unified global economy
Global citizens
International organizations
Electronic communications
The Effect of Globalization
Internet and Global Culture
– Internet can promote a global culture or
strengthen nationalism and traditional cultural
values
• Time and distance reorganized, bringing us closer
together
• But can also promote a rise of nationalism,
bringing ethnic conflict and ethnic pride
Review Questions
1. From a sociological perspective, culture can be
defined as ________.
a)
the material goods that a people creates to represent the
ideologies and practices that they embrace and identify with
b)
a tool kit of practices that are learned in a given society
c)
a system of interrelationships that connects individuals
d)
the values, norms, and material goods held or created by a
given group
Review Questions
2. Sociologically speaking, a society can be
defined as ________.
a)
a network of subcultures that may cross regional or national
borders
b)
a group of people who live within the same nation-state
c)
a group of people who share the same values, norms, and
language
d)
a system of interrelationships that connects individuals
Review Questions
3. Which of the following statements best
captures sociologist Ann Swidler’s notion of
culture as a “tool kit”?
a)
Culture is a series of scripts on which people draw to construct
their social interactions.
b)
Culture is flexible and people participate in many different
cultures by selecting different understandings and behaviors
from their cultural took kit.
c)
People use cultural tools—material goods, values, norms,
language—to create a uniform reality in which they feel
comfortable.
d)
Depending on where people are born and how they are raised,
they are given certain tools that influence how they value and
interpret the world.
Review Questions
4. The nature versus nurture debate examines the
importance of _____ in shaping human behavior.
a)
biology and learning/culture
b)
the natural environment and the social environment
c)
physical and cognitive traits
d)
All of the above
e)
None of the above
Review Questions
5. According to the linguistic relativity
hypothesis, how does language influence our
perceptions of the world?
a)
Language allows us to extend the scope of our thoughts and
experiences and construct complex ideas about the world.
b)
Language serves as a barrier between cultures; if we cannot
communicate verbally with someone, we are more likely to view
that person as unfriendly and view his way of doing things in a
negative light.
c)
As the world around us changes, language evolves which helps
people embrace these changes.
d)
We are more likely to be aware of things if we have words for
them.
Review Questions
6. A nation-state can best be defined as ________.
a)
a society characterized by an extremely rapid pace of
technological innovation that brings about frequent and
significant social and political changes
b)
a political community with clearly marked borders in which a
democratically elected government creates laws and allows for
a pluralistic, open society
c)
a society based on the development of cities, marked by
significant inequalities of wealth and power, and most often
ruled by an elite oligarchy
d)
a political community with clearly marked borders in which a
government creates laws that apply to all who live within the
borders
Review Questions
7. How do developing countries today differ from
traditional civilizations?
a)
There is great inequality in developing countries today, while
traditional societies had low levels of inequality.
b)
Developing countries do not depend on agriculture as their
main economic activity as traditional civilizations did.
c)
Most developing countries are involved in trade with countries
around the world; at best traditional civilizations interacted with
bordering societies or civilizations .
d)
Virtually all developing countries have free-market economies
whereas traditional civilizations had centrally planned
economies.