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Sociology in Modules Richard T. Schaefer
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What Is Culture? Culture: totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior Includes ideas, values, customs, and artifacts of groups of people
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What Is Culture? Common culture is shared by people in a society—the largest form of human group Common culture simplifies day-to-day interactions Culture influences human behavior Adorno: culture industry—force that standardizes the goods and services demanded by consumers—limits people’s choices
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Cultural Universals Cultural universal: certain common practices and beliefs that all societies have developed Many adaptations to meet essential human needs Murdock listed cultural universals, but they are expressed differently from culture to culture
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Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism: tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life represents the norm or is superior to others Our view of the world is dramatically influenced by the society in which we were raised
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Cultural Relativism Cultural relativism: people’s behaviors from the perspective of their own culture Different social contexts give rise to different norms and values
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Sociobiology and Culture
Sociobiology: systematic study of how biology affects human social behavior Founded on Darwin’s theory of evolution Most social scientists would agree there is a biological basis for social behavior
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Figure 9-1: Countries with High Child Marriage Rates
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Elements of Culture Role of Language
One of the major elements of culture Important component of cultural capital Facilitates day-to-day exchanges Includes both the written and spoken word and nonverbal communication
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Language: Written and Spoken
Language: abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Language precedes thought Language is not a given Language is culturally determined Language may color how we see the world
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Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication: use of gestures, facial expressions, and other visual images to communicate Learned Differs by culture Symbols: gestures, objects, and words that form basis of human communication
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Norms and Values All societies have ways to encourage and enforce appropriate behavior, and discourage and punish inappropriate behavior Collective idea of what is good and desirable, and what is not
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Norms Norms: established standards of behavior maintained by a society
To be significant, must be widely shared and understood Persistent social norm in contemporary society: heterosexuality
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Norms Types of Norms Formal norms: generally written; specify strict punishments Law: governmental social control Informal norms: generally understood but not precisely recorded Mores: norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society Folkways: norms governing everyday behavior
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Norms Norms and Sanctions
Sanctions: penalties and rewards for conduct concerning social norm Positive sanctions: pay raises, medals, words of gratitude Negative sanctions: fines, threats, imprisonment, and stares of contempt
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Table 10-1: Norms and Sanctions
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Norms Acceptance of Norms People do not follow norms in all situations
Behavior that appears to violate society’s norms may represent adherence to a particular group’s norms Norms may be violated because they conflict with other norms Acceptance of norms is subject to change Sudden change can upset an entire population
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Values Cultural values: collective conceptions of what is good, desirable, and proper— or bad, undesirable, and improper Influence people’s behavior Criteria for evaluating actions of others Values may change, but most remain relatively stable during any one person’s lifetime
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Figure 10-1: Life Goals of First-Year College Students in the United States, 1966–2012
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Global Culture War Culture war: polarization of society over controversial cultural elements In 1990s, referred to political debates over abortion, religious expression, gun control, and sexual orientation After U.S. established military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, foreign opinion of U.S. became quite negative
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Figure 10-2: Valuing Ethnicity by Country
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Sociological Perspectives on Culture
Functionalists maintain that social stability requires a consensus and the support of society’s members; strong central values and common norms provide that support Conflict theorists argue that common culture serves to maintain the privileges of certain groups
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Sociological Perspectives on Culture
Dominant ideology: set of cultural beliefs and practices that help maintain powerful interests Social interests Economic interests Political interests Conflict perspective: dominant ideology has major social significance Growing number of social scientists believe it is not easy to identify a core culture in U.S.
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Table 10-2: Sociological Perspectives on Culture
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Development of Culture around the World
Innovation: process of introducing a new idea or object to a culture Discovery: making known or sharing existence of an aspect of reality Invention: existing cultural items combined into form that did not exist before
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Globalization, Diffusion, and Technology
Diffusion: process by which cultural item spreads from group to group McDonaldization of society: process through which principles of fast-food industry dominate certain sectors of society Technology: information about how to use material resources of the environment to satisfy human needs and desires (Nolan and Lenski)
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Globalization, Diffusion, and Technology
Material culture: physical or technological aspects of daily lives Nonmaterial culture: ways of using material objects Culture lag: period of maladjustment when nonmaterial culture struggles to adapt to new material conditions
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Cultural Variation Cultures adapt to meet specific circumstances
Climate, level of technology, population, geography Groups within a single nation develop cultural patterns that differ from those of the dominant society
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Subcultures Subculture: segment of society that shares distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values that differs from larger society A subculture may develop an argot, a specialized language that distinguishes a subculture from the wider society
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Countercultures Counterculture: subculture that conspicuously and deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture Typically thrive among the young Counterterrorism experts concerned about growth of ultraconservative militia groups
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Culture Shock Occurs when someone feels disoriented, uncertain, out of place, or fearful when immersed in an unfamiliar culture People tend to take for granted cultural practices of their society
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Social Policy and Culture: Bilingualism
Looking at the Issue Bilingualism: use of two or more languages in a particular setting Bilingual education may instruct children in their native language while gradually introducing the language of the host society Bilingual programs vary widely in application and quality, so it is difficult to measure their success
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Figure 12-1: Percentage of People Who Speak a Language Other than English at Home, by State
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Social Policy and Culture: Bilingualism
Applying Sociology For long time, people in U. S. demanded conformity to a single language Recent decades have seen challenges to pattern of forced obedience to the dominant ideology Attackers of bilingual programs often ignore fact that bilingual education programs may have beneficial results
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Social Policy and Culture: Bilingualism
Initiating Policy Bilingualism has policy implications in efforts to maintain language purity and programs to enhance bilingual education Nations vary dramatically in tolerance Public concern over potential decline in use of English appears to be overblown
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Sociology in the Global Community
10-1: Symbolizing 9/11 What does the 9/11 memorial symbolize to you? Explain the meaning of the cascading water, the reflecting pools, and the empty footprints. What does the placement of the victims’ names suggest? If you were designing a 9/11 memorial, what symbol or symbols would you incorporate? Use your sociological imagination to predict how various groups would respond to your design.
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Sociology on Campus 10-2: A Culture of Cheating?
Do you know anyone who has engaged in Internet plagiarism? What about cheating on tests or falsifying laboratory results? If so, how did the person justify these forms of dishonesty? Even if cheaters aren’t caught, what negative effects does their academic dishonesty have on them? What effects does it have on students who are honest? Could an entire college or university suffer from students’ dishonesty?
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Sociology in the Global Community
11-1: Life in the Global Village How are you affected by globalization? Which aspects of globalization do you find advantageous and which objectionable? How would you feel if the customs and traditions you grew up with were replaced by the culture or values of another country? How might you try to protect your culture?
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Sociology in the Global Community
11-2: Cultural Survival in Brazil Compare the frontier in Brazil today to the American West in the 1800s. What similarities do you see? What does society lose when indigenous cultures die?
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