1. Culture and Society Chapter 3 Anthony Giddens Mitchell Duneier
Richard P. Appelbaum

2. The Sociological Study of Culture
What Is Culture?
Values
Language
Norms
Symbols
Material goods

3. 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
Material Goods
Physical objects a society creates that influence the ways people live
Material culture is rapidly becoming globalized

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. Table 3.1

18. Global Map 3.2

19. 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

20. Global Map 3.1 top

21. Global Map 3.1 middle

22. Global Map 3.1 bottom

23. 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

24. Table 3.2

25. 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

26. 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)

27. Table 3.3 top

28. Table 3.3 bottom

29. 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

30. 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)

31. 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

32. 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

33. Global Map 3.3

34. Fig. 3.1

35. 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

36. Global Map 3.4

37. 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

38. Review Questions
1. From a sociological perspective, culture can be defined as ________.
the material goods that a people creates to represent the ideologies and practices that they embrace and identify with
a tool kit of practices that are learned in a given society
a system of interrelationships that connects individuals
the values, norms, and material goods held or created by a given group
Answer: D
Reference: The Sociological Study of Culture
Type: Factual

39. Review Questions
2. Sociologically speaking, a society can be defined as ________.
a network of subcultures that may cross regional or national borders
a group of people who live within the same nation-state
a group of people who share the same values, norms, and language
a system of interrelationships that connects individuals
Answer: D
Reference: The Sociological Study of Culture
Type: Vocabulary

40. Review Questions
3. Which of the following statements best captures sociologist Ann Swidler’s notion of culture as a “tool kit”?
Culture is a series of scripts on which people draw to construct their social interactions.
Culture is flexible and people participate in many different cultures by selecting different understandings and behaviors from their cultural took kit.
People use cultural tools—material goods, values, norms, language—to create a uniform reality in which they feel comfortable.
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.
Answer: B
Reference: The Sociological Study of Culture
Type: Conceptual

41. Review Questions
4. The nature versus nurture debate examines the importance of _____ in shaping human behavior.
biology and learning/culture
the natural environment and the social environment
physical and cognitive traits
All of the above
None of the above
Answer: A
Reference: The Development of Human Culture
Type: Factual

42. Review Questions
5. According to the linguistic relativity hypothesis, how does language influence our perceptions of the world? 
Language allows us to extend the scope of our thoughts and experiences and construct complex ideas about the world.
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.
As the world around us changes, language evolves which helps people embrace these changes.
We are more likely to be aware of things if we have words for them.
Answer: D
Reference: The Development of Human Culture
Type: Factual

43. Review Questions 6. A nation-state can best be defined as ________.
a society characterized by an extremely rapid pace of technological innovation that brings about frequent and significant social and political changes
a political community with clearly marked borders in which a democratically elected government creates laws and allows for a pluralistic, open society
a society based on the development of cities, marked by significant inequalities of wealth and power, and most often ruled by an elite oligarchy
a political community with clearly marked borders in which a government creates laws that apply to all who live within the borders
Answer: D
Reference: Societies in the Modern World
Type: Vocabulary

44. Review Questions
7. How do developing countries today differ from traditional civilizations?
There is great inequality in developing countries today, while traditional societies had low levels of inequality.
Developing countries do not depend on agriculture as their main economic activity as traditional civilizations did.
Most developing countries are involved in trade with countries around the world; at best traditional civilizations interacted with bordering societies or civilizations .
Virtually all developing countries have free-market economies whereas traditional civilizations had centrally planned economies.
Answer: C
Reference: Societies in the Modern World
Type: Factual