1. Sociology 101
Chapter 2
Culture

2. Culture The sum total of human creations Two Types Material Culture
Non-material Culture
Language
Symbols
Customs
Norms: Specific rules for governing behavior
Roles: Collections of norms associated with particular positions in a group or society
Values: The ultimate aims and most general standards for assessing good and bad

3. Progress and Material Comfort
Core American Values
Progress and Material Comfort
Science and
Technology
Activity and
Work
Achievement
and Success
Individualism
Racism and Group
Superiority
Freedom
and Liberty
Morality and
Humanitarianism
Equality
Efficiency and
Practicality 10
Core
American
Values

4. Multiculturalism And Subcultures
A society may have several cultures (Multiculturalism)
Subcultures are cultures within cultures
These cultures often have a distinctive set of beliefs, morals, customs, etc.

5. Advantages And Disadvantages
Subcultures contribute to the overall American Mosaic
African American contributions to art as an example
Disadvantages
Tensions may occur when some subcultures attempt to impose their values and beliefs on others
Fundamentalist religious groups or strident atheist groups as example
Often serves as the basis for ascribed status, prejudice and discrimination

6. Ethnocentrism:
Judging other cultures as being inferior because you compare them to your own.

7. Strategies...
What strategies might subcultures have in response to prejudice and discrimination?
Assimilation
Irish-Americans
Accommodation
Catholics and Protestants
Resistance
The Amish

8. High & Popular Culture High Culture Popular Culture Questions:
Consists of classical music, opera, ballet, live theater, and other activities usually patronized by elite audiences
Popular Culture
Consists of activities, products, and services that are assumed to appeal primarily to members of the middle and working classes.
Questions:
Is popular culture merely entertainment?
Can popular culture be used as a form of accommodation, assimilation, or resistance toward a dominant culture?
An Example… Christian Popular Culture

9. The Christian Popular Culture Industry
An industry that has emerged to produce “Christian” popular culture for mostly evangelical Christian consumption

10. Industry Facts
Somewhere between a 4-5 billion dollar per year industry
Around 900 producers/suppliers
Around 7,000 Christian retailers around the country

11. An evangelical ideology provides the foundation for the industry
The inerrancy of Scripture
The Deity of Christ
The importance of Christ for salvation
The importance of evangelism
Individuals in this industry feel they should evangelize and minister as well as entertain and make a profit

12. "For those musicians and for the people at Myrrh, music isn't just a business--it's a ministry whereby the good news of Christ can be shared over and over. Myrrh: where the music is today and the message is forever." (Myrrh records slogan in 1977)

13. "There's a difference between a man's vocation or skill and his ministry gift. If I was (sic) just an entertainer, I'd have no problem charging for concerts--but ministry is different." (Keith Green, musician)

14. Veggie Tales 2002 21 million copies sold since 1994
Veggie Tales have sold around 21 million copies since 1994

15. Left Behind Series of Novels
Has sold around 32 million copies since 1995
Has sold around 32 million copies since 1995

16. Testamints

17. BibleMan

18. T-Shirt

19. Amy Grant CD Cover – 1982

20. P.O.D

21. How would each of the theoretical perspectives analyze/view culture?
How would each view Christian popular culture?