Culture
Introduction to Sociology: Module 3
Society
Societies are composed of structures and
consist of people who live together in a
particular geographic area.
◦ Positions we hold
◦ Groups we belong to
◦ Institutions in which we participate
Social Solidarity
Emile Durkheim created a continuum between
simple and complex societies
Mechanic Solidarity societies
◦ Small, simple, pre-modern societies
◦ Held together by common beliefs, values, and emotional ties
◦ Labor is divided by male/female distinctions and age
groupings.
Organic Solidarity societies
◦ Large, complex, modern societies
◦ Held together by the specialization of tasks
◦ Division of labor
◦ Efficiency
◦ Institutions and bureaucratic organizations begin to exist
Hunting and Gathering
Hunter and Gatherer Societies
◦ Rely on vegetation and animals to live
◦ Organized around kinship
◦ Nomadic
◦ Small (between 20-50 members)
◦ Gendered division of labor
◦ Resources shared fairly
◦ Actions and behaviors dictated through tradition or
survival
◦ Lack material possessions
◦ Today such societies are becoming extinct.
Horticultural and Pastoral
Herding and Horticultural Societies
◦ Herding/Pastoral societies
produce small herds of domesticated animals for food
and survival, and
◦ Horticultural societies
maintain small garden plots for food and survival
Horticultural and Pastoral 2
Herding and Horticultural Societies
◦ Semi-Nomadic
◦ Make their living by cultivating food and have some
control over its production.
◦ Status differences become important and produce
inequality
◦ Some material possessions
Agricultural
Agricultural Societies
◦ Rely on raising crops for food
◦ Use technological advances for increased efficiency
and higher crop yields
Plows
Irrigation
Use of animals
Fertilization
Agricultural 2
Agricultural Societies
◦ The feudal system was born
◦ Food surpluses allowed some individuals to leave the
land and to trade goods or services in exchange for
food
◦ Use of advanced technologies
Industrial
Industrial Societies
◦ Rely on mechanized production
◦ Pronounced division of labor
◦ Rise in standard of living
Wide gaps between owners and laborers
◦ Population concentrates in cities
◦ Kinship patterns change
◦ Social change more rapid
Post-Industrial
Postindustrial or Information Societies
◦ Technology, or scientific knowledge used for
utilitarian or economic purposes, is very important
◦ Majority of labor force in service positions
◦ The division of labor more pronounced
◦ Technical and professional education increasingly
important
Stratification based on technological knowledge and
education
Post-Industrial 2
Postindustrial or Information Societies
◦ Emphasis on science to solve social problems
including:
Creating alternate energy sources
Finding automated ways of completing tasks
Using computers and robots to complete tasks formerly
done by individuals
Culture Definition
Culture makes societies unique
Culture is the way of life shared by a group of people and
how that way of life is passed to the next generation
Knowledge
Beliefs
Values
Rules or laws
Language
Customs
Symbols
Material products
Culture provides a guideline for carrying out tasks
Culture Characteristics
Everyone shares a culture with others
Culture evolves over time and is adaptive
The creature of culture is ongoing and
cumulative
The transmission of culture separates us from
other animals
Cultural Relations
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one’s
own group and its cultural expectations as
right, proper, and many times superior to
others
Cultural relativism is setting aside cultural
and personal beliefs and prejudices to
understand a culture by its own standards
Components of Culture
Material culture – tangible objects; things
important to our way of life.
Nonmaterial culture – intangible aspects of
our way of life i.e., thoughts, beliefs.
◦ Ideal Culture – practices, beliefs and values that are
most desirable.
◦ Real Culture – the way things in society are actually
done
Components of Culture 2
Values – shared judgments about what is
desirable or undesirable.
Beliefs – more specific ideas about life and how
society works.
Language – system of symbols and the
foundation of every culture.
Components of Culture:
Norms
Norms – rules of behavior shared by members
of a society and rooted in values
◦ Folkways – customs or desirable behaviors
◦ Mores – have great moral significance
◦ Taboos – strongest more; considered unthinkable
◦ Laws – formally encoded norms
Sanctions – rewards and punishments used to
reinforce norms.
Norm Violations
Microculture
Culture exists at all three levels of society
Microcultures are organizations that influence
only a small segment or portion of an
individual’s life or only affects an individual’s life
for a small period of time
Subculture
A subculture is a social unit smaller than a
nation but large enough to sustain people
throughout the life span
Elements that make them unique
Share conventions and expectations of dominant culture
Influence people’s lives in pervasive ways
Counterculture
A counterculture is a group with expectations
and values that contrast sharply with the
dominant values of a particular society
◦ Values or practices that go against laws and
regulations of the dominant culture
May wish to replace values of the larger culture
◦ Most often short-lived
◦ Some aspects accepted by the dominant culture
Macro Culture
National Culture and Society
◦ Common values and beliefs that tie citizens together
Global Society and Culture
◦ Globalization is the process where the entire globe is
becoming a “single socio-cultural place”
Globalization or Westernization?
Symbolic Interactionsim
Symbolic Interaction Theory:
◦ How we learn to share meanings of symbols
◦ Symbols are the basic element of all cultures
◦ “Humanness” comes from the impact we have upon
each other through shared understandings of symbols
◦ We learn meanings of symbols through interaction
with others
◦ We define how we should act through our definition of
situations and symbols
◦ Individuals shape culture and culture influences
individuals
Rational Choice
Rational Choice Theory:
◦ As a micro theory, less concerned with cultural
influences on behavior
◦ We act according to our own self-interest
◦ However, culture can influence our individual
assessment of what is worthwhile.
◦ We seek the path with the biggest payoff.
Structural Functionalism
Structural Functional Theory:
◦ Looks for the functions or purposes behind the
actions and practices of a culture
◦ Shared norms, values, and beliefs serve the function
of holding a society or a subculture together or
maintaining stability
◦ However sometimes shared norms, values, and
beliefs are dysfunctional for individuals or groups of
individuals within a society at which time adaptations
many times occurs
Conflict Theory
Conflict Theory:
◦ Societies are composed of groups; each of which
protects its own self-interests and struggles to make
its own cultural ways dominant in the society;
therefore these groups vie for power
◦ Dominant groups may impose their cultural beliefs on
minorities and other subcultural groups
This practice can create conflict
More Conflict Theory
Conflict Theory:
◦ People with privilege and power in society manipulate
agents of socialization so people learn the values,
beliefs, and norms of the privileged group(s)
◦ However, conflict theory does not explain stable
societies
Feminism
FeministTheory:
◦ Feminism is concerned with cultural practices that
favor men over women.
◦ Examines cultural elements, such as language, that
use men as the default type. “Mankind”
◦ Poses questions and images of inequality and steps
to address these issues.
◦ Ex: Why do we watch men’s sports over women’s?
◦ Why do we picture a male when we hear the term
“president”?