Soc Chapter 3 textbook notes
Sociology Chapter 3 Textbook Notes Culture Some Basic Concepts- Values and Norms Values: are shared, relatively general beliefs that define what is desirable and what is undesirable; they specify general preferences Norms: are relatively precise rules specifying which behaviours are permitted and which are prohibited for group members • when a member of a group breaks a group norm by engaging in prohibited behaviour, other group members will typically sanction the deviant member • to sanction is to communicate disapproval to the deviant member • different individuals holding the same set of cultural values can express those values differently in their day-to-day life • an example of a norm is the distance we maintain when we talk to each other Folkways: are those norms that do not evoke severe condemnation when violated. Ex. someone running through campus naked is embarrassing but not morally outraging Mores: are those norms whose violation does provoke strong moral condemnation (sexual assault) • the difference between the two above is the nature of the reaction produced by the violation of the norm Role: is a cluster of behavioural expectations associated with a particular social position within a group or society Role Conflict: situations in which the behavioural expectations associated with one role are inconsistent with those associated with another concurrent role • the general point to be made here is that every role is a cluster of expectations about behaviour, but this clustering varies from culture to culture Subculture: a group of ppl within a single society who possess, in addition to the cultural elements they share with the other members of society, certain distinctive cultural elements that set them apart Institution: when the members of a society or a subculture agree that a specific set of norms and values should regulate some board area of social life, such as the economy, family life, religion, or politics, then that set of norms and values is called an institution Popular Culture: refers to those cultural objects and beliefs that are widely distributed across all social classes in a society
Urban Legends:are stories with the following characteristics: 1. they are passed along mainly by word of mouth 2. the people who repeat them believe them to be literally true 3. the stories are set in the recent past and associated with some nearby geographical location 4. the stories are almost always completely false Aspects of Culture- Cultural Variation • men and women have different roles across different cultures • what is classified as deviant behaviour in one culture is normative behaviour in another Is Globalization reducing cultural variation? • McDonaldization is a term used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993). He explains it occurs when a culture possesses the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. McDonaldization is a reconceptualization of rationalization, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management. Where Max Weber used the model of the bureaucracy to represent the direction of this changing society, Ritzer sees the fast-food restaurant as having become a more representative contemporary paradigm (Ritzer, 2004:553). In contemporary society, the concept of McDonaldization is gaining attention in different aspects such as culture. McDonaldization thesis in cultural version is a comparatively recent idea of the world wide homogenization of cultures.[1] The process of McDonaldization can be summarized as the way in which "the principles of the fastfood restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world."[2] Canadians and Americans: Are we the same or different? • Seymour Martin Lipset stated that Canadian culture is very different from American culture • Lispet said that these cultural differences explained other differences such as Canada has more respect for authority and therefore that is why we have a lower crime rate • Criticism of Lipset • they suggest that Lipset’s account of history is flawed • they point out that if we take Quebecers and ppl living in the American South out of the analysis, most surveys find no significant differences between Canadians and Americans on things such as individualism and respect for authority • they argue that the existing differences between Canada and the US can be explained without invoking culture Cultural Universals Cultural Universals: any elements of culture found in every single known society
Incest taboo: a norm prohibiting sexual intercourse between parents and children and between siblings • this is a universal (modern) cultural norm Cultural Integration Cultural integration:it is necessary to point out that many of the elements that comprise a given culture are interrelated, so a change in one element can produce changes in other elements Studying Culture Ethnocentrism: refers to the tendency to see things from the point of view of the observer’s culture rather from that of the observed Orientalism: is a form of ethnocentrism encompassing the 19th century by which meant Arab’s and the middle east Infantilization: another form of biased where investigators systematically associate ppl from other cultures with child-like traits Eurocentrism: refers to a bias that goes beyond the borders of modern Europe • a theoretical perspective is said to be Eurocentric when it has been shaped by the values and experiences of the white, middle class in western industrialized societies • simplest case- means assuming that these values and experiences are universally shared Androcentrism: means male- centredness. it is a bias that involves seeing things from a male point of view or in a way that reinforces male privilege in society When Cultures collide: Studying first Nations Communities • sometimes cultures vary not just with respect to the content of particular norms and values but also with respect to what might be called “ways of thinking about the world” Nations ppl often reject both attitudes here on the grounds that 1) there is an intimate and ongoing connection between certain rituals and certain objects that should not be broken 2) some objects are meant to be seen and handled only by certain group • one result is that some Canadian museums have now accommodated First Nations traditions by withdrawing certain objects • The granting agencies go on to recommend a number of “good practices” that sociologists and other investigators should observe
• Such good practices include 1) involving the Aboriginal group being studied in the design of the project 2) providing a preliminary report of findings to members of the Aboriginal group for comment 3) taking notes in scholarly publications of any disagreements that Aboriginal communities might have with the research findings being reported Theoretical Perspectives on Culture Functionalism • the essence of functionalist explanation, when applied to culture, is that a given norm or value or cultural practice is explained by showing how it contributes to the overall stability or survival of the society in which it is found Conflict Theory • some conflict theorists, following Marx, lump cultural beliefs under the more general heading of “ideology”, the system of thought that legitimates existing inequalities of wealth and power, or prevents the less powerful from seeing the true cause of this inequality • a conflict approach has also been especially influential in the sociology of knowledge, a subfield of the sociology of culture that studies the influence of social factors on what constitutes knowledge in a society • the great value of the conflict perspective on culture is that it forces us to challenge a great many attitudes and beliefs that would otherwise be unexamined Cultural Materialism Cultural Materialism: is a third perspective used to study and explain culture. it deemphasizes ideas and ideology as determinants of cultures, and instead sees cultures as adaptations to the needs forced upon social groups by their specific physical environments Feminism • Another important feminist goal has been to uncover the androcentric biases mentioned in this chapter • it is an emphasis on the female experience in the study of culture also affected the study of human prehistory • other feminist scholars have challenged the presumption that there was a gendered division of labour in our prehistoric past • the feminist arguement is that once we recognize that there is no solid evidence for a gendered division of labour in our prehistoric past, then it becomes easier to imagine changing the gendered division of labour that exists in our own society
Urban Legends:are stories with the following characteristics: 1. they are passed along mainly by word of mouth 2. the people who repeat them believe them to be literally true 3. the stories are set in the recent past and associated with some nearby geographical location 4. the stories are almost always completely false Aspects of Culture- Cultural Variation • men and women have different roles across different cultures • what is classified as deviant behaviour in one culture is normative behaviour in another Is Globalization reducing cultural variation? • McDonaldization is a term used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993). He explains it occurs when a culture possesses the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. McDonaldization is a reconceptualization of rationalization, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management. Where Max Weber used the model of the bureaucracy to represent the direction of this changing society, Ritzer sees the fast-food restaurant as having become a more representative contemporary paradigm (Ritzer, 2004:553). In contemporary society, the concept of McDonaldization is gaining attention in different aspects such as culture. McDonaldization thesis in cultural version is a comparatively recent idea of the world wide homogenization of cultures.[1] The process of McDonaldization can be summarized as the way in which "the principles of the fastfood restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world."[2] Canadians and Americans: Are we the same or different? • Seymour Martin Lipset stated that Canadian culture is very different from American culture • Lispet said that these cultural differences explained other differences such as Canada has more respect for authority and therefore that is why we have a lower crime rate • Criticism of Lipset • they suggest that Lipset’s account of history is flawed • they point out that if we take Quebecers and ppl living in the American South out of the analysis, most surveys find no significant differences between Canadians and Americans on things such as individualism and respect for authority • they argue that the existing differences between Canada and the US can be explained without invoking culture Cultural Universals Cultural Universals: any elements of culture found in every single known society
Incest taboo: a norm prohibiting sexual intercourse between parents and children and between siblings • this is a universal (modern) cultural norm Cultural Integration Cultural integration:it is necessary to point out that many of the elements that comprise a given culture are interrelated, so a change in one element can produce changes in other elements Studying Culture Ethnocentrism: refers to the tendency to see things from the point of view of the observer’s culture rather from that of the observed Orientalism: is a form of ethnocentrism encompassing the 19th century by which meant Arab’s and the middle east Infantilization: another form of biased where investigators systematically associate ppl from other cultures with child-like traits Eurocentrism: refers to a bias that goes beyond the borders of modern Europe • a theoretical perspective is said to be Eurocentric when it has been shaped by the values and experiences of the white, middle class in western industrialized societies • simplest case- means assuming that these values and experiences are universally shared Androcentrism: means male- centredness. it is a bias that involves seeing things from a male point of view or in a way that reinforces male privilege in society When Cultures collide: Studying first Nations Communities • sometimes cultures vary not just with respect to the content of particular norms and values but also with respect to what might be called “ways of thinking about the world” Nations ppl often reject both attitudes here on the grounds that 1) there is an intimate and ongoing connection between certain rituals and certain objects that should not be broken 2) some objects are meant to be seen and handled only by certain group • one result is that some Canadian museums have now accommodated First Nations traditions by withdrawing certain objects • The granting agencies go on to recommend a number of “good practices” that sociologists and other investigators should observe
• Such good practices include 1) involving the Aboriginal group being studied in the design of the project 2) providing a preliminary report of findings to members of the Aboriginal group for comment 3) taking notes in scholarly publications of any disagreements that Aboriginal communities might have with the research findings being reported Theoretical Perspectives on Culture Functionalism • the essence of functionalist explanation, when applied to culture, is that a given norm or value or cultural practice is explained by showing how it contributes to the overall stability or survival of the society in which it is found Conflict Theory • some conflict theorists, following Marx, lump cultural beliefs under the more general heading of “ideology”, the system of thought that legitimates existing inequalities of wealth and power, or prevents the less powerful from seeing the true cause of this inequality • a conflict approach has also been especially influential in the sociology of knowledge, a subfield of the sociology of culture that studies the influence of social factors on what constitutes knowledge in a society • the great value of the conflict perspective on culture is that it forces us to challenge a great many attitudes and beliefs that would otherwise be unexamined Cultural Materialism Cultural Materialism: is a third perspective used to study and explain culture. it deemphasizes ideas and ideology as determinants of cultures, and instead sees cultures as adaptations to the needs forced upon social groups by their specific physical environments Feminism • Another important feminist goal has been to uncover the androcentric biases mentioned in this chapter • it is an emphasis on the female experience in the study of culture also affected the study of human prehistory • other feminist scholars have challenged the presumption that there was a gendered division of labour in our prehistoric past • the feminist arguement is that once we recognize that there is no solid evidence for a gendered division of labour in our prehistoric past, then it becomes easier to imagine changing the gendered division of labour that exists in our own society
