Chapter 2: Culture
What the of issues does it currently raise?
Raises issues such as past wrongdoings (maltreatment of Chinese/Japanese Canadians, Canadian Aboriginals, etc) and compensation for such acts in forms of money, symbolic gestures, land (indigenous) Rights to be equal vs. Rights to be different
What do Punishments (negative sanctions) include?
Range from avoidance and contempt to arrest and physical abuse.
Though control ensures stability, what else is needed to ensure cultural innovation?
Resistance is needed to ensure cultural innovation and renewal. Stable but vibrant societies are able to find a balance.
What is culture the sum of?
Socially transmitted ideas, practices and material objects that enable people to adapt to and thrive in their environments.
What is meant by the term Postmodernism?
Sociologist's term for the culture of our time.
What do critics argue about multiculturalism?
Some argue that multicultural policies weaken Canada's social fabric. Argue that it promotes cultural relativism (the opposite of ethnocentrism). The issues respecting other cultures as equal and the promotion of cultural relativism is that many ideologies or other cultures hinder (oppose Canadian practices) or are found offensive by Canadians (Moderate cultural relativism encourages tolerance and should be promoted). Critics also argue that multiculturalism encourages immigrants to cling onto their past rather than create a Canadian identity. The issue with this is that ... (1) we don't have a true Canadian identity (main piece of our identity IS our multicultural society). And (2) Surveys show that support for multiculturalism is not correlated with keeping people rooted in the past.
What example is used in the textbook to demonstrate rationalization?
The 14th century Europe with the urge of production and installation (and unprevailing revolt) of the Werkglocken ("work clock") in Germany.
hat was the Rights Revolution?
The process by which socially excluded groups have struggled to win equal rights under the law and in practice.
b) CONSUMERISM
The rationalization process enables us to produce more efficiently, to have more of just about everything our parents did. However, it is consumerism, the tendency to define ourselves in terms of the goods we purchase, that ensures the goods will be bought.
What is Consumerism?
The tendency to define ourselves in terms of goods and services we purchase.
As societies become more complex what follows?
Their culture also diversifies. Thus, preliterate or tribal societies cultural beliefs and practices are virtually the same for all group members. And no variation to the culture is allowed. Culture is homogenous.
How do people become ads?
People become ads: Before someone might suggest "tucking in the tag/label" before leaving the house. Now we proudly display consumer labels as marks of status and identity (such as identifying us as part of a subculture).
How did companies counter people skipping their advertisements?
They realized people were now skipping ads. They therefore incorporated their products into movies/television shows.
What is the only reason human culture can exist?
Through Abstractions. The capacity to create symbols or general ideas that carry particular meanings. Language and mathematic notation are symbols that allow us to classify and generalize from them. Ex. Chair
THE ORIGINS AND COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
To appreciate the importance of culture consider the predicament of humans 100,000 years ago. Weaker, slower, more physically impaired than other animals. Despite this their brains allowed them to create cultural survival kits... Contained 3 main components
How is the effect of rationalization on culture viewed by sociologists?
Viewed as the most culturally constraining aspect of culture today.
What form of government/society has become more ingrained into society as a result?
Democracy.
****Big Historical Projects??? Look up in Brym****
*****Big Historical Projects: events people found appealing to be a part of and believed they would change the world. (German Nazism, communism, has many parents, teachers, politicians, religious leaders, and university professors worried based on past standards (not looking forwards). Really, postmodernism: empowers ordinary people & makes them responsible for their own fate. Makes them more tolerant and appreciative of ethnic, racial, religious and sexual groups. Frees people to adopt religious, ethnic, and other identities they are comfortable with and oppose those imposed by others.
b) SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM AND CULTURAL PRODUCTION
- Are not inclined to believe society as a cause and culture as the outcome... - In their view, people do not accept culture passively. We actively produce and interpret culture, creatively fashioning it and attaching meaning to it in accordance with our diverse needs. Implies that we have control over how culture influences us.
What are its 3 main features?
1. An electric mixing of elements from different time and places ⇒ Being able to mismatch various aspects of culture and create our own individualized version. (culturally, religiously, etc). 2. The erosion of authority ⇒ Canadians use to be known as respectful of authority (in contrast to the "violent" USA). Recently have become skeptical of authority such as political institutions. 3. The decline of consensus around core values ⇒ Half a century, people's values remained quite stable over the course of their adult life. Now, core values tend to shift more rapidly. (ex. changing which political party to vote for rather than remaining loyal to one).
What demographic (in the 1980's) did companies recognize as an untapped resource?
1980's advertisers recognized children as "untapped resource", created nagging Advertisers recognized that childhood and directing would create brand loyalty that would last a lifetime.
What attributes to it being passed to generations? And what is the process known as?
Cultural Sharing takes place through human interaction, communication and learning (known as Socially Transmitted).
What two ages did cultural fragmentation pick up in?
Cultural fragmentation picked up during the industrial age and again in modern age with technological and globalizing forces.
GLOSSARY
Abstraction: is the human capacity to create complex symbols, including languages, mathematical notations, and signs, in order to classify experience and generalize from it. Consumerism: involves defining ourselves in terms of the goods we purchase. Cooperation: is the human capacity to create a complex social life by establishing norms. Countercultures: are subversive subculture. They oppose dominant values and seek to replace them. Cultural relativism: is the opposite of ethnocentric. It is the idea that all culture and cultural practice have equal value. Culture: is the sum of socially transmitted practices, languages, symbols, beliefs, values, ideologies, and the material objects that people create to deal with real-life problems. Cultures enable people to adapt to and thrive in their environments. Ethnocentric: is the tendency to judge other cultures exclusively by the standards of our own. Norms: are the standards of behaviour of generally accepted ways of doing things. Postmodernism: is characterized by an electric mixing of cultural elements, the erosion of authority, and the decline of consensus around core values. Production: is the human capacity to make and use tools. It improves our ability to take what we want from nature. The Rights Revolution: is the process by which excluded groups have obtained equal rights under the law and in practice. A right of passage: is a cultural ceremony that marks the transition from one stage of life to another or from life to death. Sanctions: are rewards and punishments intended to ensure conformity to cultural guidelines. The Sapir Whorf thesis: holds that we experience certain things in our environments and from concepts about those things. We then develop languages to express our concepts. Finally, language itself influence how we see the world. [The system of] social control: is the meaning by which members of society ensure people conform to cultural guidelines. [A] society: involves people interacting socially and sharing culture, usually in a defined geographic area. [A] subculture: is a distinctive set of values, norm, and practices within a larger culture. [A] symbol: is anything that carries a particular meaning, including the components of language, mathematical notations, and signs. Symbols allow us to engage in abstraction.
What events/forces rocked and fragmented Western European and North American culture?
Artistic, religious, scientific, and political forces that fragmented culture. The Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the French and American Revolution ⇒ between the 4th and 18th centuries.
How do sociologists broadly define culture?
As all socially transmitcreate to deal with real-life problems. (IPM) Ex religion: cope with death.
What did these movements/events make them question?
Between the 4th and 18th centuries, all these movements involved people questioning the old ways of seeing and doing things.
3. PRODUCTION: CREATING MATERIAL AND NONMETERIAL CULTURE
Can exist because humans engage in production
When did Canada begin to culturally diversify? And what was it mainly comprised of?
Canada use to be composed almost exclusively of Christian northern Europeans and an Aboriginal minority. Then, from the 1960's, Canada eliminated overt racism from its immigration policies and the country began to diversify culturally.
How do elite redirect countercultures/subcultures?
Consumerism acts as social control mechanism which it does so by transforming deviations of mainstream culture into ways of making money.
Define Countercultures.
Countercultures: are subversive subcultures. They oppose dominant values and seek to replace them (ex. 1960' hippies & modern environmentalists). Note: Rarely oppose serious threat to social stability. Dominant culture usually keep them at bay through rewards and punishment.
Despite efforts to control, what do we often reject?
Elements of existing culture and create new elements of culture.
Explain how this process allows for culture to develop.
Equipped with language, we share understanding, pass experience and knowledge from one generation to the next, and make plans for the future. In short language allows culture to develop. Distinct us from animals.
What is the term for judging a culture exclusively by standards of your own culture?
Ethnocentrism. Indian cattle example. - act as tractors - manure used as fertilizer/cooking fuel - unable to afford the latter so cow is a godsend - Easy to maintain, they just eat grass and shit **proves a function
What do Rewards (positive sanctions) include?
Everything from praise and encouragement to money and power.
What is the Sapir Whorf Thesis?
Experience - Conceptualize -Verbalize/Language
How come the movement is still in place?
Group are still undergoing discrimination.
CONCULISION: Final Point
HUGE ASS 1 PAGE EXAMPLE ABOUT "HIP HOP".... But they forgot about NWA (******s With Attitude). The eroding black inner city ghettos, eating themselves from the inside out with gang wars over territory, cocaine and later (created by the Colombians) crack). Consumerism recognized the attraction of profound lyrics of money, sex, guns, uni government/society, etc to the conservatives of society and began to package it. More detail on pg 46
Define production.
Humans can make and use tools and techniques that improve our ability to take what we want from nature.
Explain the history of the Sapir-Whorf Theory
In 1930's, Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf developed the Sapir-Whorf thesis. Holds idea that we experience things in our environment and form concepts about those things, then ⇒, we develop language to express our concepts, finally⇒, language itself influences how we see the world. Ex. Monkey see monkey do... derogatory terms used towards women in media subconsciously influence men to think of women as objects.
When did the United Nations proclaim the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
In 1948 (post WWII) the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
When did it gain full momentum?
In the 1960's.
What are some of Globalization's many roots?
International trade Immigration Interracial couples (mixing various culture) Transnational organizations (Euro Union, Greenpeace) International travel & communication Media
What does cooperation help create?
Involves creating a complex social life by establishing NORMS or generally accepted ways of doing things and values or dead about what is right and wrong, good or bad, beautiful or ugly.
How does rationalization take over our lives?
Is the regulation of time rational? For ensuring efficiency sure, but it seems our entire lives have become too consumed and hectic in order for us to live an enjoyable life. George Ritzer's example of McDonaldization: The idea of the people's lives being managed for efficiency.
2. COOPERATION: CREATING NORMS AND VALUES
Is the second factor that enables humans to exist.
What are cultural guideline's rewards/punishments known as? And what do they aim to do?
Known as Sanctions or Social Control. Aimed towards ensuring conformity.
What do sociologists call these tools/techniques?
Material Culture.
How does culture happen?
When it's passed from one generation to the next.