soci quiz 2 Flashcards
Culture
values, beliefs and traditions associated with a group of people
-food and festivals
-spirituality and religion
-art
-practices and values
-sacred items
-knowledge
-Cultures are dynamic and change over time
-Culture and its elements are CONTESTED : there is little agreement as to who and what belongs to a culture
-One point of contestation is authenticity or what is true to a particular group
Cultural typology
Types of cultures can be distinguished along two central oppositions
-dominant culture vs. subculture & counterculture
-high culture vs. popular culture & mass culture
Dominant culture
Through political and economic power is able to impose its values, language, and ways of behaving and interpreting behaviour on a given society
Canadas dominants are white, male, English speaking, heterosexual, university grads, between ages of 30-55
Minority cultures
Those who fall outside cultural mainstream
2 categories that fall under it:
-countercultures
-subcultures
Counter cultures
Minority cultures that feel the power of the dominant culture and exist in opposition to it
ex. clothing styles, sexual norms, hippies, alternative fashion and music
Subcultures
Minority cultures that differ in some ways from the dominant culture but dont directly oppose it
ex. groups organized around hobbies or occupations
High culture
Culture of the elite, a distinct minority
Associated with the arts
ex. theatre, operas, ballet, classical music
Pop culture
Culture of the majority, especially those who do not have power
ex. the working class, the less educated, women and racialized minorities
Mass culture
Refers to people who have little or no agency in the culture they consume
ex. big companies dictate what people watch, value, buy, believe
created by those in power for the masses
Simulacra
Jean Baudrillard
feature of mass culture
simulacra are stereotypically cultural images produced or reproduced like material goods or commodities by the media and sometimes by scholars
ex. inuits represented through igloos, kayaks etc..
Simulacra are hyperreal, thus considered more likely real than what exists
Decipherment
Involves looking in a text for the definitive interpretation, for the purpose the culture industry had in mind when creating the text
Reading
The process in which people treat what is provided by the culture industry as a resource, a text to be interpreted as they see fit
Norms
Expected rules or standards of behaviour that are expected of a group, society, or culture
Norms may be contested along the lines of ethnicity, race, genders and age
norms are expressed in culture
Sanctions
Positive sanctions
- rewards or punishments for doing “the right thing”
ex. smiles or high fives
Negative sanctions
-reactions designed to tell offenders that they have violated a norm
ex. eye roll, glare, parking ticket
Folkway
Folkways or ettiquittes are norms that govern everyday matters
norms we should not violate
weakly sanctions
ex.double dipping
Morals
More serious than folkways
often formalize norms we must not violate
violations are met with serious sanctions
ex. rape, stealing
Taboos
Norms that are so deeply ingrained in our social consciousness that the mere thought or mention of it is enough the arouse disgust
ex. incest, child pornography
Cultural symbols
Symbols are items that held significance for a culture
ex. seal hunt, Canadian anthem
Symbols can change over time
Values
the standards used by a culture to describe abstract qualities such as goodness, beauty, and justice
Ideal culture
what people believe in
ex. environmentalism
Actual culture
what really exists
ex. driving large suvs
Ethnocentrism
Occurs when someone thinks a certain culture (usually their own) is best and uses it as the standard to judge other cultures
often the product of the lack of knowledge
has played a role in colonizing nations- imposing their political, economic, and religious beliefs onto indigenous lands and people they “discovered”
Eurocentrism
Involves addressing others from a broadly defined European position
