Unit 6 Summary.docx

Unit 6 Summary This is the beginning of module two, which explores the connection between society and the individual. The main focus is on culture, a significant topic in sociology due to its depth and breadth. Culture is defined in two ways: It is the sum total of a people’s heritage, including lan...

Unit 6 Summary This is the beginning of module two, which explores the connection between society and the individual. The main focus is on culture, a significant topic in sociology due to its depth and breadth. Culture is defined in two ways: It is the sum total of a people’s heritage, including language, customs, beliefs, knowledge, norms, and material objects that a person is born into. It is a collective definition and interpretation of reality that produces a whole way of life or a system of shared meaning and behavior. Culture is distinguished from the physical environment. While the physical environment (Mother Earth) is given to humans, culture is a social environment created and sustained by human interaction. It is not inherited through DNA or genes but must be learned. It is so pervasive that it often goes unnoticed, much like a fish would not notice water. The video also introduces the concept of society, defined as a complex system of interrelationships that connects people, usually within a defined territory. Society is about the relationships that connect people, not their ideas, values, or technologies. Culture is always part of a society, and a society is part of a defined territory with a defined culture. The intersections between culture and society are explored. Culture cannot exist without a society and vice versa. All societies have more than one culture, including dominant culture, subcultures, and counter cultures. Cultural characteristics can be transmitted from one society to another, a process known as cultural diffusion. This leads to cultural globalization, where cultural elements are shared worldwide. Societies can share common cultural characteristics, but also have unique aspects. Culture is described as the script humans live by, while society is the network of actors within a defined territory. One could argue that culture is uniquely a human construct. Humans create culture; it is not inherited. While animals may have their own forms of culture, human culture is distinct due to our self-awareness, use of complex symbol systems for communication, adaptability to different environments, interest in year-round mating with attached meanings, and awareness of mortality. Interestingly, humans kill their own kind more than any other animal and are the only species aware of their impending death. This consciousness of mortality has been argued to be the impetus for creating culture, something that will outlive us. Nature vs Nurture The central debate in social science is whether humans are a product of nature (biology, Mother Earth) or nurture (culture, mother culture). Sociobiology, a branch of sociology, attempts to combine these two by explaining social behavior through our social makeup, like evolutionary psychology. For example, the sexual behavior of males and females is explained through their biological differences. Males, with abundant sperm, may ensure progeny by mating with many females. Females, with one egg per month and a nine-month gestation period, need to secure a male’s help, leading to the argument that males are inherently more promiscuous than females. The difference between nature and culture is illustrated with the example of rivers, which exist naturally (nature) and roads which are built by humans (culture). However, humans can turn nature into culture, as seen in how rivers are used and given meaning, becoming transportation routes, playgrounds, garbage dumps, political boundaries, hydropower sources, or sacred sites. This demonstrates the ways in which something as natural as a river can be transformed into something as cultural as the various uses and meanings we attach to it. The Segments of Culture Culture is divided into two main segments: material culture and nonmaterial culture. Material culture refers to the physical things created by members of a society, such as products, artifacts, structures, and roads. These are tangible items that can be touched, felt, tasted, and smelled. Nonmaterial culture, also known as social facts, according to Durkheim, consists of the ideas created by members of society. This includes values, norms, ideologies, and religion. These are intangible elements that we carry in our minds, learn, and acquire at birth. These two segments of culture can be visualized as an iceberg. The material culture is just the tip of the iceberg, visible and tangible. Beneath the surface lies the nonmaterial culture, representing how we organize ourselves and our worldview. Together, these segments comprise the entirety of a culture. The Components of Culture 1 The first component of culture is symbols, which are objects or sounds that represent something else. All cultures have a symbol system, and these symbols carry shared meanings. Examples of symbols include sounds (like the word "fish"), images (like the Maple Leaf representing Canada), and gestures. The interpretation of these symbols can vary across different cultures. For instance, applause signifies approval in Canada but disapproval in Latin America. Symbols can also be physical objects like a piece of wood or a dandelion, to which different meanings can be attached based on shared understanding. Symbols are social products that come into existence by agreement among people. The use of symbols is a pronounced characteristic of humans, grounding our world not in the objects or actions themselves, but in the meanings attached to them. Animals generally do not use symbols to the extent humans do. While some animals, like dolphins and chimpanzees, use symbols learned via conditioning, their capacity is limited, and they cannot transmit the meaning of these symbols to their offspring. Language, a type of symbol system, is crucial to human culture. It is not just a tool for communication, but also a means of defining experience. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis posits that without language, humans would not be able to attach meaning to objects or actions, and thus, would not be able to think. Ludwig Wittgenstein’s quote, “the limits of my language are the limits of my world,” is discussed, suggesting that our language shapes our perception and understanding of the world. Language is both enabling and constraining. On one hand, language enables us to express ourselves, understand others, manipulate situations, and reach beyond the present moment. It allows us to accumulate knowledge of the past, plan for the future, and generate abstract realities like justice, love, and humility. On the other hand, language can also constrain us. We inherit stereotypes, prejudices, and biases embedded in language, which can affect our perception of reality and our relationships. Language often carries invisible connotations, as noted by Kenneth Burke, influencing how we perceive and describe things. For instance, traditional language has been criticized for its sexism, using generic masculine terms and stereotyping genders. Efforts have been made in recent years to neutralize gender in language. This emphasizes the importance of learning a second language, as it can expose how different languages view the world, thereby expanding our understanding and challenging our biases. The third component of culture is the stock of knowledge, which includes things that a culture knows and believes to be true. This includes cultural myths, which are stories or belief systems that help people understand the cosmos, the purpose and meaning of life, and the origin and role of evil and suffering. Cultural myths, such as viewing North America as Turtle Island for indigenous peoples, provide a worldview and convey truths in a story form, even if they may not be historically or scientifically factual. Beliefs become objectified as knowledge and are transmitted within the culture. Cultural practices, such as mate selection methods (arranged marriage or self-selected marriage), become the standard way of doing things and form part of the common knowledge within a culture. All cultures consist of shared ideas about what is desirable, known as values. These values, which are abstract ethical ideals, often get embedded in language. For instance, the shift from using terms like “husband” and “wife” to “partner” reflects a cultural value shift towards equality and inclusivity. Values differ across cultures. Significant differences exist between Eastern and Western values. Western values often emphasize external control, individualism, equality, achievement, and doing. In contrast, Eastern values typically prioritize internal self-control, communal society, hierarchy, modesty, and being. These values contribute to the profound differences observed between cultures. It’s important to note that language and values intersect, influencing our perceptions and shaping our cultures. This highlights the power of language in representing and transmitting cultural values. East West Internal self control Communal Hierarchy Modesty Harmony Saving face Silence-oriented Time is life Respect for status Respect elders Truth-oriented Nosy and curious Hypocritical Sharing Accept Long term oriented Indirect Interdependent Being External control Individual Equality Achievement Winning Pride Noise-oriented Time is money Respect for results Respect competence Fact-oriented Value Privacy Open Selfish Control Short term-oriented Direct Independent Doing Table: Differences - East and West Eastern cultures are often described as shame-based, focusing on who one is, while Western cultures are seen as guilt-based, focusing on what one does. Canadian cultural values include freedom, democracy, equality of opportunity, individualism, diversity, multiculturalism, competition, work ethic, materialism, consumerism, self-fulfillment, self-actualization, humanitarianism, economism, rationality, progress, and social conformity. However, these are not consensual values across all Canadians. There are significant differences between Euro-Canadian values and Indigenous values, reflecting the difference of Eastern and Western cultures. Values are a crucial component of all cultures, and while some may be similar across cultures, others can be contradictory. This highlights the complexity and diversity inherent in cultural values. Sociologists often differentiate between the ideal values of a culture (what people aspire to) and the real values (how people actually think and act). This distinction highlights the potential gap between aspiration and reality in a society. There’s also a difference between values (what people desire) and virtues (what is morally correct), and these may not always align. The judgment of virtue is often defined by the culture itself. This discussion leads to the historic distinction, dating back to Greco-Roman antiquity, between the true (what is), the good (what should be), and the beautiful (what is attractive). These dimensions add complexity to the understanding of values in all cultures. Norms, the shared rules of conduct in a culture, dictate the do’s and don’ts of social life. They can be prescriptive, prescribing what we should do, or proscriptive, describing what we should not do. An example is “manspreading,” a gendered norm where men are allowed to spread their knees for comfort, but women are expected to keep their knees together or crossed. Norms are more specific than values and are often justified by them. For instance, the norm against cheating is based on the value of fairness. However, what is considered cheating in one culture might be seen as sharing in another, highlighting cultural differences. Norms are also often situation specific. For example, applause is expected after a musical performance but not after an academic lecture or a sermon in a church. Similarly, taking a life can be seen differently depending on the context, such as murder versus execution, abortion, suicide, assassination, self-defense, or warfare. These norms vary greatly depending on the situation. Norms can be categorized into micro norms (small, everyday behaviors) and macro norms (larger societal expectations). An example of a micro norm is the way heterosexual couples often hold hands, with the man’s hand in front. A macro norm is the societal expectation to get a job, marry, have children, follow fashion, and act normally. Norms also have a hierarchy of obligation: Folkways: These are customary, habitual ways of doing things and social conventions. There’s no strong feeling of right or wrong attached to them. Violating a folkway might simply lead to people thinking you’re eccentric or weird. Mores: These norms carry strong feelings of right or wrong. Violating a more is seen as immoral and can lead to severe reactions, including punishment or ostracism. An example is an extramarital affair. Laws: These are norms that become rules enforced by the state. Violating a law makes you a criminal. These norms vary across cultures and can change over time. For instance, blasphemy, which is still illegal in Canada, is no longer enforced as a law. The example given illustrates the relationship between values, norms, and their classifications. The cultural value that sexual expression enhances marital love leads to the norm that a husband and wife should regularly have sexual intercourse with each other, but not with anyone else. This norm can be broken down into: Folkways: The husband and wife share a bedroom and a bed, while the children sleep elsewhere in the house. This is a customary way of arranging space. Mores: Adultery is considered morally evil. Violating this norm leads to strong negative reactions. Laws: Marital rape is criminal. If a husband forces himself on his wife, it’s not just a violation of a folkway or a moral wrong, but a legal crime. This example demonstrates the gradation of values and norms, and the different types of norms: folkways, mores, and laws. Another component of culture discussed is ideology. Ideology is a coherent set of interrelated ideas (what is) and ideals (what should be) that explain and justify the prevailing or proposed distribution of power, wealth, and privilege in a society. It serves as a mental force that maintains social order without the need for physical force. In Canadian society, the dominant ideology is liberal individualism, which attributes success or failure to the individual rather than social structures or systems. Karl Marx observed that the dominant ideology is always that of the ruling class, which has the resources to define what is true and real. Ideology functions as a set of limits to consciousness, acting like blinders that can create a false consciousness or a perception of a situation not in accord with reality. For example, blaming an individual for their failure might overlook the role of social order or structure in their situation. Ideology controls how we see things; we don’t see things as they are, but as we are, according to our ideology. All cultures have more than one ideology, including dominant and counter ideologies. The seventh component of culture is forms of expression, which are activities done for their own sake to express the human experience. These are not instrumental or utilitarian, but are done for their inherent value, such as arts, sports, and religion. Art, as an example, is a social experience that uses symbols and relies on shared meanings. It is performed according to certain codes or rules that must be learned to be appreciated. Art is always performed for the public, as artists aim to communicate with their audience. Different types of art, such as music or clothing, can be associated with different cultures or subcultures. These forms of expression reflect the diversity and complexity of cultural norms and values. The eighth and final component of culture is technology, which falls under material culture. Technology refers to the skills, tools, and machines used by a society to convert natural resources into useful products. It is instrumental and is made possible by applying knowledge and skills derived from science. Unlike art, which goes in cycles, technology is cumulative, building upon previous advancements. It is evaluated based on its efficiency and ability to perform the intended job. Technology often makes its way into museums, unlike values and norms which disappear with the culture. Through archaeology, an aspect of anthropology, we can recover technology and use it to reconstruct the non-material culture of a society, piecing together its values, norms, and symbols. This highlights the significant role of technology in preserving and understanding cultural history. Technology can dictate the character of life and create dependency. For example, our reliance on phones for various tasks demonstrates this dependency. Technology can also disempower and deskill humans, as seen in the rise of AI, machine learning, and robotics. It can distort reality, as evidenced by the role of social media, and contribute to environmental degradation due to its extensive use. An interesting concept is “the tyranny of the possible,” where just because we can do something with technology doesn’t necessarily mean we should. This raises ethical and philosophical questions about the use of technology in fields like medicine and AI. The rapid advancement of technology can lead to a “cultural lag,” where societal norms and values struggle to keep up with technological progress. This when the norms and values of society lag behind the technology, which has advanced so rapidly that we have not really caught up ethically or philosophically. This is evident in the book “Technopoly” by Neil Postman, which discusses the monopoly that technology has over culture and suggests that all seven components of culture can be steered by technology. This highlights the significant influence of technology on culture and the need for thoughtful consideration of its impacts. Thinking Outside the Box? The cultural notion of “thinking outside the box” is flawed, suggesting that if everyone is doing so, it becomes the norm and is no longer outside the box. It highlights that this concept is rooted in Western individualism. If non-conformity becomes widespread, it paradoxically becomes a form of conformity. Even when we believe we are thinking outside the box, we are still influenced by the cultural “box” we exist within. This reflects the pervasive influence of cultural norms and values on our thought processes. Cultural Diversity Cultural diversity is highlighted by the different practices and norms across various societies. For instance, dietary restrictions vary: Jews do not eat pork, Hindus abstain from beef, and while Canadians do not consume dog meat, it is consumed in some parts of China. Expressions of affection also differ, with Westerners kissing to show affection, while the Tonga of Southeast Africa may find the exchange of saliva unappealing. Cultural universals, as identified by anthropologist George Murdock, are elements found in every culture worldwide. These include language, sexual obligations or restrictions, forms of art, religion, law, morality, and methods of feeding and clothing oneself. All people must communicate, feed themselves, clothe themselves, cope with the environment, procreate, and face death. The diversity lies not in the elements of culture, which are universal, but in the way these elements are practiced or expressed. This results in a similarity of elements, a diversity of style, and a difference in how cultures approach the same tasks or needs. So here is a list of cultural universals on the right and examples of each one of those universals. So yes, of course, athletics, sports, dancing, etc. will sound and look completely different from one culture to the next. But all cultures have some form of art and leisure and so forth. Cultural identity refers to our sense of belonging to a particular culture. We naturally feel more comfortable in our own culture and may feel out of place or experience culture shock when exposed to a different culture. Culture shock is the feeling of disorientation, anxiety, and frustration that arises when our usual behaviors and thought patterns are not appropriate in a new cultural context. The degree of culture shock can depend on the cultural distance between our own culture and the new one. For instance, a Canadian might find Spanish culture less distant and thus less shocking than Chinese culture. Reverse culture shock occurs when we return to our own culture after spending time in another and start seeing our own culture through a different lens. This can lead to a sense of unsettlement, especially if we notice aspects of our culture, such as individualism and materialism, that we hadn’t been aware of before. The phenomena of culture shock and reverse culture shock have been somewhat mitigated by cultural globalization, which has led to the intermingling and homogenization of cultures worldwide. However, we still operate within the framework of our original culture, including its definitions of what is true, good, and beautiful. Ethnocentrism is another aspect of cultural identity where one tends to view things from their own cultural perspective rather than that of the culture being observed. It involves judging another culture using the standards of one’s own culture, leading to the belief that everyone is or should be like us. This can manifest in various ways, such as assuming everyone else has an accent except us or using geocentric terms like “Far East” or “Down Under” based on one’s own geographical perspective. Ethnocentrism can lead to biases and a skewed understanding of other cultures. It’s important to remember that the world in which we were born represents just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being like ours; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit, each with their own values, norms, and ways of life. The discussion contrasts cultural relativity and cultural relativism. Cultural relativity refers to the empirical fact of cultural diversity, acknowledging that different cultures have different norms and practices. Cultural relativism, on the other hand, is a metaphysical assumption that all cultures are equally valid and deserving of respect, suggesting that cultures should be judged according to their own ethical standards, not those of an outside observer. This perspective raises questions about how we approach moral judgments in the context of cultural diversity. For instance, practices like bullfighting in Spain, female genital mutilation in Africa, Inuit elders wandering off onto an ice floe when they become unproductive, or Indian widows committing suicide by self-immolation, might be seen differently within their respective cultures. According to cultural relativism, abandoning all external moral criteria when examining cultural diversity allows for a more nuanced understanding of different cultures. However, this approach also challenges us to consider the complexities and potential ethical dilemmas inherent in cultural practices. Cultural relativism can be split into two types. The first is absolute cultural relativism, which suggests that no aspect of a culture should be questioned. This leads to the concept of critical cultural relativism, which questions cultural practices in terms of who accepts them, why, and who is harmed or helped by them. Subcultures and countercultures are part of cultural diversity. Subcultures share the overall culture but maintain a distinctive set of values, norms, and language. Countercultures strongly oppose the widely accepted cultural patterns. The discussion also mentions high culture, which distinguishes a society’s elite and is considered profound, serious, intellectual, and accessible only to a few, in contrast to popular culture, which is widespread, promotes commonality, and appeals to the masses. This highlights the evaluative and hierarchical nature of cultural labels and the status differences between different kinds of culture. Examples of High Culture, Pop Culture, Subcultures, and Countercultures High Culture: Classical music, such as symphonies by Beethoven or Mozart. Ballet, like performances of Swan Lake or The Nutcracker. Fine art, including paintings by artists like Van Gogh or Monet. Literature, such as novels by Jane Austen or Fyodor Dostoevsky. Pop Culture: Popular music, like songs by Taylor Swift or BTS. Television shows, such as “Game of Thrones” or “Stranger Things”. Movies, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Bestselling books, such as the Harry Potter series. Subcultures: The “Hipster” subculture, known for its appreciation of indie music, vintage fashion, and alternative lifestyles. The “Gamer” subculture, which revolves around video games and related media. Countercultures: The Hippie movement of the 1960s, which rejected mainstream values and norms, advocating for peace, love, and communal living. The Punk movement, which emerged in the 1970s and was characterized by aggressive music, rebellious fashion, and a disdain for mainstream society. The Cyberpunk movement, which envisions a dystopian future dominated by high-tech corporations, and promotes a rebellious, anti-establishment ethos. Remember, these are broad categories and there can be significant variation within each group. Also, the lines between high culture, pop culture, subcultures, and countercultures can sometimes blur as elements from one can influence the others. Cultural identities are complex and multifaceted, reflecting the diversity of human experiences and perspectives. The discussion contrasts art and entertainment. Art, often considered highbrow, challenges, and enlightens the mind, deeply moving the human spirit. Entertainment, on the other hand, occupies the mind and agreeably amuses one’s feelings. It’s often consumed, forgotten, and replaced, much like food. Cultural assets are also discussed, including cultural capital and cultural literacy. Cultural capital refers to non-financial assets that promote social mobility, such as values, attitudes, education, knowledge, interpersonal skills, style of speech, dress, and even physical appearance. Cultural literacy is having enough general knowledge about society to communicate effectively with anyone. The concept of a “culture of poverty” is introduced, defined as the structure, rationale, and defense mechanisms of those at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale. This culture is characterized by beliefs in luck and destiny, showy masculinity, and a lack of planning and cultural literacy. The discussion suggests that the concept of a culture of poverty might allow the middle class to feel blameless and blame the victims of the system, adding complexity to the understanding of cultural assets.

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