1. Chapter 2: Culture

2. Objectives (slide 1 of 2) 2.1 Culture
Define culture and discuss its significance on individuals and society.
Describe cultural universals and cultural diversity.
Explain ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
2.2 Components of Nonmaterial Culture
Illustrate key components of culture and discuss their importance.
2.3 Cultural Change
Describe the basic processes of discovery, invention, and diffusion in cultural change.
Examine the use of technology in sociocultural evolution.

3. Objectives (slide 2 of 2) 2.4 Cultural Diversity
Define high culture, popular culture, subcultures, and countercultures.
Illustrate how each is related to social class and resistance to the dominant culture.
Discuss the differences between multiculturalism and a global culture.
2.5 Theoretical Perspectives on Culture
Illustrate how the functional, conflict, and social Interaction theories provide different insights into culture.

4. The Significance of Culture
Culture: A combination of ideas, behaviors, and material objects that members of a society have created and adopted for carrying out necessary tasks of daily life
Society: People living in a specific geographic region who share a common culture
Cultural transmission: The passing of culture from one generation to the next
Culture shock: Disorientation when first experiencing a new culture
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.1 Culture
LO: Define culture and discuss its significance on individuals and society.
Culture is a combination of ideas, behaviors, and material objects that members of a society have created and adopted for carrying out necessary tasks of daily life and that are passed on from one generation to the next. These include ways of performing common tasks such as providing food, shelter, producing and caring for children, and solving disputes. A society consists of people living in a specific geographic region who share a common culture. Thus, societies and culture go hand in hand.
Culture is the foundation of human civilization. Humans have essentially written much of their own blueprint through their cultural heritage, what sociologist, Ralph Linton, called our “social heredity”, and what Edmund Burke called “a contract between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are yet to be born.” The passing of culture from one generation to the next is called cultural transmission.
Culture influences virtually every aspect of our lives, providing directions for how to behave, for shelter, food, work, and meaning in our lives. We are immersed so completely in our own culture that we sometimes lose sight of why we do things and how it might look to others. These taken-for-granted beliefs, behaviors, artifacts, and ideas become the lens through which we view life. It is often only when we find ourselves confronting another culture that we begin to see the arbitrariness of much of what we do. As a result, foreign travelers and people who migrate to one country from another often initially experience a kind of culture shock – disorientation when first experiencing a new culture. People are speaking a different language, the foods are strange and sometimes scary, the laws are different s, the customs seem odd, and beliefs of the locals may seem totally illogical.

5. Cultural Universals and Cultural Diversity
Cultural universals: Cultural elements found in all cultures
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2.1 Culture
LO: Describe cultural universals and cultural diversity.
While there’s a wide range of cultural variation when comparing people from different cultures, a number of anthropologists argue there are a number of cultural universals, cultural elements found in all cultures. For example, in a classic work, Murdock examined hundreds of cultures and identified several dozen cultural elements he argued are cultural universals. Several of the items that he believed were cultural universals are shown in Figure (F01). Cultural universals reflect fundamental problems faced by every society, such as communication, government, socialization, coping with the environment, regulating reproduction, and assigning people roles.
While anthropologists have found some version of these cultural elements in virtually every society, there is considerable cultural variation in the particular ways societies address those problems. For example, while all societies may ban incest, they often differ in how it’s defined. They often define family differently, so who is a close relative varies from one culture to another. There also are extreme variations in culture, with behaviors that are taboo in some cultures being practiced widely in other cultures. Examples include premarital sex, cannibalism, public nudity, human sacrifice, infanticide, and slavery. This extreme variation, even in the way societies address common problems, raises questions of how we should respond to other cultures.

6. Ethnocentrism versus Cultural Relativism
The view that your own culture is the standard against which other cultures can be judged right or wrong
Cultural relativism
A view that judges other cultures not by standards of the observer’s culture, but by the standards of the other culture itself
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2.1 Culture
LO: Explain ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
Ethnocentrism is the view that your own culture is the standard against which other cultures can be judged right or wrong. As William Graham Sumner (1906:13) defined it, “ethnocentrism is the technical name for this view of things to which one’s own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it.”
At the other extreme is cultural relativism, a view that judges other cultures not by standards of the observer’s culture, but by the standards of the other culture itself. An extreme variant of cultural relativism argues there is no universal right or wrong. The difficult task for all of us in a multicultural society and in a world growing ever more interdependent is to be able to tell the difference between universally legitimate moral standards and our own cultural biases.

7. Material Culture Material culture includes: Art Architecture
Technological artifacts
Technology consists of tools and the knowledge necessary to create and use them effectively.
Material objects
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2.1 Culture
LO: Define culture and discuss its significance on individuals and society.
Culture includes both material and nonmaterial components. The material culture includes all the art, architecture, technological artifacts, and material objects created by a society. This includes the factories, highways, automobiles, computers, records, books, toys, skyscrapers, nuclear waste depositories, polluted rivers, and junkyards that are the products of modern societies. Technology consists of tools and the knowledge necessary to create and use them effectively. The tools and the products we create with them help provide for basic survival needs of people and provide a mechanism for expressing differences.

8. Nonmaterial Culture
Nonmaterial culture: Intangible creations of people expressing everything from fundamental religious beliefs to abstract scientific knowledge to proscriptions for behavior.
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2.2 Components of Nonmaterial Culture
LO: Illustrate key components of culture and discuss their importance.
The nonmaterial culture consists of intangible creations of people expressing everything from fundamental religious beliefs, to abstract scientific knowledge, to proscriptions for behavior. The nonmaterial culture includes cognitive elements—symbols, language, values, and beliefs—and normative elements—norms, sanctions, and laws.

9. Symbols
Symbols: Words, gestures, pictures, physical artifacts, in fact anything, that conveys meaning to people who share a culture
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LO: Illustrate key components of culture and discuss their importance.
Symbols are words, gestures, pictures, physical artifacts, in fact anything, that conveys meaning to people who share a culture. Examples of symbols include flags, designer labels, company logos, religious symbols, and nonverbal gestures.
Symbols can be very important--important enough to fight for and even die for. They’re important in everyday life as well. If you do not believe symbols are important, then cut up all of your credit cards, throw away your University ID, burn your driver’s license, and give away all of your dollar bills. Those symbols signify to others your credit worthiness, your status as a college student, your proven ability to operate a motor vehicle, and the willingness of the Federal government to exchange certain green pieces of paper for something of value.

10. Nonverbal Gestures
Nonverbal gestures can have surprisingly different meanings in different cultures. For example:
Eating with one’s left hand in Islamic societies is an insult because they reserve their left hand for unclean tasks.
In Korea, letting someone see the bottom of your shoe is an insult.
The “thumbs up” signal used in the United States to indicate approval has a very different meaning in Australia, Iraq, and some other countries, where it means “up yours!”
The gesture in which a circle is made of the thumb and forefinger to indicate “OK” in the United States, instead means in Germany is a reference to what may be politely described as “the south end of a mule headed north.”
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2.2 Components of Nonmaterial Culture
LO: Illustrate key components of culture and discuss their importance.
Nonverbal gestures can have surprisingly different meanings in different cultures. For example:
Eating with one’s left hand in Islamic societies is an insult because they reserve their left hand for unclean tasks.
In Korea, letting someone see the bottom of your shoe is an insult.
The “thumbs up” signal used in the U.S. to indicate approval has a very different meaning in Australia, Iraq, and some other countries means where it means “up yours!”
The gesture in which a circle is made of the thumb and forefinger to indicate “OK” in the United States, instead means in Germanya reference to what may be politely described as the hind quarters of a mule.

11. Language (slide 1 of 2)
Language: An abstract system of symbols, and rules for their usage permitting people to represent abstract thoughts and experiences and communicate them to others
Crucial for the transmission of culture from one generation to another
Printed symbols for written languages vary widely
Provides one of the greatest barriers to the transmission of culture due to substantial variation in languages and the difficulty of learning multiple languages
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LO: Illustrate key components of culture and discuss their importance.
Language is an abstract system of symbols, and rules for their usage permitting people to represent abstract thoughts and experiences and communicate them to others.
Language one of the most important elements of culture. It is crucial for the transmission of culture from one generation to another. Imagine how hard it would be to share the insights of a play by Shakespeare or a complex chemical process without language.
All societies have a spoken language; most have a written language. However, the printed symbols used for written languages vary widely from collections of a relatively few symbols making up an alphabet that can be combined to form words having meaning, to languages consisting of thousands of unique symbols such as Japanese or Chinese calligraphy.
Languages provide a powerful mechanism for the sharing of culture from one generation to the next and from one society to another. Yet, ironically, language also provides one of the greatest barriers to the transmission of culture because of the substantial variation in languages and the difficulty of learning multiple languages

12. Language (slide 2 of 2)
Thousands of languages and dialects are in use throughout the world.
Roughly 6% (389) of the world’s languages are spoken by 94% of the world’s population.
The remaining 94% of languages are spoken by only 6% of the world’s people.
English is well on its way to becoming an unofficial global language because it is the most common second language in many parts of the world and is the most commonly spoken language on the Internet, with Chinese a close second.
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There are literally thousands of languages and dialects in use throughout the world. A striking fact is that roughly 6% (389) of the world’s languages are each spoken by one million or more people and together are spoken by 94% of the world’s population. The remaining 94% of languages are spoken by only 6% of the world’s people. Some variant of Chinese is spoken by the most people (1.2 billion), followed by Spanish (329 million), English (328 million), and Japanese (221 million). The rest of the top ten most common languages can be seen in Fig2-2A) (Lewis, 2009). English is well on its way to becoming an unofficial global language since it is the most common second language in many parts of the world and (as can also be seen in Fig 2-2B) the most commonly spoken language on the Internet, with Chinese a close second.

13. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: Argues that language shapes thought
Different languages have unique vocabularies representing different levels of refinement of concepts.
This is a controversial hypothesis because:
It may be difficult or even impossible for people who speak different languages to share the same thoughts and ideas completely and accurately.
Language restricts the conception of reality.
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The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argues that language shapes thought. Languages do not permit simple word-for-word conversions from one language to another. Instead different languages have unique vocabularies representing different levels of refinement of concepts. As a result, some languages are better able to express some thoughts than others.
This is a controversial hypothesis with far-reaching implications. For example, if it is true, then it may be difficult or even impossible for people who speak different languages to share the same thoughts and ideas completely and accurately. Language would restrict their conception of reality.
Most researchers today believe language influences thought and makes it easier to understand and think about some things and harder to understand and think about others.

14. Language and Race, Class, and Gender
Language offers insight into some of the ways we intentionally or unintentionally express preconceptions about gender, people of different races and ethnicities, and people in different social classes.
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Language offers insight into some of the ways we intentionally or unintentionally express preconceptions about men and women, people of different races and ethnicities, and people in different social classes. In addition, there are more subtle ways in which language disadvantages a particular group of people. Many terms carry with them a gender identity, such as “chairman,” “policeman,” “husband” and “wife.” Words also sometimes have several meanings and may subtly connect race with negative connotations.
Language dialects often distinguish between people from higher and lower social classes or from different races. Such linguistic distinctions are often more subtle in the United States. But there are notable differences in language that affect how people are perceived.
Language also provides a measure of the increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the United States. Different languages can pose a barrier as people from different ethnic and cultural heritages attempt to communicate. The graph shows the number of speakers for each of the top ten languages spoken in the United States. Notice that the second and third most common languages are Spanish (28 million) and Chinese (2 million). This reflects the increasing population of Hispanic and Asian minorities in the U.S.

15. Cultural Values (slide 1 of 2)
Cultural values: Standards of desirability, rightness, or importance in a society
Indicate whether something is good or bad, important or unimportant, attractive or unattractive
Can help us understand why people react as they do to different events
Personal values are values individuals hold on their own.
Include preferences for music, tastes in clothes, etc.
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Cultural values are standards of desirability, rightness, or importance in a society. They indicate whether something is good or bad, important, unimportant, attractive or unattractive. Values are not neutral. They are positive or negative.
Personal values are values individuals hold on their own. They are not necessarily shared among all people in a society, but instead vary from individual to individual. Personal values include preference for music, tastes in clothes, and so on. Other values are widely shared in a society and may reflect basic assumptions upon which that society is based. These widely shared cultural values can help us understand why people in that society react as they do to different events.

16. Cultural Values (slide 2 of 2)
In the United States, sociologist Robin Williams found several dominant values in American culture:
Achievement and success
Individualism
Activity and work
Efficiency and practicality
Progress
Material comfort
Humanitarianism
Science and technology
Freedom
Democracy
Equal opportunity
Racism and group superiority
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In the United States, sociologist Robin Williams (1965) found several dominant values in American culture, including achievement and success, individualism, activity and work , efficiency and practicality, progress, material comfort, humanitarianism, science and technology, freedom , democracy, equal opportunity, and racism and group superiority.

17. Emerging and Merging Values (slide 1 of 2)
Geert Hofstede studied workplace values surveys of over 116,000 employees collected between 1967 and 1973 in over 70 countries. He found four dimensions distinguishing different cultures:
Individualism–collectivism
Masculinity–femininity
Power distance
Uncertainty avoidance
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 Williams’ work is now roughly 50 years old and unfortunately there has not been a more recent study of broad cultural values. The closest is work by Geert Hofstede (1991) who studied workplace values surveys of over 116,000 employees collected by IBM between 1967 and 1973 in over 70 countries. He found four dimensions distinguishing different cultures including
individualism – collectivism,
masculinity – feminity,
power distance
uncertainty avoidance.
The individualism – collectivism dimension has received most attention and reflects a fundamental difference. Collectivist societies place high value on the group including the family, clan, or organization; and emphasize the importance of conformity to the group, devotion, and loyalty. Individualist societies, in contrast, place high value on individual autonomy, individual achievement, and privacy. The U.S. scored higher than every other country on individualist orientation (an emphasis on autonomy and privacy). This high value placed on individualism affects many aspects of U.S. culture and politics. The U.S. also scored in the lower third on power distance (more egalitarian and less hierarchical), in the top quarter in avoiding uncertainty (a desire for predictability and rules), and in the top third on femininity (a stronger emphasis on relationships than on achievement).

18. Emerging and Merging Values (slide 2 of 2)
The World Values Survey Association found that over time, as societies become more affluent, they:
Deemphasize traditional values such as religion and emphasize more secular-rational values such as technology and science
Deemphasize basic survival and place greater emphasis on self-expression values
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The World Values Survey Association has conducted several waves of surveys assessing values in 97 societies containing almost 90 percent of the world’s population. They found that over time, as societies become more affluent, they change along two dimensions:
Societies deemphasize traditional values such as religion and emphasize more secular-rational values such as technology and science.
Increasingly affluent societies deemphasize basic survival and place greater emphasis on self-expression values, such as physical fitness, youthfulness, and health.
The figure presents a diagram showing how different countries are grouped by values. In this diagram countries are placed based on their average position on the two dimensions. Notice that the U.S. tends to have values most like those of other English speaking countries, and it is very high on self-expression and emphasizes traditional values like religion more than most English speaking or European countries. In contrast, Islamic countries, for example, tend to place even greater emphasis on religion and much less emphasis on self-expression.

19. Norms Norms: Expectations for behavior
Part of the nonmaterial culture
Apply to social roles that people play more than to the individuals themselves
Folkways: Rules governing everyday conduct that are not considered to be morally important and are not strictly enforced
Mores: Serious norms for important activities having a strong moral imperative and strictly enforced
Taboos: Norms considered so important that to violate it is seen as reprehensible
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Norms are expectations for behavior. They are part of the nonmaterial culture. Norms often apply to social roles that people are playing more than to the individuals themselves. Norms can proscribe (forbid) behavior or prescribe (require) behaviro.
An early sociologist, William Graham Sumner, distinguished two kinds of norms: Folkways are rules governing everyday conduct that are not considered to be morally important and are not strictly enforced. Conventions of dress, polite, and not staring at other people in an elevator are all examples. We give one another considerable discretion regarding folkways.
Mores (pronounced “mor-ays”), or taboos, are serious norms for important activities having a strong moral imperative and strictly enforced. Someone who kills, rapes, or steals is violating a more and will likely be sanctioned. The most serious of mores are taboos. A Taboo is a norm considered so important that to violate it is seen as reprehensible and even to speak of violating a taboo is frowned upon. Incest, for example, is still considered inappropriate to discuss in polite company.

20. Laws and Social Control
Informal norms: Norms that are expressed informally and never written down
Formal norms: Norms that are written down and enforced
Sanctions: Punishments or rewards designed to encourage behaviors conforming to norms and discourage behaviors that violate norms
Formal sanctions: Explicit punishments written into regulations or laws
Law: A formal norm that has been enacted by a legislature and is enforced by formal sanctions
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Norms that are not regarded as important are informal norms - norms that are often expressed only informally and never written down. The most important social norms are typically the target of formal social control.
Formal norms are written down and enforced.
Sanctions are punishments or rewards designed to encourage behaviors conforming to norm and discourage behaviors that violate norms. Positive sanctions encourage and reward behavior consistent with cultural norms. Negative sanctions are designed to discourage behavior that violates a norm. Both glaring at someone and congratulating them are examples of informal sanctions.
Formal sanctions are usually negative and are explicit punishments written into regulations or laws.
When a norm is regarded as of particular importance it may become a law. A law is a formal norm that has been enacted by a legislature and is enforced by formal sanctions. The formal sanctions for violating this law often involve the possibility of several years in prison.

21. Ideal and Real Culture
A disconnect often exists between our ideal notions of what we should and what people really do:
Example norm: Don’t have sex outside of marriage. The percentage of people who don’t follow the norm:
10% of married women
25% of married men
Moral holidays: Times or places in which the usual norms are suspended and can be violated without punishment
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Having norms for behavior and living up to them are two different things. There is often a disconnect between our ideal notions of what we should and what people really do. For example, there is a norm in the U.S. of not having sex outside of marriage. Most people support this norm when asked on attitudinal surveys. However, surveys of sexual show that 10% of married women and 25% of married men do not follow this norm. In a survey of college students, many report having violated one or more norms at least once in their lives, including serious violations involving academic dishonesty as well as laws regarding the use of alcohol and drugs.
Differences between ideal culture and real culture are not just an individual matter. Many societies permit moral holidays – times or places in which the usual norms are suspended and can be violated without punishment.

22. Causes of Cultural Change
Cultural change often occurs as a result of one or more of three basic processes:
Discovery: Occurs when something that was unknown becomes known
Invention: A new combination of cultural elements
Cultural diffusion: The spread of cultural elements, including objects and ideas, from one culture to another
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Cultural change often occurs as a result of one or more of three basic processes: discovery, invention, and diffusion.
Discovery occurs when something that was unknown becomes known. Something (or some place) can be, and in fact often is, “discovered” independently by different people. Credit often goes to the person who first discovers something.
Knowledge, whether recently discovered or passed down for generations, can be used to create a new combination of cultural elements known as an invention. Inventions can be material artifacts, such as the cell phone, or nonmaterial combinations of cultural elements into a new form. Since inventions require some knowledge be available that can be used to direct the reorganization of cultural elements, discovery must precede invention. However, they do not necessarily happen in close succession. Knowledge can be widely available for decades or even centuries before someone gets the idea for a new invention based on that knowledge.
While much social change in a culture is the result of internal change, often the primary source of social change is diffusion from other cultures. Cultural diffusion is the spread of cultural elements including objects and ideas from one culture to another. This diffusion has always been common. With increased ease of travel, communication, and trade, cultural diffusion is becoming even more important.

23. Cultural Lag
Cultural lag theory: A theory that argues that technological change is the driving force for much change and that changes in other elements of culture often lag behind technology
Cultural integration: The coherence and consistency typically found among elements of a single culture
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In 1964, sociologist William Ogburn proposed a theory of social change based on culture that he calls cultural lag theory. Ogburn argues that technological change is the driving force for much change and that changes in other elements of culture often lag behind technology. A cultural lag occurs when one part of culture changes while related parts do not change or change more slowly, leading to problems.
Cultural lag theory is based on cultural integration—the tendency for different elements of the same culture to be consistent. The theory argues that change occurs first in material culture. Rapid technological change causes maladjustment because old norms, roles, and in some cases, values no longer apply to the situation created by the new technology. Eventually, the nonmaterial culture must change to adjust to the new technology. This tendency for changes in the nonmaterial culture to lag behind changes in the material culture is what Ogburn called cultural lag.
Technology can cause change by creating new possibilities, changing interaction patterns, or creating social problems needing action.

24. Technology and Cultural Change
Sociocultural evolution: Development in human societies resulting from cumulative change in cultural information from discoveries, inventions, and diffusion
Four levels of development:
Hunting and gathering societies
Horticultural and pastoralism
Agricultural
Industrial
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Lenski and Lenski argue that the material culture of societies throughout the world can be understood by looking at the dominant technology used for production in that culture. Their framework describes a process of sociocultural evolution—development in human societies resulting from cumulative change in cultural information from discoveries, inventions, and diffusion. They distinguish four distinct levels of development: hunting and gathering, horticultural and pastoralism, agricultural, and industrial. These, along with a fifth (postindustrial) society are illustrated in the figure.

25. Hunting and Gathering Societies
People rely on readily available vegetation and hunt game for subsistence.
Only a few people can be supported in any one area, hence they usually have no more than about 40 members and must be nomadic.
These societies usually have very little division of labor, with most people performing the same basic jobs.
Because belongings must be carried from place to place, there is little incentive to accumulate goods, and hence, very little inequality.
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Hunting and gathering societies are the simplest societies in which people rely on readily available vegetation and hunt game for subsistence. Only a few people can be supported in any one area in subsistence societies, hence they usually have no more than about 40 members and must be nomadic—people who do not live in one place but move from place to place as conditions require for survival. These societies usually have very little division of labor, with most people performing the same basic jobs, and since all their belongings must be carried from place to place by hand, there is little incentive to accumulate goods and hence, very little inequality.

26. Horticultural and Pastoral Societies
Horticultural societies are societies in which people plant crops in small gardens without the use of plows or more advanced technology for subsistence. Horticultural societies made it possible to establish permanent settlements.
Pastoral societies are societies in which animals are domesticated and raised for food in pastures. Pastoral societies tend to develop in arid regions where there is insufficient rainfall to raise crops on the land. Pastoral societies are usually nomadic, moving on to a new area after the animals exhaust the food supply in each pasture.
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The domestication of plants and animals for food production permitted the development of horticultural and pastoral societies. These societies were the first in human history to have a dependable food supply, making possible larger societies, increased inequality due to the accumulation of wealth, trade, and a division of labor with some people freed to become merchants or artisans. Horticultural societies are societies in which people plant crops in small gardens without the use of plows or more advanced technology for subsistence. Horticultural societies made it possible to establish permanent settlements. Pastoral societies are societies in which animals are domesticated and raised for food in pastures. Pastoral societies tend to develop in arid regions where there is insufficient rainfall to raise crops on the land. Pastoral societies are usually nomadic, moving on to a new area after the animals exhaust the food supply in each pasture.

27. Agricultural Societies
Made possible by the invention of the animal-drawn plow, making agricultural production vastly more efficient
Led to an even greater food surplus, permitting a much more complex division of labor
During this period, great wealth was accumulated by a few, and stratification became a major feature of social life.
Centralization of power and resources eventually led to the development of the institution of the state to further consolidate the gains of the rich and powerful.
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Agricultural societies were made possible by the invention of the plow drawn by animals making agricultural production vastly more efficient, leading to an even greater food surplus, permitting a much more complex division of labor. The agricultural revolution had such a profound impact on society that many people call this era the “dawn of civilization.” During the same period that the plow was invented, the wheel, writing, and numbers were also invented. During this period, great wealth was accumulated by a few, and stratification became a major feature of social life. An elite gained control of surplus resources and defended their position with arms. This centralization of power and resources eventually led to the development of the institution of the state to further consolidate the gains of the rich and powerful.

28. Industrial Societies
Rely heavily on machines powered by fuels for the production of goods
Made possible by the Industrial Revolution
Have many large manufacturing plants
Larger surpluses of manufactured goods caused:
Soaring population levels
Increased productivity, making more goods available to everyone
Greater inequality
Surplus of labor, leading to extremely low wages
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LO: Examine the use of technology in sociocultural evolution.
Industrial societies are societies relying heavily on machines powered by fuels for the production of goods. These societies were made possible by the industrial revolution – a dramatic change in the nature of production in which machines replaced tools; steam and other energy sources replaced human or animal power; and skilled workers were replaced by largely unskilled workers. Such societies have many large manufacturing plants such as steel mills, automobile factories, and machine shops. The increased efficiency of production of the industrial revolution produced an even greater surplus than before. Now the surplus was not just agricultural goods, but also manufactured goods. This larger surplus caused all of the changes discussed earlier in the domestication revolution to become even more pronounced. Once again, population levels soared. Increased productivity made more goods available to everyone. However, inequality became even greater than before. The breakup of agricultural-based feudal societies caused many people to leave the land and seek employment in cities. This created a great surplus of labor and gave capitalists plenty of laborers who could be hired for extremely low wages.

29. Postindustrial Society
Dominated by information, services, and high technology more than the production of goods
The information revolution began with the invention of the integrated circuit, or computer chip. Those chips have revolutionized our lives, running our appliances, and providing calculators, computers, and other electronic devices to control our world.
No one knows what all of the implications of the information revolution will be for social life, but technology is changing the nature of work, how families spend their time, our health, and virtually every aspect of our lives.
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A fifth type of society based on a distinct technology is postindustrial society – a society dominated by information, services, and high technology more than the production of goods. Postindustrial societies began during the last half of the 20th century in which service jobs—many high technology jobs including professions that produce and transfer knowledge, but other low-skill jobs like short-order cook—are becoming more common than jobs in manufacturing or agriculture. The product of skilled professionals is the information or knowledge they provide. The information revolution began with the invention of the integrated circuit or computer chip. Those chips have revolutionized our lives, running our appliances, providing calculators, computers, and other electronic devices to control our world. It is still early enough that no one knows precisely what all of the implications of the information revolution will be for social life. But clearly technological are changing the nature of work, how families spend their time, our health, and virtually every aspect of our lives.

30. Cultural Diversity
Homogeneous societies: Members are generally from the same ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds and share a common culture
Heterogeneous societies: Members come from diverse ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.4 Cultural Diversity
LO: Define high culture, popular culture, subcultures, and countercultures.
We have already seen that there is great cultural diversity around the globe. But what about within societies? Many societies, such as Japan and Sweden, are homogeneous societies in which members are generally from the same ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds and share a common culture. Other societies, such as the United States, are heterogeneous societies with members from diverse ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds. In the U.S., as in other areas of the world, a major source of cultural diversity is differences in cultural heritage or ethnicity. Much of the diversity of the United States has resulted from immigration. Early immigration was primarily from Western Europe. More recently, the great majority of new immigrants are either from Latin America or Asia. In 2009 Latin Americans accounted for 53.1% of all the foreign-born population in the U.S., Asians were 27.7%, Europeans were 12.7%, Africans were 3.9%, and other regions were 2.7%

31. High Culture
High culture: The artifacts, values, knowledge, beliefs, and other cultural elements that elites in a society use to distinguish themselves from the masses
Represents a strategy by people in upper social classes to differentiate themselves from the masses through the creation and consumption of cultural elements that may remain largely inaccessible or not understood by those in lower social classes
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.4 Cultural Diversity
LO: Define high culture, popular culture, subcultures, and countercultures.
Ethnic heritage and language are not the only important sources of cultural diversity in the United States, or any society for that matter. Social class (as measured by education, income, and occupational status) is also related to culture, with some elements of culture reserved for only some members of society. In fact, in everyday usage the term “culture” is often used to mean culture associated with the higher social classes. In that sense, to say that someone is “cultured” would mean they are familiar with the elements of culture we associate with the higher social classes. “High culture” consists of the artifacts, values, knowledge, beliefs, and other cultural elements that elites in a society use to distinguish themselves from the masses. High culture includes such things as classical music, opera, ballet, and works by “great authors.”
High culture represents a strategy of distinction – it is an effort by people in the upper social classes to differentiate themselves from the masses through the creation and consumption of cultural elements that are largely inaccessible or not understood by those in lower social classes. If someone grows up learning about elements of high culture it can be said that they have “cultural capital”.

32. Popular Culture
Popular culture: All the artifacts, values, knowledge, beliefs, and other cultural elements that appeal to the masses
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.4 Cultural Diversity
LO: Define high culture, popular culture, subcultures, and countercultures.
High culture is often distinguished from popular culture, which refers to all the artifacts, values, knowledge, beliefs, and other cultural elements that appeal to the masses--e.g., rock music, popular television shows, toys, comic books, movie stars, and fast-food. While most members of a society may view high culture as somehow superior to popular culture, when it comes to comparing cultures it is a lot easier to say that they are different than it is to determine that on some objective measure of worth one is better than the other.

33. Subcultures Dominant culture: Subculture:
The culture that takes precedence over other cultures in activities or events involving people from many categories of the population
A culture containing many elements of the dominant culture, but having unique features that distinguish its members from the rest of the population
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.4 Cultural Diversity
LO: Define high culture, popular culture, subcultures, and countercultures.
Large industrial and postindustrial societies tend to have a number of additional important cultural differences. Most include not only a single dominant culture, but also many different subcultures. The US is particularly diverse due to the influence of immigrants from different countries, regional differences, and class differences; many other societies also display a great deal of cultural diversity as well.
The dominant culture takes precedence over other cultures in activities or events involving people from many categories of the population. It is often so pervasive that it is not questioned. Typically, that dominant culture justifies elite domination and, through ideologies, values, and beliefs, helps perpetuate the status quo.
A subculture is a culture containing many elements of the dominant culture but having unique features that distinguish its members from the rest of the population. People sharing a common ethnic heritage may share a common subculture of beliefs, rituals, artifacts, music, and values that distinguish them from others. Subcultures can also be based on lifestyle choices, social class, regional differences, age, race, gender, etc. Membership does not necessarily mean an individual will share all aspects of the subculture, but it predisposes individuals to adopt the subculture as a way of showing solidarity and as a strategy of distinction to set themselves apart.

34. Countercultures
Counterculture: A subculture that challenges important elements of the dominant culture, such as beliefs, attitudes, or values, and seeks to create an alternative lifestyle
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.4 Cultural Diversity
LO: Define high culture, popular culture, subcultures, and countercultures.
When members of a subculture undertake deliberate measures to set themselves apart from the rest of society, theirs is called a counterculture. A counterculture is a subculture that challenges important elements of the dominant culture such as beliefs, attitudes, or values and seeks to create an alternative lifestyle. People who are members of minority categories, such as Blacks or homosexuals, are likely to share a subculture, but are not necessarily members of a counterculture. It is only when they adopt a culture that challenges the dominant culture, such as by becoming a member of the Civil Rights movement or the Gay Rights movement, that they share a counterculture. In some cases, members of countercultures become assimilated into the broader culture as the dominant culture shifts to accommodate some of their interests.

35. Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism: A perspective that recognizes the contributions of diverse groups to our society and holds that no single culture is any better than all the rest
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.4 Cultural Diversity
LO: Discuss the differences between multiculturalism and a global culture.
Multiculturalism is a perspective that recognizes the contributions of diverse groups to our society and holds that no single culture is any better than all the rest. This perspective has sparked controversy with regard to a number of issues. There have been debates over how new history books for use in public schools should be written, with critics denouncing multicultural texts that recognize the contributions of Blacks and Hispanics to American history and give less weight to the European settlement of the Eastern seaboard, which traditionally was the major focus of early American history texts. Perhaps even more controversial have been attempts by Congress to declare English the official language of the United States. This issue has not been decided in the U.S. Congress, but sixteen state legislatures have already made English the official language in their states. Multiculturalism appears destined to be at the heart of many controversies in the United States for years to come.

36. A Global Culture? Modern examples of cultural diffusion:
Global migration
Electronic communication
Air travel
Global commerce
Cultural leveling: The reduction of differences (both good and bad) between cultures, resulting in a loss of cultural uniqueness and the loss of cultural heritage
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.4 Cultural Diversity
LO: Discuss the differences between multiculturalism and a global culture.
Today there are many effective means of cultural diffusion including global migration, electronic communication, air travel, and global commerce. A half century ago Marshall McLuhan first argued the world was becoming what he called “the global village.” Today we see the consequences of this, as an earthquake in Japan affects the availability of cars in the United States, and financial uncertainty in Greece causes turmoil in stock markets around the world. The Internet lets people around the world communicate, buy and sell to each other, and experience nearly simultaneously important political and social events. This greater interdependence has made many elements of culture readily available around the world.
If there is a global culture, it is not accessible to everyone. Rural areas and poor people in all countries often lack access to this global culture and the technology that makes it possible.
One common consequence of cultural diffusion is cultural leveling—the reduction of differences (both good and bad) between cultures resulting in a loss of cultural uniqueness and the loss of cultural heritage. Left unchecked, cultural leveling might lead to cultural hegemony with a single dominant culture and a drastic reduction in cultural diversity. Cultural leveling also takes place between subcultures within the same society. Cultural leveling often occurs when minority groups are assimilated into the larger culture. Sometimes members of a subculture who hope to preserve their own distinct cultural heritage resist such leveling.
Societies often resist the diffusion of culture from other societies. At the start of the industrial revolution in England the Luddites resisted new technologies that transformed work and caused many of them to lose their livelihoods. More recently, the United States has resisted moving to the metric system of measurement despite almost uniform acceptance by the rest of the world. Economic agreements between European countries and the United States almost failed when France insisted on taxing U.S. movies and television shows. In the former Soviet Union the Berlin wall restricted travel and communication with the West, radio broadcasts for Radio Free Europe were jammed, and print and broadcast journalism were tightly controlled by the state.

37. Functionalist Perspective
Functional theory explains culture by identifying the positive functions performed by cultural elements.
Cultural elements tend to persist across generations when they perform a useful function for society as a whole.
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.5 Theoretical Perspectives on Culture
LO: Illustrate how the functional, conflict, and social interaction theories provide different insights into culture.
Functional theory explains culture by identifying the positive functions performed by cultural elements. This theory is often used to explain cultural universals by arguing that such cultural elements appear in all or nearly all societies because they perform some important function necessary for societies to survive. Functional theory argues that cultural elements tend to persist across generations when they perform a useful function for society as a whole. Hence, functionalists look for and explain the presence of cultural elements by functions they appear to perform. Functional theory is also sometimes linked to efforts by anthropologists to identify the cultural universals discussed earlier.

38. Conflict Perspectives (slide 1 of 2)
Conflict theory argues that cultural elements persist when they support the interests of powerful members of society and are resisted or eliminated when they are in conflict with those interests.
This control is often exerted through a process in which elites manage the interpretation of events in ways that mobilize support for their own agenda and thwart the agenda of others.
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.5 Theoretical Perspectives on Culture
LO: Illustrate how the functional, conflict, and social interaction theories provide different insights into culture.
Conflict theory argues that cultural elements tend to persist when they support the interests of powerful members of society and tend to be resisted and even eliminated when they are in conflict with those interests. Elites are usually successful at imposing their own ideologies on the masses, successfully justifying elite power and privilege. Often, this control is exerted so effectively that a unified, coherent view of the world surfaces that not only serves the interests of the elite but also may effectively prevent people from recognizing or considering alternatives. This control is often exerted through a process in which elites manage the interpretation of events in ways that mobilize support for their own agenda and thwart the agenda of others.
This view emphasizes ways in which the system of production within societies tends to appropriate popular culture and align it with the interests of the rich and powerful members of society. Some sociologists have argued that people in the upper social classes use culture as a way to distinguish themselves from other classes.
At the bottom, people tend to believe that class is defined by the amount of money you have. In the middle, people grant that money has something to do with it, but think education and the kind of work you do almost equally important. Nearer the top, people perceive that taste, values, ideas, style, and behavior are indispensable criteria of class, regardless of money or occupation or education.

39. Conflict Perspectives (slide 2 of 2)
The conflict perspective predicts that tastes in music are used as status markers to help mark the boundaries among occupational status groups.
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.5 Theoretical Perspectives on Culture
LO: Illustrate how the functional, conflict, and social interaction theories provide different insights into culture.
This use of culture as a class barrier is illustrated, for example, in music. The conflict perspective predicts that tastes in music are used as status markers to help mark the boundaries among occupational status groups. In a study examining whether people in different occupational statuses have different musical tastes, respondents were asked to identify which of 13 categories of music they enjoyed and the single type of music they like best. They were also asked their occupational category. Results of the survey are summarized in the Figure. The study found that musical preference discriminated better at the upper end of the occupational prestige hierarchy. This provides support for the conflict perspective, with classical music being a marker used by those with higher occupational prestige to distinguish themselves from people with less prestige. However, among moderate- to low-prestige forms of music, there were less clear divisions, producing a pyramid as displayed in the figure, with some categories having a number of forms of music with very similar prestige scores. The researchers conclude there is a clear consensus that classical music is the most elite form of music, but there is less consensus on rankings as one moves down the hierarchy. They also found that people in higher-prestige occupations demonstrate an appreciation for a wide range of music types—a pattern they call the “omnivore.” In contrast, people in lower-prestige occupational categories are more likely to prefer a single form of music, and typically a form that distinguishes themselves from other people having similar occupational prestige but differing in race, gender, or age—the “univore” pattern.

40. Symbolic Interactionist Perspectives
Social interactionist theories examine the ways in which culture is socially constructed, both in the ongoing reconstruction of existing cultures in everyday life and during periods of dramatic cultural change. Those efforts are guided by a desire to find meaning and consistency in culture.
Societies discard elements of culture that have no reason for existing.
What are left are meaningful elements of culture that are reasonable by the standards of a culture and that have significance in that culture.
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Chapter 2: Culture
2.5 Theoretical Perspectives on Culture
LO: Illustrate how the functional, conflict, and social interaction theories provide different insights into culture.
Social interactionist theories examine the ways in which culture is socially constructed, both in the ongoing reconstruction of existing cultures in everyday life and during periods of dramatic cultural change. Those efforts are guided by a desire to find meaning and consistency in culture. In this view, we would expect societies to discard elements of culture that have no reason for existing. What are left are meaningful elements of culture that are reasonable by the standards of a culture and that have significance in that culture. In fact, this demand for consistency in culture produces one of the strongest patterns we find in social life – cultural integration. Cultural elements tend to be consistent with one another and to have shared meaning to members of the culture.