THE CONTEXT OF CULTURE

What is culture?

The shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours, and traditions of a group of people.

What are the two main components of a culture?

Tangible components and intangible components.

What are the two central oppositions that distinguish types of cultures?

Dominant culture vs. subculture and counterculture; high culture vs. popular and mass culture.

Define dominant culture.

The culture that is most influential and holds the most power in a society, shaping mainstream values and norms.

Define dominants.

The group(s) in society that hold power, influence, and control over resources, often reflecting the dominant culture.

Define minority cultures.

Cultures that are smaller in number or power within a society, often with less influence than the dominant culture.

Define countercultures.

Groups that reject or oppose the dominant culture's values, norms, and practices.

Define subcultures.

Smaller cultural groups within a larger culture that have distinct values, behaviors, or interests, but still coexist with the dominant culture.

Define high culture.

Cultural activities and products that are considered refined or elite, often associated with the upper class.

What does high culture require?

Cultural capital: a set of skills and knowledge needed to acquire sophisticated tastes.

Define popular culture.

The ideas, trends, and activities that are widely liked or accepted by the general public.

Define mass culture.

Culture that is produced and consumed on a large scale, often through media and entertainment.

Define simulacra.

Copies or representations of things that no longer have an original or real version, often creating a distorted reality.

How do mass and popular culture differ?

Mass culture is controlled by big organizations, while popular culture is shaped by the people.

What is decipherment?

Looking for the intended meaning or purpose the creators had in mind for the text.

What is reading?

Interpreting the text in personal ways, not always as intended by the creators.

Define sanctions.

Rewards and punishment in response to a particular behaviour.

1. Positive sanctions are rewards for doing the right thing.

2. Negative sanctions are reactions designed to tell offenders they have violated a norm.

Who distinguished the 3 kinds of norms?

William Graham Sumner.

What are the 3 kinds of norms?

1. Folkways: everyday norms with weak sanctions

2. Mores: serious norms with strong sanctions

3. Taboos: Deeply ingrained norms that cause disgust if mentioned

Define ethnocentrism.

Believing one's own culture is superior to others.

Define eurocentrism.

Viewing the world from a European perspective, often considering European culture as the standard.

Define reverse ethnocentrism.

Believing other cultures are superior to one's own.

What is cultural globalization?

The spread and mixing of cultural practices, ideas, and values around the world.

What is cultural relativism?

Understanding and judging cultures based on their own values and context.

Cultural relativism vs presentism.

Cultural relativism: Judging past figures by the standards of their time; presentism: Judging past figures by today's standards.

Define sociolinguistics.

The study of language as part of culture.

What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Proposes that language and culture are interconnected, suggesting that language influences perception.

What is linguistic determinism?

The idea that language shapes thought and perception.