CULTURAL PERSPECTIVESCulture

OUTCOMES:

Investigate various theoretical perspectives and viewpoints that attempt to explain culture (e.g., structural functionalism, conflict,

symbolic interactionism, feminism and post-modern)

as well as cultural materialism and sociobiology.

Apply these theoretical perspectives to given cultural scenarios

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

Be sure you remember the following 5 theoretical perspectives from unit 1:

Functionalism Conflict Symbolic Interactionism Feminism Post-Modernism

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES REVIEW: Theoretical Perspective – a basic

way of viewing society that guides thinking and research

Functionalism: Society is a stable, orderly system in which the

majority of members share a common set of beliefs & values

Conflict Theory: Social groups are in continuous conflict for

resources; those in authority benefit from conformity while conformists feel resentment & resist

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES REVIEW:

Feminist Theory: Society has not historically acknowledged the

needs of women; inequalities still exist between men & women

Symbolic Interactionism: People create a world of shared meaning through

their interactions; they act based on symbolic meanings they find within a given situation

Post-Modernism: Societies are characterized by an information

explosion by post industrialization; role of media has a huge influence on people

CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

The next 2 classes focus on applying theoretical perspectives to the understanding of culture

Cultural Perspective: Several theoretical perspectives and

viewpoints that attempt to explain culture

DEFINITIONS…?

Here are 2 more theoretical perspectives that can be taken on understanding culture.

Take a moment to try and define the following terms.

Cultural Materialism Socio-biology

CULTURAL MATERIALISM

Cultural Materialism: A school of thought that says that the best way to

understand human culture is to examine material conditions - climate, food supply, geography, etc

Helps to understand the causes of differences and similarities among societies and cultures.

Human social life is a response to the needs of survival and then the wants of people who have met those needs.

Therefore, human cultural groups can be studied through an examination of their “ things” and how they get them.

SOCIOBIOLOGY

Sociobiology: The view that human behaviour can be

explained through evolution and genetics.

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE Virtually everything that sociologists study is in some way related

to culture.  For instance, in studying social class, family life, crime, or religious behavior, sociologists are studying things that are influenced by the norms and values that characterize the various subcultures in our society.

But there are some social scientists who are interested in the study of culture in general, rather than the study of social class, the family, crime, or religion in particular.  These individuals are typically concerned with one of two questions: first, why are certain elements of culture found in nearly all known societies, and second, why are some elements found in only a few societies?  

In answering these questions, researchers draw upon a number of different theoretical perspectives, but three are particularly important.  These are (1) functionalism, (3) cultural materialism, and (4) sociobiology.

WHAT TO DO NOW?

The next 4 slides explain 2 old perspectives on culture, and 2 new cultural perspectives

After you gain a working understanding of those 4 you will watch several videos connected to culture and try to deduce which perspective they match on your worksheet

When you finish begin to gain a deeper understanding by reading the Word doc called Cultural Perspectives

FUNCTIONALISM

The essence of functionalist explanation, when applied to culture, is that a given norm or value is "explained" by showing how it contributes to the overall stability or survival of the society in which it is found.

i.e. raising your hand in class exists so that everyone can have a turn to express their individual thoughts/beliefs and allow for structured discussion

CULTURAL MATERIALISM

The cultural materialist de-emphasizes ideas and ideology as determinants of culture, and instead sees culture as an adaptation to the needs forced upon us by the nature of the physical envi ronment in which we live.

i.e. Cows are sacred in India and cannot be slaughtered (as a religious idea) because they need cows to drive their agricultural system (plowing, etc)

SOCIOBIOLOGY

a predispo sition towards certain social behaviors can be trans mitted genetically from one generation to the next, as easily as predispositions towards upright posture, large brains, and other physical characteris tics

Incest is considered taboo in most cultures; biologically, avoiding this ensures you avoid passing on recessive genes that are negative and decrease chances of your bloodline’s survival

CONFLICT THEORY

The essence of conflict theory explanation, when applied to culture, is that a given norm or value is "explained" by showing who benefits from the norm.

i.e. table manners exist to distinguish the upper class (who can afford the various types of silverware, etc) from the lower class

INSTRUCTIONS

In just a minute, you will follow links to view various videos related to culture

It is your job to catalogue these video clips into one of the 7 categories of cultural perspective

You can watch these videos together in pairs, but make your categorizing decisions on your own

Download the Word doc called Cultural Perspectives from the Soc Docs page on my website and fill out the chart according to the following videos

THE CATEGORIES:

Catalogue the video clips from the following slides into one of these 7 categories of cultural perspective:

Functionalism Conflict Symbolic Interactionism Feminism Post-modern Cultural Materialism Socio-biology

COKE COMMERCIAL

1. Coke Commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzxHDq

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JAPANESE DIVORCE CEREMONY

2. Japanese Divorce ceremony http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2

010/09/06/lah.japan.divorce.ceremony.cnn?hpt=T2

SURI LIP PLATES

3. Suri Lip Plates http://vimeo.com/6177244

FEMALE CIRCUMCISION

4. Female Circumcision http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kNMC6

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QUIET KID LEARNS TO COPE IN PRISON 5. Quiet Kid Learns to Cope in Prison

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAS4uSDJe9k&feature=related

THE SPORTS FAN

6. The Sports Fan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs-fiae1

VT

WHEN YOU FINISH…

If you finish these notes and worksheet early, you should download the Word Doc called Theoretical Perspectives on Culture and begin reading the in-depth examples of your 2 new perspectives You will have more time to finish this next

class