A-level & AS Level Paper 1: Identity Flashcards
What is culture?
Culture refers to the ideas, customs and social behaviour of particular people or a society.
What are norms?
Norms define appropriate and acceptable behaviour in specific situations. They are enforced by positive and negative sanctions which can be formal or informal. The sanctions that enforce norms are a major part of mechanisms of social control that are concerned with maintaining authority in society.
What are values?
A value is a belief that something is good and desirable. It defines what is important, worthwhile and worth striving for.
What is cross cultural research?
This is research that is carried out across different cultures in the world, to compare the norms and values to see if these are universal or relative.
What is universal?
This means where the behaviour or action of a culture are the same across different cultures
What is relative?
This means when the behaviour or action of a culture is specific to that culture but can change overtime and is not fixed or permanent
What are the three cross cultural examples?
The Na of China, The San and Papa New Guinea
Features of the Na
- society of farmers found in the Himalaya region of China
- speak Naxi language
- two forms of religion (Daba and Tibetan Buddhism)
- bartering exchange system, more recently cash
- good diet based on smoked, salted meat
- women wear pleated skirts folded into a sash, bright colours, ornaments in hair, traditional dress worn by both genders
- no tradition of marriage
- living arrangements based around siblings
- secret meetings between men and women at night, women/man take an item from each other
- if they like each other- meet up again
Features of the San
- one of the remaining hunter- gatherer societies based in Southern Africa (deep understanding of plants, hunt and track animals)
- regard land as connection to ancestors
- society based on equality, decisions made as a group, disputes resolved through discussions
- sharing is important
- live in small groups as nuclear families, men hunt and women forage
- move around to eat what is in season
- healing dances seen as important (resolve problems)
- all adults share responsibility of children
- women wear simple slings, blanket and cloak
- men wear simple wraps made of animal skin
- speak complex clicking sound language called Khoisan
- forced to move from their lands- in danger of dying out
Features of Papa New Guinea
- found in pacific, north Australia: 1000 cultural groups make up Papa New Guinea
- 850 languages
- over 80% of population lives in country in widely dispersed societies that have little contact
- based on subsistence farming
- many areas do not have a cash economy
- gender based violence, high crime rates and corruption
- strong belief in witchcraft- someone suspected to be a witch, they are beaten or killed
- headhunting, cannibalism practiced but now banned
- marriage important for alliances between families, clans, families share common spiritual ancestor which reduces conflict between groups
- polygamy where husband marries more than one wife is practiced in some areas
What are the different types of culture?
- subculture
- high culture
- popular culture
- global culture
- consumer culture
What is a subculture?
- smaller group within a larger group that has its own values (different to wider group)
- research into youth subcultures: in 1970’s and 80’s CCCS in Birmingham Uni studied youth subcultures from 1950’s onward
- results showed youth subcultures wanted to stay separate from dominant cultures by creating their own style, dress and music
What is high culture?
- term that relates to kinds of cultures enjoyed by those with higher status in a society- opera, classical music
- Pierre Bordieu claims high culture is significant because it provides people with cultural capital (leads to financial rewards and chance to improve social position)
- knowledge gained through enjoying high culture is highly valued within education system- places children at great advantage when starting school
What is popular culture?
- referred to as mass culture, it is every aspect of culture which is not high culture
- origins lie in growth of mass media- made particular forms of music, media and consumer items widespread
- some argue that people from high culture exploit and control lower status groups
- others claim high culture provides lower groups with opportunity to express own cultural values or rebel
- some claim popular culture is manufactured and fake to brainwash the masses
- Bordieu (marxist) argue distinction between high culture and popular culture lies in power of people accessing the culture
- today, distinction between popular and high culture is not as profound
What is global culture?
- collection of values and norms (specific) which cross national boundaries
- globalisation (wider process leads to global culture) is defined as compression of time and space- people can communicate and travel easier
- spreading influence of western ideas called Mcdonaldiastion (Ritzer 1993), argues societies becoming similar to each other like fast food chains being similar
- argues that societies are becoming western which means they are rational, predictable and scientific
- loss of alternative traditional culture
- others disagree, argue that increase in communication through globalistation led to protection and strengthening of cultures
