Society and culture Flashcards
sociology defintion
the study of individuals, or cultures and institutions of people interacting with one another within a geographical space and historical time (specifically modern era and consequences for individuals)
society is a contested concept, meaning
it has no fixed definition
Thatcher quote
“there is no such thing as society. there are only individuals and their families’
features of society
- abstract concept so not a physical entity
- based around individuals and the outcome of their relationships with each other
why is thatcher wrong?
humans are distinctly social beings relying on people for planning, distribution, consensus, power/authority . This creates tradition, conformity, habits and customs…more than individuals and their families
why is culture less of an abstract idea than society?
-we know culture exists, not just art but language, religion etc.
ITS A WAY OF LIFE
how do we learn culture?
through socialisation
how does culture distinguish us from other animals?
shared culture gives us norms and values
culture vs nature
- no specific culture definition but seen as the opposite of nature
- it becomes socialised into us, we internalise it and it becomes second nature
- only when we compare ourselves to other (alien) cultures are we aware of other possibilities
- its naturalised (taken for granted)
Jenkins said
“both society and culture deal with the way human beings deal with things. Both concepts need each other” (interrelated)
Marx’s account of culture
-not recognised as a separate social sphere as capitalism is inevitable conflict between two classes. this base generates both individual consciousness and shared ideas. together with social institution, this forms a superstructure
Parsons account of culture
culture has a pivotal role as the domain of shared symbolic meaning…can move from the particular to the general to make society itself possible
Gramsci’s view of culture
semi-autonomous-capable of generating social effects in its own right
Bourdiru talks about legitimate culture
e.g. those from a higher background want better educational opportunities
institution definition
ordered, patterned way of doing things e.g. universities, greetings, queues
central to idea of social structure and to structural organisation of human activities
Sumner’s view of institutions
group habits that develop in unintended/unplanned ways as particular ways of acting, thinking and feeling are adopted and repeated over time to become routinised and taken-for-granted ways of behaving
Durkheim’s view of institutios
generalised it into the idea of legal, moral or customary rules that exist as constraining social facts within a particular society
example to support Durkheim’s view of institutions
calculating rational actions of people in their economic relations could only occur because these actions presuppose a ‘non contractual element’ of considerations that give meaning to them
how are institutions formed?
built from norms/social expectations that are widely regarded as obligatory and are sustained by strong sanctions to ensure people conform to them
clusters of associated norms define social roles and the relationships among them…example of a doctor
their role is defined as norms of trust, honesty etc
Parson’s view of institutions
most important institutions have functional significance in integrating/adapting people’s activities to the world. e.g. religious, political…each type has a primary concern for a specific social function and formed basis of complex structural pars into which social systems are organised
criticism of institution definition
institutions cannot be separated from the power they embody. social order is the result of the combined application of power and knowledge and cannot be seen as the outcome of either alone
Goffman talked about institutions
‘total institution’=organisation in which people are physically isolated form normal everyday activities by being required to sleep, work and spend their leisure within its confines. e.g. mental hospital
advantage and disadvantages of goffman’s view of institutions
A- powerful idea
C-confusing to stretch the idea so far. better to distinguish institutions from the organised groups which they may be associated.
