THINK Sociology R © 2010 E Carl T ISBN13: 9780131754591 P ISBN10: 0131754599 A H Visit www.pearsonhighered.com/replocator to contact your local Pearson representative. C Chapter begins on next page >> E L P M A S SAMPLE CHAPTER The pages of this Sample Chapter may have slight variations in final published form. www.pearsonhighered.com WHAT IS CULTURE? WHAT DIFFERENTIATES ONE CULTURE FROM ANOTHER? HOW DOES CULTURE INFLUENCE QSOCIOLOGICAL THEORY AND STUDY? “At different times in our history, different cities have been the focal point of a radiating American spirit. In the late eighteenth century, for example, Boston was the center of a political radicalism entrepreneurial adventures. If there is no such that ignited a shot heard round the world—a statue, there ought to be, just as there is a shot that could not have been fired any other statue of a Minute Man to recall the Age of place but the suburbs of Boston. At its report, Boston, as the Statue of Liberty recalls the all Americans, including Virginians, became Age of New York. Bostonians at heart. In the mid-nineteenth “Today, we must look to the city of Las century, New York became the symbol of the Vegas, Nevada, as a metaphor for our national 4 idea of a melting-pot America—or at least a character and aspiration, its symbol a thirty-foot- 7 non-English one—as the wretched refuse high cardboard picture of a slot machine and a from all over the world disembarked at Ellis chorus girl. For Las Vegas is a city entirely devot- Island and spread over the land their strange ed to the idea of entertainment, and as such pro- languages and even stranger ways. In the claims the spirit of a culture in which all public dis- early twentieth century, Chicago, the city of course increasingly takes the form of entertain- big shoulders and heavy winds, came to ment. Our politics, religion, news, athletics, edu- symbolize the industrial energy and cation, and commerce have been transformed dynamism of America. If there is a statue of a into congenial adjuncts of show business, hog butcher somewhere in Chicago, then it largely without protest or even much popular stands as a reminder of the time when notice. The result is that we are a people on America was railroads, cattle, steel mills and the verge of amusing ourselves to death.”1 A Framework CULTURE for the Individual CHAPTER 03 WHAT IS CULTURE? WHAT DIFFERENTIATES ONE CULTURE FROM ANOTHER? HOW DOES CULTURE INFLUENCE QSOCIOLOGICAL THEORY AND STUDY? “At different times in our history, different cities have been the focal point of a radiating American spirit. In the late eighteenth century, for example, Boston was the center of a political radicalism entrepreneurial adventures. If there is no such that ignited a shot heard round the world—a statue, there ought to be, just as there is a shot that could not have been fired any other statue of a Minute Man to recall the Age of place but the suburbs of Boston. At its report, Boston, as the Statue of Liberty recalls the all Americans, including Virginians, became Age of New York. Bostonians at heart. In the mid-nineteenth “Today, we must look to the city of Las century, New York became the symbol of the Vegas, Nevada, as a metaphor for our national 4 idea of a melting-pot America—or at least a character and aspiration, its symbol a thirty-foot- 7 non-English one—as the wretched refuse high cardboard picture of a slot machine and a from all over the world disembarked at Ellis chorus girl. For Las Vegas is a city entirely devot- Island and spread over the land their strange ed to the idea of entertainment, and as such pro- languages and even stranger ways. In the claims the spirit of a culture in which all public dis- early twentieth century, Chicago, the city of course increasingly takes the form of entertain- big shoulders and heavy winds, came to ment. Our politics, religion, news, athletics, edu- symbolize the industrial energy and cation, and commerce have been transformed dynamism of America. If there is a statue of a into congenial adjuncts of show business, hog butcher somewhere in Chicago, then it largely without protest or even much popular stands as a reminder of the time when notice. The result is that we are a people on America was railroads, cattle, steel mills and the verge of amusing ourselves to death.”1 A Framework CULTURE for the Individual CHAPTER 03 Nintendo DS game hypnotized her ---In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death Material Culture MATERIAL CULTURE consists of items within a culture that you can taste, touch, and feel. professor and social commentator Neil Postman son. The father talked on his cell One category of culture is material culture: items within a society that you can taste, touch, or feel. The jewelry, art, music, clothing, architecture, and NONMATERIAL CULTURE consists of the nonphysical products of sounds a sociological alarm, warning readers phone, and the five-year-old daughter society, including our symbols, values, rules, and sanctions. crafts a society creates are all examples of material culture. Of course, the that a culture based purely on technology and TV seemed totally bored because she had natural resources available to a culture can influence that culture’s cre- SYMBOLS represent, suggest, or stand for something else. © is not necessarily a culture worth enjoying. ations. For example, while seven countries (the United States, Japan, LANGUAGE is a system of speech and/or written symbols used to no electronic toy or anyone to talk to. Russia, Canada, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom) use more convey meaning and communicate. If we become caught up in a culture This technophilic family was clearly than 46 percent of the world’s electricity and oil, these countries combined hold only about 12 percent of the world’s population. What do these sta- of mindless entertainment, he argues, caught up in our country’s culture of tistics tell you about material culture? On a tour of these countries, you’d Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at times chose not instant, constant entertainment. be likely to stumble across plenty of cars, air conditioners, heaters, blow to wear a flag pin, and for some Americans, his empty lapel symbol- we spend our time thinking a bout dryers, and a host of other modern conveniences. If you took a trip to ized a lack of patriotism. The pin’s occasional absence became a insignificant trivia and ignoring impor- Entertainment is not all bad, as Nigeria, though, you’d notice that a lack of access to energy also influ- source of irritation for many people, and Obama was forced to publicly ences material culture. Nigeria is the ninth largest country in the world, yet address the issue. Symbols are powerful things. tant issues. We are at risk of killing our Postman points out, but pursuing it ranks 71st in the world’s electricity use and 42nd in the world’s use of oil. culture because people are too busy entertainment at all costs affects our Few people own a car, and many live without regular access to electricity.2 LANGUAGE focusing on the insignificant. relationships and our nation. Of Language is a system of speech and/or written symbols used to convey Nonmaterial Culture meaning and communicate. Some languages exist only in the oral tra- course, there’s more to culture than dition, while other languages are expressed through both speech and We are rapidly becoming a society Is Postman’s warning nothing more Not all elements of culture are items you can touch, writing systems, but all cultures use some form of language. The movies, slot machines, and electron- see, or buy at your local mall. Nonmaterial culture that focuses on trivia. We all know than hyperbole? Not necessarily. United Nations reports that currently, there are more than 6,000 dif- consists of the nonphysical products of society, includ- ferent languages on the planet. Due to conquest, commerce, and who’s dating who in Hollywood and Recently, I watched a family sitting at ic gizmos. In fact, culture forms ing our symbols, values, rules, and sanctions. failure to write down some languages, about half of these are in dan- which TV star recently got arrested, a table eating frozen custard. The the foundation of society and ger of extinction.3 SYMBOLS but can we name the vice president? mother listened to her iPod as a frames our perception of life. Two main factors determine the number of speakers of a lan- What do you think of when you see the U.S. flag? To most of guage: population size and colonial history. China us, it’s more than just a piece of cloth—it’s a symbol. and India are the world’s largest countries by Symbols represent, suggest, or stand for some- population, a fact that single-handedly 4 8 WHAT IS CULTURE? 9 4 get the topic: thing else. They can be words, gestures, or explains the large percentage of people even objects, and they often represent who speak Mandarin Chinese and Hindi. Culture If you want to think like a sociologist, you’ll need to understand not abstract or complex concepts. For exam- The English language is widely spoken CULTURE is the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and only the definition of culture but also how culture affects our lives. material objects that are important enough to pass on to future ple, wedding rings represent a legal bond throughout the world, but this has little to generations of a society.