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Introduction to culture Read Online
3.1 What is culture? Read Online
3.2 Elements of culture Read Online
3.3 Pop culture, subculture, and cultural change Read Online
What are the rules when you pass an acquaintance at school, work, in the grocery store, or in the mall? Generally, we do not consider all of the intricacies of the rules of behavior. We may simply say, "Hello!" and ask, "How was your weekend?" or some other trivial question meant to be a friendly greeting. Rarely do we physically embrace or even touch the individual. In fact, doing so may be viewed with scorn or distaste, since as people in the United States we have fairly rigid rules about personal space. However, we all adhere to various rules and standards that are created and maintained in culture. These rules and expectations have meaning, and there are ways in which you may violate this negotiation. Consider what would happen if you stopped and informed everyone who said, "Hi, how are you?" exactly how you were doing that day, and in detail. You would more than likely violate rules of culture and specifically greeting. Perhaps in a different culture the question would be more literal, and it may require a response. Or if you are having coffee with a good friend, perhaps that question warrants a more detailed response. These examples are all aspects of culture , which is shared beliefs, values, and practices, that participants must learn. Sociologically, we examine in what situation and context certain behavior is expected, and in which situations perhaps it is not. These rules are created and enforced by people who interact and share culture.
In everyday conversation, people rarely distinguish between the terms culture and society, but the terms have slightly different meanings, and the distinction is important to a sociologist. A society describes a group of people who share a community and a culture. By “community,” sociologists refer to a definable region—as small as a neighborhood (Brooklyn, or “the east side of town”), as large as a country (Ethiopia, the United States, or Nepal), or somewhere in between (in the United States, this might include someone who identifies with Southern or Midwestern society). To clarify, a culture represents the beliefs and practices of a group, while society represents the people who share those beliefs and practices. Neither society nor culture could exist without the other. In this chapter, we examine the relationship between culture and society in greater detail and pay special attention to the elements and forces that shape culture, including diversity and cultural changes. A final discussion touches on the different theoretical perspectives from which sociologists research culture.
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Question: The Protestant work ethic is based on the concept of predestination, which states that ________.
Choices:
performing good deeds in life is the only way to secure a spot in Heaven
salvation is only achievable through obedience to God
no person can be saved before he or she accepts Jesus Christ as his or her savior
God has already chosen those who will be saved and those who will be damned
Question: Mary works full-time at an office downtown while her young children stay at a neighbor's house. She's just learned that the childcare provider is leaving the country. Mary has succumbed to pressure to volunteer at her church, plus her ailing mother-in-law will be moving in with her next month. Which of the following is likely to occur as Mary tries to balance her existing and new responsibilities?
Choices:
Role strain
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Status conflict
Status strain
Question: Which of the following occupations is a person of power most likely to have in an information society?
Choices:
Software engineer
Coal miner
Children's book author
Sharecropper
Question: Which of the following fictional societies is an example of a pastoral society?
Choices:
The Deswan people, who live in small tribes and base their economy on the production and trade of textiles
The Rositian Clan, a small community of farmers who have lived on their family's land for centuries
The Hunti, a wandering group of nomads who specialize in breeding and training horses
The Amaganda, an extended family of warriors who serve a single noble family
Question: The concept of the iron cage was popularized by which of the following sociological thinkers?
Choices:
Max Weber
Karl Marx
Émile Durkheim
Friedrich Engels
Question: Organic solidarity is most likely to exist in which of the following types of societies?
Choices:
Hunter-gatherer
Industrial
Agricultural
Feudal
Question: Émile Durkheim's ideas about society can best be described as ________.
Choices:
functionalist
conflict theorist
symbolic interactionist
rationalist
Question: Which of the following best depicts Marx's concept of alienation from the process of one's labor?
Choices:
A supermarket cashier always scans store coupons before company coupons because she was taught to do it that way.
A businessman feels that he deserves a raise, but is nervous to ask his manager for one; instead, he comforts himself with the idea that hard work is its own reward.
An associate professor is afraid that she won't be given tenure and starts spreading rumors about one of her associates to make herself look better.
A construction worker is laid off and takes a job at a fast food restaurant temporarily, although he has never had an interest in preparing food before.
Question: Which of the following societies were the first to have permanent residents?
Choices:
Industrial
Hunter-gatherer
Horticultural
Feudal
Question: According to Marx, the _____ own the means of production in a society.
Choices:
proletariat
vassals
bourgeoisie
anomie
Question: According to Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann, society is based on ________.
Choices:
habitual actions
status
institutionalization
role performance
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