Socialisation and Culture

Socialisation and Culture

Sociologists

Study

Jencks

A quality possessed by individuals who are able to gain the qualities seen as desirable in a ‘cultured’ human being.

 A quality possessed by some whole societies, seen as more civilised and superior to others.

 The collective body of all the arts and intellectual work in society.

 The whole way of life of a people as described by Linton

Linton

‘The culture of society is a way of life of its members; the collection of ideas which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation’

Murdock

Parsons.

Morgans

Oakly

Part 1: The social construction of culture

• Culture as a way of life, norms, values, beliefs, roles, status

• Aspects of culture such as dress, language, food, music

• Meaning of the social construction of culture

• Cultural diversity and sub-culture/s

Part 2: The process and agencies of socialisation

• Role models, imitation, sanctions and processes linked to specific agencies

of socialisation

• The process of cultural transmission through primary socialisation

• The process of cultural transmission through secondary socialisation

 Formal/informal social control

Part 3: Examples of the influence of socialisation on identity

• Identity: personal and social – Gender, Class, Ethnicity, Nationality

Types of culture

• Material culture

Material culture refers to the physical things that people create and attach emotional meaning to. For example, clothing, houses, cars and food may mean a lot to people; these items are not just objects but symbols of something important. The wearing of certain items of clothing to a football match means

more to some fans than protecting the body from cold, for example.

• Non-material culture

This refers to ideas that people share, for example their rules, traditions, languages and history.

Non-material culture is important because it helps people to understand their social world and gives

them guidelines for how to behave.

• Collectivist cultures

These are cultures which tend to emphasise belonging to the group as more important than personal

freedom. China and Japan typically are seen as collectivist cultures.

• Individualist cultures

These are cultures which tend to emphasise individual freedom and personal gain, sometimes at the

expense of others. European and North American cultures tend to be individualistic. People learn their culture from others around them. Children are deliberately taught how to behave, and adults have to learn what to do in each new situation they find themselves in.

Other types of culture/s

Folk Culture: Traditional culture of ordinary people often from pre-industrial times/societies e.g. Haxey Hood

Mass/Popular Culture: A product of mass media and appreciated by large numbers of ordinary people. Often seen as inferior to all other types of culture and criticised by some

High Culture: A type of media seen purely for the wealthy eg: ballet or opera

Global Culture: An all-embracing culture common to people all over the world. Argued by some that is does not exist because people do not share a common lifestyle

Subcultures: Smaller scale group related to the dominant culture of society but…