Honors Sociology
Durham
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Refers to the cultural
patterns that distinguish
the upper class
Elite, wealthy, high class
society
Ex. classical music, theater,
fine arts, foreign language,
travel and other
sophisticated pursuits.
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People’s Culture
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What do you influences pop
culture?
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Media-internet, films, music,
and television
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Middle class & working class
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Widely accepted commonly
liked or approved
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When people experience culture that is vastly
different from their own and is overwhelmed
by the differences.
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Change in our values and beliefs-How has
our society changed overtime?
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3 Way Cultures Undergo Change:
1.
2.
3.
Technology
Acculturation
Diffusion

The knowledge and tools people
use to shape and mold our
environment and practices is
changed by technology.

Invention-inventing new
technology that didn’t exist

Discovery- recognizing new
phenomena and developing a new
standard of things that already
existed.
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ACCULTURATION: modifying one’s own
culture as result of contact with another
(ex-Italians eat pasta, immigrate to the
U.S. and it becomes a part of American
culture)
DIFFUSION: spreading of items from
group to group or society to society:
◦ Ex: Exploration, military conquest, mission
work, the mass media
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Some people differ from the dominant
culture so they find comfort or reassurance in
a subculture or counterculture.
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Subculture: category of
people who share
distinguishing attributes,
beliefs, values, and or
norms that set them
apart in some significant
manner from the
dominant culture.
Counterculture: refers to
cultural patterns that
strongly oppose those
widely accepted in a
society.
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Distinctions can be based on anything:
◦
◦
◦
◦
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Ethnicity
Religion
Region
Age
Hobby based
◦ Can we think of subcultures that exist today?