Culture
CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
OUTCOMES:

Investigate various theoretical perspectives and
viewpoints that attempt to explain culture
 (e.g.,
structural functionalism, conflict, symbolic
interactionism, feminism and post-modern)
 as well as cultural materialism and sociobiology.

Apply these theoretical perspectives to given
cultural scenarios
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

Be sure you remember the following 5
theoretical perspectives from unit 1:
Functionalism
 Conflict
 Symbolic Interactionism
 Feminism
 Post-Modernism

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES REVIEW:

Theoretical Perspective – a basic way of
viewing society that guides thinking and
research
 Functionalism:
 Society
is a stable, orderly system in which the majority
of members share a common set of beliefs & values
 Conflict
 Social
Theory:
groups are in continuous conflict for resources;
those in authority benefit from conformity while
conformists feel resentment & resist
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES REVIEW:
 Feminist
Theory:
 Society
has not historically acknowledged the needs of
women; inequalities still exist between men & women
 Symbolic
Interactionism:
 People
create a world of shared meaning through their
interactions; they act based on symbolic meanings they
find within a given situation
 Post-Modernism:
 Societies
are characterized by an information explosion
by post industrialization; role of media has a huge
influence on people
CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

The next 2 classes focus on applying
theoretical perspectives to the understanding
of culture

Cultural Perspective:
 Several
theoretical perspectives and viewpoints
that attempt to explain culture
DEFINITIONS…?

Here are 2 more theoretical perspectives that
can be taken on understanding culture.

Take a moment to try and define the following
terms.
 Cultural
Materialism
 Socio-biology
CULTURAL MATERIALISM

Cultural Materialism:

A school of thought that says that the best way to
understand human culture is to examine material conditions
- climate, food supply, geography, etc

Helps to understand the causes of differences and
similarities among societies and cultures.

Human social life is a response to the needs of survival and
then the wants of people who have met those needs.

Therefore, human cultural groups can be studied through an
examination of their “ things” and how they get them.
SOCIOBIOLOGY

Sociobiology:
 The
view that human behaviour can be explained
through evolution and genetics.
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE



Virtually everything that sociologists study is in some way related to
culture. For instance, in studying social class, family life, crime, or
religious behavior, sociologists are studying things that are
influenced by the norms and values that characterize the various
subcultures in our society.
But there are some social scientists who are interested in the study
of culture in general, rather than the study of social class, the family,
crime, or religion in particular. These individuals are typically
concerned with one of two questions: first, why are certain elements
of culture found in nearly all known societies, and second, why are
some elements found in only a few societies?
In answering these questions, researchers draw upon a number of
different theoretical perspectives, but three are particularly
important. These are (1) functionalism, (3) cultural materialism, and
(4) sociobiology.
WHAT TO DO NOW?

The next 4 slides explain 2 old perspectives on
culture, and 2 new cultural perspectives

After you gain a working understanding of those 4
you will watch several videos connected to culture
and try to deduce which perspective they match
on your worksheet

When you finish begin to gain a deeper
understanding by reading the Word doc called
Cultural Perspectives
FUNCTIONALISM

The essence of functionalist explanation, when
applied to culture, is that a given norm or value
is "explained" by showing how it contributes to
the overall stability or survival of the society in
which it is found.
 i.e.
raising your hand in class exists so that
everyone can have a turn to express their individual
thoughts/beliefs and allow for structured
discussion
CULTURAL MATERIALISM

The cultural materialist de-emphasizes ideas
and ideology as determinants of culture, and
instead sees culture as an adaptation to the
needs forced upon us by the nature of the
physical environment in which we live.
 i.e.
Cows are sacred in India and cannot be
slaughtered (as a religious idea) because they need
cows to drive their agricultural system (plowing, etc)
SOCIOBIOLOGY

a predisposition towards certain social
behaviors can be transmitted genetically from
one generation to the next, as easily as
predispositions towards upright posture, large
brains, and other physical characteristics
 Incest
is considered taboo in most cultures;
biologically, avoiding this ensures you avoid passing
on recessive genes that are negative and decrease
chances of your bloodline’s survival
CONFLICT THEORY

The essence of conflict theory explanation,
when applied to culture, is that a given norm or
value is "explained" by showing who benefits
from the norm.
 i.e.
table manners exist to distinguish the upper
class (who can afford the various types of
silverware, etc) from the lower class
INSTRUCTIONS

In just a minute, you will follow links to view various
videos related to culture

It is your job to catalogue these video clips into one of
the 7 categories of cultural perspective

You can watch these videos together in pairs, but make
your categorizing decisions on your own

Download the Word doc called Cultural Perspectives
from the Soc Docs page on my website and fill out the
chart according to the following videos
THE CATEGORIES:

Catalogue the video clips from the following slides into
one of these 7 categories of cultural perspective:

Functionalism
Conflict
Symbolic Interactionism
Feminism
Post-modern
Cultural Materialism
Socio-biology






COKE COMMERCIAL

1. Coke Commercial
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzxHDqUz8Sk
JAPANESE DIVORCE CEREMONY

2. Japanese Divorce ceremony
 http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2010/0
9/06/lah.japan.divorce.ceremony.cnn?hpt=T2
SURI LIP PLATES

3. Suri Lip Plates
 http://vimeo.com/6177244
FEMALE CIRCUMCISION

4. Female Circumcision
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kNMC65pNsg
QUIET KID LEARNS TO COPE IN PRISON

5. Quiet Kid Learns to Cope in Prison
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAS4uSDJe9k&
feature=related
THE SPORTS FAN

6. The Sports Fan
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs-fiae1VT
WHEN YOU FINISH…

If you finish these notes and worksheet early,
you should download the Word Doc called
Theoretical Perspectives on Culture and begin
reading the in-depth examples of your 2 new
perspectives
 You
will have more time to finish this next class