Theoretical Perspectives on Culture

Culture SOCI 1306 Theoretical Perspectives on Culture Culture has produced technology, fashion, music, and ideals. What do they signify, though? On the basis of these tangible and intangible objects, how do sociologists view and understand culture? Let us conclude our examination of culture by examining it from the three theoretical vantage points of symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and conflict theory. According to functionalists, society is a system whose components all cooperate to form society as a whole. They frequently compare things with the human body. From this perspective, society cannot function without culture. Cultural values direct people's decision-making, while cultural norms serve to maintain society's flexible structure. Culture exists to satisfy the social and personal needs of its members, just as members of a society cooperate to meet the requirements of the community. Values are another aspect of society that functionalists examine. For instance, in the United States, education is highly prized. The culture of education shows how much importance is placed on educating the citizens of a society. This includes both non-material culture, such as particular teaching styles, and material culture, such as classrooms, textbooks, libraries, educational equipment, and dorms. On the other hand, it would indicate that the culture placed less emphasis on education if education just included rules and some study materials. According to functionalists, there are several purposes for the various cultural types. Belonging to a culture, subculture, or counterculture fosters social cohesiveness and camaraderie while serving the greater good by housing like-minded individuals. Conflict theorists, on the other hand, believe that power disparities pertaining to class, gender, ethnicity, and age make social structure fundamentally unfair. A conflict theorist believes that traditional educational practices reinforce privilege issues and the prevailing culture of society. History books don't include the historical experiences of some groups—those that are based on factors like race, sex, or class, for example, or that present a bad picture of the prevailing culture. The attacks against Native American people and civilization that were a part of the colonisation of the region that would become the United States were long ignored in U.S. history curricula. A more contemporary example is the acknowledgment of historical occurrences such as racial riots and racially motivated massacres, such as the Tulsa Massacre (1921), which was well publicised at the time of its occurrence but was left out of many national histories of that era. Many individuals expressed astonishment that the incident had happened and it hadn't been taught or mentioned when an HBO Watchmen episode showed it in horrifying detail (Ware 2019). The United States is not the only country that omits history. Pupils in North Korea are taught about their kind leader without being informed of the fact that he has abused a significant section of the populace. Experts on North Korea and defectors claim that although the country is clearly experiencing famines and severe economic hardships, official media and educational institutions strive to hide from North Koreans the fact that their nation is unique (Jacobs 2019). Disparities are ingrained in laws, rules, and processes because they are part of a culture's value system. The result of this inclusion is the mighty oppressing the weak. Cultural norms in a community can help certain individuals while harming others. It was difficult for women to enact legislation protecting their rights at home and at work since they were denied the ability to vote in the United States until 1920. Until 2015, same-sex couples were not allowed to marry in the United States. In other parts of the world, just 31 of the 195 nations allow same-sex unions. The impact of materialism and economic production is at the heart of conflict theory. affluent countries' reliance on technology against developing countries' lack of both. Conflict theorists contend that the material production system of a civilization influences other aspects of culture. Less powerful people also have less chances to adjust to shifting cultural norms. This viewpoint is in opposition to functionalism. Whereas conflict theorists study socio-cultural struggles, such as the power and privilege created for some by using and reinforcing a dominant culture that sustains their position in society, functionalists would see the purpose of culture—traditions, folkways, values—as helping individuals navigate through life and societies run smoothly. The sociological approach known as symbolic interactionism is primarily focused on the interpersonal relationships and cultural interpretations that occur between individuals within a community. This analysis is regarded as micro-level. Interactionists consider culture as something that is formed and perpetuated by people's interactions and interpretations of each other's behaviours, rather than focusing on how access varies between the affluent and the poor. According to this viewpoint, humans maintain cultural practices. This theory's proponents see human contact as an ongoing process of interpreting cues from the environment and other people's behaviour. Language is a tool used by individuals to convey and share their interpretations of the symbolic meanings associated with every action and object. Culture, according to symbolic interactionists, is very dynamic and fluid as it depends on how meaning is understood and how people communicate it. Linguistic shifts are studied by interactionists. They research word insertions and deletions, word meaning changes, and word transfer from one originating language to another. This chapter started with the question, "What is culture?" A society's values, beliefs, conventions, language, customs, and artefacts make up its culture. Since culture is learnt, it encompasses an individual's way of thinking and expressing oneself. Even though we would prefer to think of ourselves as unique people, we must admit that culture has an influence on who we are and how we live. Our perspectives and ingrained behaviours, especially those related to family, friends, church, and politics, are shaped by the language we are born with. Culture is a form of social comfort to some extent. After all, societies are defined by the fact that they have a common culture. If individuals would not cohabit culturally, nations would not exist. Without shared ancestry and language, communities would not be possible, and civilization would come to an end if people could not agree on common moral principles and social control mechanisms. In addition to being passed down from one generation to the next, culture also changes as a result of activities like invention, discovery, and cultural diffusion. Cultures are hence social constructs. Things and ideas are either accepted or rejected by society, and as a result, they either become part of the culture or not. Despite the limitations imposed by our own society, people possess the capacity to critically evaluate moral principles and deliberate about actions. The degree of cultural diversity present in the globe is the best proof of this freedom. Our awareness of our own culture improves as we learn more about other cultures.