Unit 7 - Culture

Lecture

At the beginning of the term, I told you we would focus on two aspects of social change. The first one was institutional change; the second is cultural change. In this lecture, I'll present the sociololgical view of the concept of culture. Ritzer, in The Globalization of Nothing, is talking about changes in cultures around the world. This lecture will be useful to you as write your final paper about cultural change.

“Culture” is a concept that sociologists, and anthropologists, use to describe an aspect of human social life. Culture, for our purposes, refers to all of the products of human activity. Some of these products are things like books, baskets, plows, buildings, computers, and arrowheads. Others are non-material entities such as laws, customs, belief systems, and ways of understanding the world. Traffic laws are part of culture. So is Santa Claus, Catholicism, voting for the president, and Scientology. As you can see, the sociological/anthropological definition (or conceptualization) of culture differs from that used in everyday life. While opera, fine art, and ballet are certainly part of culture in the sociological sense, the term covers many more human activities. Culture is important to sociologists because it permeates and influences much of our lives. It influences how and what we eat, how we speak, how we behave toward other people, what we think about, and, perhaps most importantly, what we believe and value.This is an example of why we need to be clear about concepts. If I use the word “culture” and you think opera & ballet while I’m thinking norms, values, use of microwaves, and McDonalds, we will not communicate very well.

Culture is important to sociologists because it permeates and influences much of our lives. It influences how and what we eat, how we speak, how we behave toward other people, what we think about, and, perhaps most importantly, what we believe and value.

Weddings are a great example of culture. All of the material (white dresses, rings, flowers) and non-material elements (vows, rehearsal dinners, best men, bridesmaids) are examples of culture and of how culture influences what we do.

Our religion (a part of culture) our political beliefs (a part of culture) and the work we do (a part of culture) shape a great deal of our lives and how we act as a society. The technologies we use almost make up a large part of our culture. The sociological conceptualization of “technology” includes both material and non-material products of human activity. A spear is a technology. Knowing how to use a spear is also a technology. Most of us might be able to handle a spear but would lack the cultural knowledge to participate in a tournament.

In The Globalization of Nothing, George Ritzer is actually talking about cultural change. He is interested how American culture has changed in the last 25 years and also about how those changes are being exported to the rest of the world through technologies.

We are really at an extraordinary point in human history. The technologies that have been developed and come into widespread use in the last couple of decades have made unprecedented changes in our lives, social institutions, and social structures. Technological change has always affected human history but there have been three periods of time when major techological innovations swept through and changed all aspects of our lives. The first one was the agricultural revolution that started about four or five thousand years ago. That one created not only cities but almost most of the economic, politcal, and religious forms that we see around the world today. The second revolution began four or five hundred years ago. We call it the Industrial Revolution. The key feature of that one was the substitution of mechanical power for human and animal muscle power. While it did not drastically change our political, economic, or religious structures, it did change cultures in dramatic ways. Think about life before the internal combustion engine. Most people lived and worked on farms and most never travelled more than twenty miles from the place where they were born. The invention of the automobile changed all that. It affected family life, work experiences, and the way we spend our leisure time. The third revolution, the one that began with the development of computers, is really just beginning. The interesting thing about this Revolution, which, by the way, is so new that we don't really have a name for it, is the speed. We are already seeing major effects from it. Personal computers, the Internet, cell phones, DVDs, and digital photography are already changing our lives and our cultures. The changes to come during the next forty or fifty years are literally unimaginable. While people in the past had millenium or centuries to adjust cultures and social institutions created by technological change, we have only decades. This change is happening within the lifespans of individuals - namely you and me.The changes to come during the next forty or fifty years are literally unimaginable. While people in the past had millenium or centuries to adjust cultures and social institutions created by technological change, we have only decades. This change is happening within the lifespans of individuals - namely you and me.