SOCI 3010: Sociology of Culture. Name Cards

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SOCI 3010 Sociology of Culture.Name Cards

• Name/e-mail (check _at_uga.edu?)
• Major Year
• Hometown
• Place of birth
• Parents place of birth
• Parents occupation
• Career plans
• Anything I should know

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CULTURE

• Latin Root Colere meaning inhabit, cultivate,
  protect, honor with worship.
• Inhabit becomes Colonus and then Colony.
• Honor through worship becomes Cult.
• Tending to or cultivating becomes Culture.

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CULTURE contd.

• Culture comes to refer to human development
  (e16C).
• Culture comes to refer to abstract process.
• Romantics speak of Cultures (l18C)
• Culture as works, practices and products of
  intellectual and artistic activity (e19C).

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3 meanings of CULTURE

• C1 C as a process of intellectual, spiritual,
  aesthetic, material or moral development.
• C2 C as a particular way of life.
• C3 C as intellectual or artistic practices and
  expressions.
• Common Denominator C is the product of human
  activity and thereby transcends human nature.

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SOCIOLOGY

• Logos controlling principles, eternal
  structures.
• -ology the study of principles and structures.
• Sociology the study of the principles and
  structure of social interaction, social relations
  or society.

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SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE

• The scientific study of the structure of social
  relationships involved in the production,
  reception and human impact of culture.

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Humanities vs. Social Science

• Humanities Art history, Literary Criticism,
  Religious Studies, Drama and Theater, Musicology,
  Philosophy.
• Social Sciences Sociology, Anthropology,
  History, Economics, Political Science, Psychology.

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H vs. SS views of Culture

• H Evaluative
• SS Relativistic
• H Culture above or opposed to society.
• SS Culture and society closely related.
• H Culture is fragile and can be lost.
• SS Culture is inevitable and durable.
• H Culture is ineffable and only open to
  interpretation.
• SS Culture can be studied like anything else.

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e.g. Spanish services at St. Josephs Catholic
Church

• H study Look at the sermons or music and themes
  expressed. Judge whether they fit with Christian
  themes, distort them, transform them.
• SS study How religious participation fits in the
  lives of parishioners. Organizational interests
  involved in Spanish language services. Social
  forces involved in Latino immigration. Impact on
  Athens community.

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The Cultural Diamond
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The Cultural Object

• Defn Shared significance embodied in form.
  a socially meaningful expression that is
  audible, visible, tangible, or can be
  articulated.
• Meaning one thing that stands for another.
• Simple denotes one-to-one correspondence. E.g
  4, triangle, Baldwin Street.
• Complex symbols that connote ambiguous or
  several meanings that generate emotion. E.g.s
  FifthAve, Jesus Christ.

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CO contd.

• Meaning basic human need. Its our software.
• Cultural meaning is shared meaning.
• CO is to Culture as Leopard Frog is to Swamp.

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Reflection Theory
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Materialist view of Catholicism
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Materialist view of Protestantism
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Materialist reflection theory

• Critical Spirit culture tends to distract from
  real material conditions.
• Example Thomas Franks Whats the Matter with
  Kansas.

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Weber on Capitalism

• Traditionalism you work only hard enough to live
  the way you are accustomed to living.
• Capital accumulated wealth. Not consumed.
• Modern capitalism is the pursuit of profit, and
  forever renewed profit, by means of continuous,
  rational, capital-accumulating and using
  enterprise.

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Weberian reflection theory
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Functionalist reflection theory
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Functionalist reflection theory

• Basis of much conservative thought.
• Example patriotism and American values are
  appealed to in order to maintain unity.

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Problems with reflection theory

• Do COs ever actually reflect society?
• Does culture ever directly affect the social
  world?

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The Cultural Diamond
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Pick-up truck w/ took crib