Tracking Sociological Perspectives Functionalist Perspective Conflict Perspective Feminist Perspective Interactionist Perspective Reinforce roles of men and women Are maintained through face-to-face interaction May perpetuate social inequality May perpetuate men’s dominance Are defined and redefined through social interaction Culture reflects a society’s dominant ideology Culture reflects society’s view of men and women A society’s core culture is perpetuated through daily social interactions Countercultures question the dominant social order; ethnocentrism devalues groups Cultural relativism respects variations in the way men and women are viewed in different societies Customs and traditions are transmitted through intergroup contact and through the media tell women they should be subservient to men, that dominant ideology will help to control women and keep them in a subordinate position. A growing number of social scientists believe that it is not easy to identify a core culture in the United States. For support, they point to the lack of consensus on national values, the diffusion of cultural traits, the diversity within our culture, and the changing views of young people (look again at Figure 10-1 ). Instead, they suggest that the core culture provides the tools that people of all persuasions need to develop strategies for social change. Still, there is no denying that certain expressions of values have greater influence than others, even in as complex a society as the United States (Swidler 1986). TABLE 10-2 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE Norms Reinforce societal standards Reinforce patterns of dominance Values Are collective conceptions of what is good Culture and Society Culture reflects a society’s strong central values Cultural Variation Subcultures serve the interests of subgroups dominant ideology describes the set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests. This concept was first used by Hungarian Marxist Georg Lukacs (1923) and Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci (1929), but it did not gain an audience in the United States until the early 1970s. In Karl Marx’s view, a capitalist society has a dominant ideology that serves the interests of the ruling class. From a conflict perspective, the dominant ideology has major social significance. Not only do a society’s most powerful groups and institutions control wealth and property; even more important, they control the means of producing beliefs about reality through religion, education, and the media. Feminists would also argue that if all a society’s most important institutions M O D U L E 10 Recap and Review Summary This module discusses the major elements that all cultures share: language, norms, and values. 1. Language includes speech, written characters, numerals, and symbols, as well as gestures and other forms of nonverbal communication. Language both describes culture and shapes it. 2. Sociologists distinguish between norms in two ways, classifying them as formal or informal and as mores or folkways. 3. The formal norms of a culture will carry the heaviest sanctions; informal norms will carry light sanctions. 4. The dominant ideology of a culture is the set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests. Thinking Critically 1. In the United States, is the norm of heterosexuality a formal norm or an informal norm? Would you categorize it with mores or folkways? Explain your reasoning. 2. Do you believe that the world is experiencing a clash of civilizations rather than of nations, as some scholars assert? Why or why not? 3. Look around your campus. Do the people you see suggest that the United States has a core culture with a dominant ideology, or a diverse culture with differing values and ideologies? What about the city or town where your college or university is located—does it suggest the same conclusion? Elements of Culture 65
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