SOCIOLOGY

Cultural Theory We have mentioned culture a few times already. Along with functionalist theory and conflict theory , cultural theory is one of the big theoretical perspectives in sociology. Also, the textbook’s definition of society itself includes the concept of culture. And in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism , Max Weber argued that Calvinists’ culture, and not only technology, economics, or power, contributed to the success of capitalism. When we talked about differences between different countries, students said that different countries have different cultures. But What is Culture? What does the word Culture mean? One definition is that it is different from economic and political processes . This might help, but it’s not a very good definition. Most discussions of Culture start with the idea that people are different from animals because people have culture . Some animals use tools and some teach each other how to

Introduction to Sociological Theory Prof. Gabe Ignatow Review Sheet for Mid-term Exam 2: Cultural Theory (June 24 in class) The second mid-term covers only cultural theory, including Cultural Functionalism , Conflict Theories of Culture , Theories of Religion and Individual Meaning , and Durkheimian Cultural Theory . You should be able to define and discuss all of the following terms: Instinct vs. Culture Meaning Blinking vs. Winking Symbols Signs The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Linguistic Relativism Linguistic Determinism Linguistic Categories Beliefs Values Norms Material Culture High Culture Low Culture Popular Culture Cultural Capital Subcultures Countercultures Ethnocentrism Cultural Relativism Cultural Lag Synchronic Analysis Diachronic Analysis Cultural Functionalism Cultural Anthropology Critical Theory The Frankfurt School The Culture Industry The “lowest common denominato

Lecture Notes What is theory? In the world right now there are thousands of students taking classes that are about only theory, smart people are writing books about theory. Some people spend their careers studying only theory. So we will have to be brief here, because this is an introductory course. Sociological theory is the ‘queen of sociology,’ as philosophy has been called the queen of the sciences. Sociological theory involves the analysis, critique, and development of the ways in which we think about and discuss social reality. The American sociologist C. Wright Mills argued, in “The Sociological Imagination,” that the facts of contemporary history are also facts about the success and the failure of individual men and women. When a society is industrialized, a peasant becomes a worker; a feudal lord is liquidated or becomes a businessman. When classes rise or fall, a person is employed or unemployed; when the rate of investment goes up o