Chapter 2 Cultural Diversity

Culture Variation

       Every culture is different in a few or many ways. Each culture has their own set of traditions and values. What is considered rude in one culture may be completely normal in another. Even societies that exist in the same nation can be completely different from each other. But even though we have all these cultural differences, we may not be so different after all.

       There are features that all cultures share called cultural universals, these are basic needs that all societies posses. Some examples of culture universals are marriage, cooking, folklore, sports, body adornment, funeral ceremonies, gift fiving and many more. Even if we have basic similarities, we are still very different. The world is full of variation among societies. The Arapesh and the Mundugumor tribes are a perfect example on two completely different societies living in the same nation. The Arapesh are very gentle, kind and close to each other while the Mundugumor are very aggressive and competitive. One of the reasons that varying societies exist is the idea of ethnocentrism. This is the belief that one’s own culture is superior from the others. Ethnocentrism helps unite the group but in extremes it may segregate groups and limiting new influences. The opposite of this view is one used a lot by anthropologists. This consists of keeping an open mind toward cultural variations and it is called cultural variation.

(The Arapesh tribe)

       In a broad culture there are many groups whose values, norms and behaviors are different of those of the entire population, these are called subcultures. Some examples are the residents of Chinatown and Little Havana who have their own languages and other cultural traits that are different from the overall populations. Sometimes a group rejects the major values and norms of the larger society and wants to replace them with a new set. These groups are called countercultures the anarchists, the cyberpunk movement and the hippie movement are examples of countercultures.

        Language is the major component of any culture. Before making any advances a culture must develop language. The linguistic-relativity hypothesis has two basic principles. One of them states that people the way people think is shaped by their language. The second one states that people who speak in different languages perceive the world on different ways. Whorf (the one who extended this hypothesis) believed that people are conditioned by their language to notice some things and ignore others. If a culture has no term for a particular object, then that object is worthless to them. On the other hand if a culture has many terms for an object, then the object is very relevant to them. An example is the Inuit people who have many words for “snow”. Whorf wrote that an English speaking person, for example, wouldn’t think as deeply of snow as an Inuit. Yet this hypothesis is debatable, the Inuit example may not be relevant for their variety of names for snow are actually many words combined together.

(The Inuit tribe)

       There are many things that reflect on are culture. These things make all cultures different from each other. They can make groups within a culture and even make groups who want to contradict the established culture. Even though all societies are different they are all tied down to universal needs and traditions.

Chapter 1 The Sociological Point of View

Sociology

       We are all part of a community or society. That society can be something simple like school or something big like your country. It is very interesting and important to have an idea on how a society works and to know how that society may affect you.

       Sociology is one of the many social sciences and it is connected to the rest of them in one way or another. Other social sciences are anthropology, psychology, history, economics, and political science. History, for example has a great connection with sociology. Ever since man was intelligent enough to develop a semi complex societies, there have been major changes in them and in societies around them. Throughout history we can see a vast amount of social changes like the French revolution or the industrial revolution. Then we have the connection with psychology, along with sociology they share a common ground. This similarity is social psychology which focuses on how society affects the behavior of an individual. Two disciplines that have great connections with sociology are economics and political science. These sciences study many of the factors that can lead to social change like the economy, voting patterns and governmental groups.  Finally there are connections with sociology and anthropology. They are both focused on a community of people but anthropologists are more concerned with the cultural aspect of less complex societies while sociology is concerned with complex societies.

       Throughout history the nature of human interaction has interested scholars but it wasn’t until the 19^th century that there was an academic discipline dedicated to it. There were many factors that lead to the establishment of sociology. The political changes in Europe, the industrial revolution, and the urbanization of cities were all influential to sociology. All these factors made it more obvious that society influenced individuals. In these times changes were most felt in France, England and Germany. These were the nations that brought the most influential sociologists.

      August Comte is considered the founder of sociology. He was intrigues by the social change caused by the French revolution. He insisted that statics are processes that hold society together and that social dynamics are the ones that caused social changes. Then we have Hebert Spencer who was a sociologist that was influenced by Charles Darwin. He used Darwin’s theory on the evolution of organisms to apply it to societies. He argued that the most complex societies were the ones who were most likely to survive.  This view was given the name of social Darwinism and was used as an excuse for slavery due to the fact that they thought that the Anglo Saxon race was superior and that other races were inferior. Many sociologists agreed with both of Spencer and Comte in different aspects. One of them is Emile Durkheim, yet he also believed that independent parts of society maintain the system through their functions. A function is a consequence that an element of society produces for the keep up of the social system. Karl Marx believed that society was based on its economy. According to him society is divided between the Capitalists and the Workers. The capitalists own the means to produce goods while the workers owned nothing but provided their services. He suggested that social change comes when the workers overthrow the capitalists and create a classless society. It was suggested that the only way to really understand the effect of society on individuals is to put yourself in their place. This was suggested by Max Weber and he called this the principle of Verstehen.

(Karl Marx)

       There are three sociological perspectives that are used by sociologists. The functionalist perspective views that society is run by parts and that the way society is maintained is by ´people agreeing in what is best for society. This is like an election, people pick candidates and then vote for the best one (at least sometimes). This is why functionalists recognize that not everything in society runs properly so they call certain elements dysfunctional. This means that they have a negative consequence on society. Functions can also be manifest or intended. For example the manifest function of a house is to have a warm shelter. A function can also be latent or unintended. For example, the latent function of a house (big house) is to show wealth and success. The world revolves on conflict. Karl Marx said that it is conflict that leads to social change. The conflict perspective focuses o how conflict and competition lead to change. According to them competition for resources is the basis of social conflict. Functionalists and conflict theorists are focused on society but in the interactionist perspective one focuses on how individuals interact with society.

      Sociology is a very wide and open subject. It has many connections with other studies and it is the essence of the world we live in.