Intro to Sociology

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Sociology

Assumption: people work and act with general rules.

Assumption: behavior is influenced by mutual expectations 

3 characteristics of sociological research

Empirical – fact based – not based on non-factual info, such as opinion/belief.

      -Provable: the building is stable

      ànon-empirical: blond is beautiful

Objective: attempt to be unbiased/unsubjective

Generalize sociologists like to used wide-covering rules (ones which include most  

      situations) 

-Sociology gives us tools to understand society – not to change it

-social work deals w/ practical solutions to social problems àneed to attach values to specific acts

      àsociologists are not interested in the practical/solutions but in the theoretical

-Sociology doesn’t only rely on collecting facts but also analyzing them

-Sociology doesn’t dictate how a society should behave but rather how it does.

      -sociology facts only valid with analysis 

Sociology problems:

1) sociological terms not constant (unlike other sciences)

àeach sociologist has own way of using terms:

            -i.e. how to define: ‘democracy’ ‘group’ ‘middle ground’

2) sometimes sociologists predictions have opposite effects i.e. if they predict x will win the elections, people who support x won’t bother voting thinking it is not worth it since he’ll anyhow win. 

3) nature’s laws are generally constant – not human law – therefore it is hard to make general predictions and when done, it is only a probable but not a certain guess 

Max Weber – 1864-1920

‘Verstehen’ – the human implications behind the facts i.e. in explaining a phenomenon

      àalso took subjectivity into account

understanding – could be subjective

      -find out why a specific group of people choose to go to a specific coffeehouse at

      a specific time 

Problem: socio. Studying his own culture could be bias/subjective 

Opinions:

1) detach sociologists from their society

      -use more #’s in research to reflect the more scientific element of sociology, thus avoiding bias

-total detachment b/w sociologist and his research 

2) opposers of detachment think that detachments make the study too distant from group studied 

àopposers of that opinion cite that  a position is necessary – not taking a position is taking a position

      -i.e. how to sociologically deal with WWII 

Max Weber –sociology is ‘value free’

-he knew people would study things that are interesting to them and therefore analyze data with bias eyes

àhe suggested to combine involvement and objectivity

àbest case is to study something that you are involved w/ on a daily basis w/o subjectivity 

Mills:

‘Social imagination’

person’s individual problems often relate to the larger society’s underlying  problems

      àthe study of that is called ‘social imagination’

New direction of sociology

Gidnas: ‘Social Critique’

Looking at:

1)History – To see aspects of cultures which have changed over the years

2)anthropology – to look at aspects of other cultures 

‘Social critique’ model allows us, by looking at the above, to take objective stance on changes in our society 

Conclusion of unit:

Both objectivity and subjectivity are necessary in sociology

Classical Socialism: 2 articles

-Sociology looks for general social rules

-sometimes relies on theoretical models

Examples à’All on All War’ –Hobbs

            à’Natural State’ – Rousseau 

àthey claimed wide-ranging social laws which covered ALL humanity

àEven-though seclusion is adored in literature/song. But it is not occurring experiences --> we are all bound by some form of society 

View #1 : Social reality is made of various components

-A social reality is made of various components that add up to the particular social reality.

      àsociologists study this reality

      àsocial units include social positions/groupings/ethnicities/bureaucraticies   

View #2 : Social reality is made of various relationships 

The following 2 articles discuss those 2 views: 

 
 
 

-Both Webber and Durkheim think that the  society influences the individual 

Tutorial

The Protestant Ethics and the Capitalistic Spirit (Max Weber) 

Protestant – religion

Ethics - ethics

      àspirituality 

Capitalism – economic system

Spirit – idealism

      àmaterialism/pragmatism 

Max Weber observed that the protestant countries are more successful than their catholic counterparts. He attempted to understand why Protestantism has such an influence on the economy. 

1. Attempted answer: perhaps it is a coincidence: the protestants just happened to work harder or to have inherited more.
2. Attempted answer: different education – protestant education is more practical?

 

His conclusive answer: Protestantism led to capitalism 

Catholics: only way to find out about religion is through priest – they had no direct access to religious info.

Protestants: antithesis of catholic

      àtherefore whatever Catholics do is not conducive to capitalistic markets 

-Max Weber referred to Lutheran Protestantism when saying Protestantism 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

How to find the value of a sociological theory

 

Time - a theory has to apply for all times – timeless

General – rule has to apply to all – not to few 

Problem w/ Weber’s generalization: Venice (Catholic) was successful, economically 

 

-both schools of thought relate society to some sort of system

àexcept Weber/Zimmel who think that sociology is not a science 

--

A Sociologist has to be Critical/Systematic 

‘Sociological imagination’

-A book written by C.W. Mills (end of 1950)

-->Argues w/ Parsons 

-criticized functional Soc. – too much Macro -->leaves out Micro

      -->makes it too broad.

            -->looses touch w/ reality -->individual’s needs/pains/emotions

‘Social Imaginations’

Mills: Sociology needs to develop an ability to correlate b/w social issues/social troubles 

      Social issues –society’s structure (what Parson was studying) (macro)

      Social troubles – the individual’s prob. and its relation to social structure (micro) 

      -->Mills: -Has to be a correlation b/w the two!!!! 

Example: Globalization

-look at globalization’s (social issues)  effect of individual (social troubles) 

-people get laid off b/c/ factory moves to cheaper country

-->Parsons speaks of modernization – not who gets in trouble b/c of it 

Example: Infertility

-people can’t reproduce (social troubles)

-->they try to rationalize/explain

      -->often, they allot the trouble to themselves 

-->when they do a little bit of research, they find out that the happens in many places

      -->h/c in some places  - more than others? (social troubles) 

Mills: social structures are outcome of negotiations b/w interest groups/resources 

--

Mills: Corporate/army/gov’t fused into power elite

-- 

 
 
 

Dec 4 Class

Culture

Anthropology: study of culture

2 kinds of anthropology

1. Physical anthropology
2. Social/cultural anthropology

-Americans call it social

-British call it cultural 

Anthro=man 

-Anthropology started in the 16^th cent.

àIn the first few centuries, people seen as animals

      àAnthropology was a branch of zoology 

• American started studying Natives: Archeology/linguistics/anatomy
• British studied exotic cultures on islands that they had conquered

      àmore based on observation 

àone of the concepts stemming from those fields: Darwinism/theory of evolution

Anthropology

Behaviors/cultures/humanity

Physical anthropology

-interested in humanity’s development

-anatomical/physical àroot of human races 

• They want to find the connection b/w the physical evolution and cultural change

àevolution necessarily leads to cultural change 

 

Sociobiology – connection b/w biology/sociology ànowadays, based on DNA

Imperialistic anthropology

-westerners were seen as superior

àblacks seen as inferior – lower on the chain of evolution 

-Sociobiology died down until the 1980’s, when DNA was studied 

àSocio-biological research usually shows the difference b/w men and women physiology, àespecially regarding reproduction

Example

1. Functions of men/women’s body are different ->i.e. women use both hemispheres to listen, men only use one
2. The way which they navigate:

• Men use spatial- ‘east/west, # of houses/# of roads’

• Women – use more features – i.e ‘turn right at coffee shop’

 
 

àThere is a disparity b/w evolution and culture

• Evolution: slow to change
• Culture: fast to change

 

-Sociobiology assumes that many/most of behaviors are genetically based

      àwe think of ourselves too highly, as humans

Study

-Study wanted to see the relationship b/w newborn and mom

àObserved first contact b/w mom and baby 

-This study was demographically all-inclusively 

 

-If the mom was told that he had a visual injury was temporary àshe didn’t want him

-If she was told of an internal injury, (i.e. brain damage) that made him only have several days to live, she took him 

àthis is a socio-biological interaction 

Culture: anything not genetic genetic/biological 

Examples:

1) Walking: genes allow us to walk àwalking is genetic

àthe way we walk is affected by culture 

2) Fear: *of dangers = generic

      *of insects = cultural 

-we all have biological needs àsometimes we do them by cultural means 
 

 

Tutorial, Nov 29

Culture passes it self on to the next generation. Each generation adds something and leaves something behind 

Examples of subcultures within Israel:

Chassidic/mizrachi/dati leumi etc…

‘secondary culture’ –term referring to a subculture that has a tension w/ dominant culture

‘subculture’ – more neutral 

Subculture – part of the dominant culture, but it is different is several aspects 

Normative subculture: part of the dominant subculture; they have some elements of their own, that is different from the mainstream, which makes them unique

      Example: Kibbutznikim -->in old times, their behavior used to be unique

            -->their uniqueness did not make them eternal to the Israeli society

                  -->difference was in dress/language 

Value-based subculture: they are different in some ways from dominant culture, they try to impose difference on the whole society (in a legitimate way)

      Example- religious/irreligious in Israel 

Counter-culture: - tries to forcefully change the dominant culture

      -->their existence tries to stop continuance of dominant culture 

Example: you might be able to say that Chasidim: counter-culture, since they want the Rebbe to say whatever they should do -->counter to democracy, since he was not voted on 

Tutorial Dec 6^th 

-Culture changes w/ context of

1) Time

2) Place 

Culture is the glasses through which we perceive reality 

*The main tool which culture builds itself on is Language (verbal symbols)

àone can not communicate abstract ideas w/o it 

Bart – an author who speaks a lot about mythology

      àstudied the development of myth and how it affects a specific group 

Mythology: giving meaning to something beyond its plain level 

3 levels of perceiving things:

1. Literal – i.e. a diamond = a rock
2. Context –the connotation of an object

ài.e. a diamond = an expensive rock

3. Mythological – could look the literal meaning

ài.e. diamond =symbol of worthiness 

Article

1. Car -made in a way to make it seem more like a unit
2. Car -made like an abstract symbol
3. Car -made ‘homely’ in order for us to relate to this abstract symbol and what it is set out to represent

Class – Dec. 6, 2000

-relationship b/w culture and biology: 

Question: are we fundamentally a biological or a cultural being?

Answer:

What really causes us to fall in love is the smell senses [especially smell odor]

àbiology has influence on the process of falling in love, but humans build a cultural element of it

      àthe sense of small doesn’t play the only part in the process of falling in love 

Civilization: the distancing of habits from animalistic natural habits

ài.e. using utensils vs. eating w/ hand 

Example people enjoy those mannerisms –‘it was a very cultural event’ 

      àgoes to show that biological drives are not everything

--

Culture: anything we can pass on to the next generation 

Anthropology/Sociology: everyone has a culture àeach society simply has a different one 

‘Kultur’ – German term, coined by an idealistic group of philosophers.

      àthey discussed the ‘human spirits’ 

-According to their view, culture= society’s achievements 

Daily life: attempt to stay away from biological impulses

Sociologist/Anthropologist: don’t see it as right/wrong àdon’t assign value to different levels of culture àthey just study he difference. 

Anthropology:

-Uses active observation as a means of study of cultureàthey join the group and its activities to see the world from its point of view

Sociology

-doesn’t look at culture but at the society element of humanity

àlooks from the outside, as opposed to the anthropologists who look from the inside 

-Today, no differentiation is made b/w society/culture àthey are interrelated

--

Do men/women have different culture?

 

Woman: homely/childrearing-based

Man: more formal/outside world 

-people used to think that diff. b/w man and woman is biological

->now, focus is more social. 

-also have diff. way of expression/linguistics 

 

Dec 11 class

Culture, (as defined by Halkin)

-a compendium of behavioral rules that defines a collective in such a way that we can claim that 'this is French/Japanese/etc'

Pros

-you can say that certain cultural traits are negative

After WWII

-attempts to use this definition to study culture, especially German.

Questions focused around why it happened in Germany and not anywhere else 

Problems: this definition sharpens our ethnocentricity

-->this definition is more social psychology than sociological

      -->it is not accepted as a scientific, sociological term since it is somewhat bias

Stereotypes

-Term coined by Lipman 

Stereotype: originally, the stereotype was the board used by printing-press to put letters on it in order to print

-Today, it is used as a scheme which we a apply to something/someone/group 

-->stereotypes allow use to enter society w/ a preset mind-frame -->we need it in order to function socially 

-Stereotypes are acquired by social learning

-->each group has their own stereotypes

-->ethnocentricity 

-->we have/apply stereotypes based on cultural ethnicity 

-Stereotypes do not necessarily lead to ethnocentricity, but it definitely makes differentiations b/w cultures/nations

Cultural Relativity

-the concept that helps sociologists/anthropologists look @ world

-the assumption is that all cultures are equal-->non is seen as more advanced/better 
 

-cultural relativity was not universally accepted

-->i.e. Miner's article about 'nacirema' 

Miner: Malinowsky said that the ritual is functionalistic tool to deal w/ the society's uncertainty

      -->and therefore is a lower evolutionary stage of that culture. 

-Miner criticizes and notes that in north america, we have the same characteristics, with different masks.

-->we have to analyze each society within its own culture and social context

Question

-Is culture really relative?

-do we have to accept Nazism/Cannibalism?

-->can we really say that all cultures is equal?

Answer

We have to differentiate b/w our interest to study the culture and behavioristic

-->we have to be empirically objective when judging the other culture 

We have a problem: we think that we have the universal truth; the universal measure of Justice; the ultimate sense of right/wrong 

--

-every gov't gets involved w/ culture:

-->limit # of wives 

1) We see culture as something we are born into and therefore it dictates out behavior (Durkheim - social fact) 

2)Nevertheless, we constantly alter/change it ['social actors' -Webber]

Social fact

-something external to us that influences our actions

-->dictates our behavior -->has enforcing strength

      -->Durkheim's example: fashion/law 

-But, we also have the influence the social facts --> 'social Actors'

Webber disagrees w/ durkheim

-->he thought sociologists job is to study people's influence on culture and not vice versa 

-->relationship b/w social agent (individual) and institution 

Dec 13

Tutorial

3 levels of words/symbols:

1. Dictionary meaning

 

2. Connotation

 

3. Mythology

 
 

Names within a culture -usually connotative or mythological

      -our article analyzes the meaning behind those names

      -->it is searching for the semantics behind the name

Higher culture

-Formal agents of society. I.e. newspapers/T.V./authors

-people who formally pass n the culture -->through formal means

Lower culture

-regular people

-->also push culture. i.e. slangs.

      -->starts from bottom of society -->develops through informal means

Names

-reflect the influence of lower culture. 

-sometimes, it is hard to differentiate b/w Higher/lower.

      -i.e. last names were instituted by high society for formality

            -->enforced though gov't institutions 

• we are both creators/movers of society

 
 

Example: sport

-What we make of sports -(we globalize sports)

-what sports make of is -(body image, etc...)

Culture

• creates bond within human society
• creates tension/conflict within humanity

 
 

Cultural things that make us bond:

Sports/war/language 

-->those also creates tension: i.e. language in Canada

Cultural War

i.e. religious vs. secular in Israel 

Sometimes:

1) culture is a tool for political/economic/national war

2) culture is the cause of war

Example

-Eastern music in Israel.

àused to be tension b/w eastern/western cultures in Israel.

-->the eastern wanted political/social equality in Israel. This played out in their music 

Subculture

-Coined by 'Chicago school'-->they studied the criminals, and coined the term subculture. 

-often, the example of criminals was given for a subculture

      -->They have norms shared/unshared w/ rest of society 

-today, the term subculture has no negative connotation, that it once has 

Culture

Consensus view

-culture is very constant/stable vs. the subcultures have some things in common and some not in common w/ the dominant culture 

-culture is a unified unit.

-It exists 

-we measure other people’s distance from these ideas/values/norms from the center of culture

      àsubculture 

-we emphasize the homogeneous àconsensus w/ culture 

-culture is voluntary  (we follow culture our of freewill àidentification w/ it) 

Subculture –groups that are some distance from cultural center

'Pluralistic/conflict view'

-b/c of many groups of subcultures, the culture is not a steadfast thing but an ever-evolving common-groups of all the subcultures 

-the only constant of culture is it’s social conflict 

àculture is a result of tensions b/w subcultures over each of their place/influence/autonomy/will to impose their subculture

      àthe acceptance of cultural symbols are forced

            -sometimes, you have to be on the outside to notice it. 

• the dominance of 1 group does not imply that the other groups have given up. The conflict is merely temporarily dormant

 

-->sometimes, a culture succeeds to impose its subculture on every other subculture, but this is only a temporary phenomenon w/i that culture 

-the pluralistic view is not a theory but rather a collection of various theories which hold this position in common 

-this theory does not assume one culture is better than the other (Unlike the consensus theory) 
 

Example:

Zimmel - 'Cultural Web' [playground of interactions] 

Melting pot

-All immigrants are melted into the dominant culture

àsome will hold on to some of their old culture’s elements. à sub-culture 

Pluralistic/conflict

-doesn’t accept the ‘melting pot’ idea

      àb/c it down plays ‘cultural relativity’ 

-the pluralists hold that society is like a salad of cultures.

      àeach vegetable (culture) intermingles but stays distinct

      àsome of the juices mix, and there is some dominance

Every Culture has a scale

i.e.:

-economy

-political map

-respect 

Conflict theory: no equality. Many different groups within all the social  scales

àAccording to Marks, economy=social infrastructure. (i.e. how we divide property) 

-the economy scale is dominated by 1 group. This group makes up culture in order to hide the fact that they are indeed using the lower classes for their own economic needs

àthey make up religion/patriotism, so that the poor won’t focus and realize that they are being abused by the upper class

Tutorial Dec. 20, 2000

Amos Oz’s article

Gossip –leads to social bonding

àgossip keeps us within social norms

      àwe don’t do things b/x society won’t accept it. àthe act is not a social norm 

• Norms chance w/ time/place/context

ài.e. religious vs. secular

      -Religious: no mixed dancing

      -Secular: mixed dancing = norm

Functions

• Gives us boundaries for norms
• Helps unify society

 

Functionalism –looks for the function of a phenomenon to explain how it helps to unify society 

Functionalistic:

society = 1 cohesive unit

Deviation =allows society to see its boundaries 

Marxism = deviation allows whomever has the power to maintain it 
 

Laws: formal social binding

Sanctions: punishment i.e. fine/prison

      àkeeps us within social norm 

Norms: non-formal social binding

      -i.e. values

            àmore abstract 

Gossip is the non-formal sanctions

Difference b/w norm and normative

Norm – a social trend

Normative: socially accepted 

Example Drugs

-there is a social trend (norm) but it is not normative (not socially accepted)

Class –Dec 20, 2000

Ernst Kasirer

-the symbolic man = ‘homo-symbolicum’

The animalistic response

Stimulus àresponse 

The human response:

Stimulusàresponse

      -or-

Stimulusàprocessàresponse 

àresponses are sometimes the effect of a mental commentary we process

àout commentary process [how we understand/perceive the stimulus] is affected by our ‘symbolic glasses’

Culture shock

-when we have a certain schema to processing the stimulus [Symbolic glasses]

àan the culture I am put in has different perception/response to a stimulus [‘symbolic glasses’]

Core Values

Core values: those values which we see as monumental

Example

-A teacher from N/A teaches in S/A

      àis pathologically shocked by locals’ party at baby’s death

            àit hit his core values

-[at opposed to culture shock – which is not as strong –i.e. pushing in a bus more in the new culture] 

Difference b/w symbol and sign

Kaiser:

Symbol: something that represents another thing

      àhas multiple meaning, i.e. a letter.

            -the letter has different meanings in different contexts 

Sign: single representational meaning to the object.

      -i.e. red light exclusively means to stop 

• All languages are symbols

 

• Some people think there are no signs –everything is symbols [mean different things to different people]

 

Class, Dec 25, 2000

A difference b/w/ sociology and anthropology

 

-sociology, unlike anthropology, deals w/ the concept of a culture as an evolving organism

        -->they want to find out characteristics of a culture

                -culture is a tool to organize society 

-->(as opposed to anthropology who sees culture as 1 complete culture -->look @ culture w/i itself. 
 

Sociologists ask:

What gives culture

* order

* continuance

Continuance

What gives culture the ability to continue to the next generation w/ basically no felt change? 

Tutorial Dec 27

 

We can analyze:

1. individual’s development within  a socialization [micro]
2. Society’s development within socialization [macro]

 

Example: Freud/Mead – studied individual development w/I socialization

Freud

i.e. Unconscious =id/ego/superego 

Id [what I want]àsuper-ego [what society wants]àego [Socialization]

Overly super-ego =passive person

Overly Id =criminal

Mead

‘I’ – subjective – How I see world

      àdevelops at beginning of life 

‘Me’ –objective perspective

      àhow society influences me

            àdevelops through life 

-->symbolic interaction 

-you can only come to social awareness (awareness of others) after you aware of mind and self 

Differences

• Freud thinks through conflict
• Mean things through interaction (b/w I/Me)

Societal level [macro]

Functionalism:

-the function of something within a society

      -in this case, the function of socialization within a society 

January 1^st class

-Cultural wealth is passed on to next generation in correlation to how much cultural wealth the family has 

àcorrelation b/w cultural and social class

Burdier study

-saw how many from each social class went to museum

      -not expensive

      -available to all 

      àmuseum=cultural wealth 

      Conclusion

      -the amount of museum attendance is strongly correlated to higher social class 

            Not full correlation:

            *Other groups attend, irrelevant to social class:

                  -children of Academics

                  -women

                  -pension

Women

-might be an exceptional group

      àwants to show a cultural position in order to improve their social position 

I.e.

-people in upwards social mobility usually do things to be associated w/ cultural wealth

àas more people do it for that reason

      àvalue of that cultural wealth goes down

            [re: stock exchange of cultural wealth]  

Burdier: that is the Distinction

-we make new distinctions every day in order to keep social reproduction happening 

--

We give certificate/diplomas great significance

• H.S./uni diploma
• Driving license
• Work permit

Randal Collins

-we live in a credential society

àwe give value to diplomas/certificates the authority as an entry ticket to increasing amount of things

àoften, it seems as more important than the skill/knowledge that it seeks to represent 

Meritocratic: i.e.IQ àbased on merit ànot on external factors 
 

• Diplomas are yet another distinction symbol

 

àmore people acquire it àgoes down in value àmust acquire more/better one in order to have edge over others 

Relation status –status is inherited

Acquired status – status is acquired

Democratic society

-equality of opportunity 

-we all have an equal opportunity [same starting point/same education] 

• French/US revolutions claimed equal opportunity to all
• Led to democratization of society
• Higher social class lost cultural wealth/Poor gains cultural wealth

 

-Despite that, there were stilla social class ranking (despite the revolutions to equalize society)

à it even uses Democratic rhetoric 

i.e.

Diplomas: were supposed to show how I acquired based on the equal opportunity that I took advantage of.

      àbut diplomas b/c social rankings 

-Social reproduction of prior social hierarchy:

      -The opportunity to acquire diplomas is not equal

-whomever has more cultural/economic wealth has higher chances of acquiring diploma, and a more valued one 

Ways to correct it

• More diploma giving institutions
• Crime
• Arts (i.e. blacks in US use art to advance  in society
• Politics
• Sports (but it is also somewhat selective: blacks in tennis/swimming are exceptions [when they finally make it, it is b/c of individual family’s cultural wealth]

Ways to worsen problem

-elitist schools

Cultural ranking

Demo culture –higher culture –institutions/organizations/individuals/cultural objects which are created by professionals that their actual profession is to create cultural objects. I.e. teachers/composers

      àtheir ideas are advanced by institutions, such as schools/theatres 

Public culture –lower culture –the daily/street objects of culture we do [especially within society] i.e. fashion

      àhoe public creates/deals w/ culture

What’s the relationship b/w Demo/public culture

Example

Whiteman article about names shows that public culture has a certain common value

      àSimilar to Durkheim

à individuals are in reality a part of a group trend àwe are not as individual as we think 

Israeli, names came from demo culture: Ben-Gurion made it compulsory for  public representatives to change last names to Hebrew last names

Example #1 of cycle

T.V. show (demo): implicitly encourages society [public] to have certain interests

      àpressure demo to supply the cultural objects 

Example #2 of cycle

Santa Claus àmade by coca cola [demo] for commercial

Society [public] detached it from coca cola into public symbols 

Note: no difference in worthiness/value

Social class, Jan 8, 2001

‘Cannon’ –cultural cannon vs. hegemony culture

High culture vs. popular culture 

‘Canon’

-part of high culture

Canon –‘authoritative list’

Just like Christian usage of the word.

      àThough it is not absolute, in sociology 

àevery ‘playing field’ has a different Cannon 

*Noble prize for literature’ an expression of the cannon’s authority

Tension

The ‘classic’ (cannon) books are not necessarily the books that are popular 

Israel’s is an exception: b/c cannon is more strongly correlated to best-sellers 

Question:

What is included in cannon? What is its parameter? 

Answer

Criteria include

1. the gov’t’s agenda for education

   àgov’t is the apparatus for the cultural cannon

   àBurdier: define which cultural wealth is worth more 

2. Critics

àin effect, they judge the thing in question (the book/musical, etc)

            -they are in radio/T.V./newspapers/academies 

i.e.  if an unknown writer has some phd papers written on him, it advances his proximity to the cannon 

3. Nobel prize for Literature

 

-Cannon is not always inherently obvious. In other prizes, such as the Oscars, which is given by the industry

      àin Israel (literature prize) is gov’t based 

-We use cannon to judge what is higher (demo) vs. public (lower) culture, and compare it (that cultural wealth) to another

Altucer

-Marxist

-discussed the gov’t as an apparatus to keep existing status quo 

-Schools/media contribute to social reproduction. The relationship b/w groups are upkept by gov’t, which give legitimization for culture of 1 group as opposed to the culture of another group. Therefore, gov’t id involved in cultural wealth (such as declaring school programs, certain rights for specific people and not others –i.e. in Israel, only the left get radio licenses)

Question

What happens when there is a clear/absolute correlation b/w hegemonial (upper) class (publishers of higher symbols) and public power?

Answer

Totalitarian state

-where only the people w/ authority have the right to make symbols.

      àauthority given by gov’t

Differentiation

Plural state

-a state w/ diff. groups 

Pluralistic state

A state which tries to give social reproduction freedom to all subcultures (i.e. democracy)

High culture

-symbol accepted by cultural authority 

Internet: a way to easily publish lower cultural symbols

-some sites are made by higher society for lower culture to interact w/, i.e. yahoo.com 

To achieve cultural hegemony

1. Destroy whoever doesn’t agree w/ you
2. To try to convince
3. Education/socialization of next generation
4. Control cultural wealth/symbols

Example of controlling of cultural wealth/symbols

Zionism succeeded w/ Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, who updated the language (cultural wealth/symbol), which changed the way people thought 

àcalled counter-culture: a group which has an alternative culture which it wants to impose on all.

Jan 10 –tutorial

Ayalon

Sexual orientation –based on socialization -i.e. children’s books

      àit affects out life-choices 

Gofman

‘Total institution’

-a physical place that affects all areas of life

-also called total agency/organization 

Affects:

1. Differentiation b/w staff/dwellers
2. Re-socialization from the beginning
3. Influences all areas of life: work/leisure/stress –detachment from rest of world

Examples

Jail

Hospital

Yeshiva 

-there is a range of how inclusive the totalitarian institution is

      ài.e. jail is more totalitarian than hospital 

-some of those institutions are optional (i.e. Yeshiva) –doesn’t have to be compulsory (i.e. jail) 

-in the totalitarian institution, all outside status is irrelevant

      -outside identification is altered/negated

            ài.e. army –outside statue is irrelevant to the job you are going to do 

-it is rare to have a situation where dwellers b/c staff.

      -exception: army 

• Staff: commanders
• Dwellers: regular soldiers

 

Gofman: those institutions are too detached from society!

      àbased on that observation, jails try to rehabilitate (‘correction facility’) 

Class, Jan. 10, 2001

Way to deal w/ hegemonial society:

1. Counter-culture
2. Usurpation of symbolism

Usurpation of symbolism

-In case of hegemonic society, the minority group can take dominant group’s symbols and make them their own 

Example:

Sharon is using signs using term ‘peace’, which is a L. wing symbol 

Nietze: ‘when hegemony in power, love your luck’ 

àwe don’t dictate our luck: luck dictates what status/society we’re born into

      àtherefore, you might as well take part in society

Language

-basic/central symbolic system

-cultural product 

-we think in some sort of symbols, usually language

      àour thinking is based on speech

            àwe need it to perceive reality. 

-therefore, there is no such thing as objective reality

      àeach person perceives everything slightly differently

Objective reality

A reality not dependant on the person’s perceptions 

-for us, whatever doesn’t have a name doesn’t really exist in our reality 

Reality inter-subjective: the interactions of perception 

i.e. ‘it was magical’

Magical: is a subjective term tat means slightly different things to diff. people 

-explaining the lunar eclipse is by ‘earth blocking the sunrays from the moon.’ Or ‘a dragon ate the moon’ 

àwe explain things that way. Each culture explains the phenomenon a diff way –‘inter-subjective’ 

-the more terms that enter our vocabulary )through science/culture), the more cultural subjective perceptions that come up and influence our culturization (cultural symbols)

àlinguistics is one of the biggest influence on society 

Steiner:  humans work on a linguistics symbols level

-we think in a binomial way

• 2 extremes w/o middle
• Yes/no
• Man/woman
• Black/white

Discourse Analysis

-the analysis of how people speak 

i.e. Alias àtries to understand ‘western man’

Conclusion

Man’s tendency: distancing from nature

• Development of superego
• Development of shame/’modesty’

àall of which are culture symbols 

-we try to avoid the different:

• in Israel: we try to avoid the sfaradim/Arabs

 

Discourse analysis: how we symbolize/characterize a concept, usually linguistics. 

-one way to study discourse analysis: to see the trend over history. 

 

2 opinions

1. Language is assigned to represent world
2. Desusire: world is set up by language, and not vise versa

 

-->see notes handout

Desusire

• world as set up by language, as well as social structure
• Relationship b/w symbol and object is through practical use: history/culture

 

= ‘discourse’ =agreed upon symbols which represents the object within a discussion

Example

‘moon’ is represents in 3 different ways in:

• Astronomy
• Astrology
• Galileo-ian

 

-each field use this same object for different symbols 

But: our society: keeps on creating new terms.

i.e.

• Hebrew: 1 or 2 words for snow
• Eskimo: many

 

-we extend the symbol world

      -->yet those symbols also shape us! 

-Sociologists not only interested in hisotrt/connotation of a specific word, but also the words which Don’t exist in a certain language

      -->i.e. some tribes don’t have word for time

      -->i.e. no word in Russian/Arabic for privacy 

 

-social changes could be seen in the language

->language =biggest distinction of culture 

-through words, we can understand the social ‘mood’ 

i.e. decline in teacher’s status in Israel society is seen in the language

-now, they ar called ‘education  workers’ and not ‘morim’  

i.e.-nurses: ‘Ahayot Rachmaniyot’

-->then ‘rachmaniyor’ dropped.

-->today, called helping workers (‘ovdei siyud’) 

We describe things in cultural themes

Example

1. Israel: slangs/phrasings have a war theme
2. America: sports theme

 

-we use terms to neutralize something into our culture

-->language reflect and create the social reality of a society 

(-->therefore, you can’t translate from 1 language to the next) 

Examples

1. Christians translated ‘pri Etz hadat’ as Apple
2. ‘Jihad’ –understood different connotation in Israeli/Arabic culture

 

Vichtenstein: ‘The limits of my world is the limit of my language’ 

Suggestion: changes in language can be used to change a certain social reality

      -totalitarian/pluralistic gov’t both use it. 

i.e. ‘politically correct’

-if we change the degrading terms/phrases against some groups, the discrimination will be reduced/eliminated 

-eventually, got radicalized:

      -when people tried to change canon -->it made a lot of noise and got opposition. 

      -->can’t change history/culture through language

Distance/space

-we need to divide space/distance into units

-i.e. beduins and Israelis split space/time into different units 

Spatial difference in cultures:

-i.e. when we feel spacious/clustered 

->concept of time/space changes w/ culture/time

Examples in Israel

1. Less and less balconies
2. Lineups

àreally has to do w/ other factors such as a sense of justice

ài.e. that someone else might take my spot!?!

-people have an easier time when they know H. Long they have to wait in line (sense of time) 

Lineups also evoke a sense of equality:

• Whether a line:

1. a single line that splits into the various counters

2. several lines, each leading to a counter

 

#1 – good for banks àdisparity in service time/individual needs

#2 – better for MacDonald’s – relatively short service-time/roughly equal time length

Mirrors in Elevators

1. Keep people occupied

      àno sense of boredom/time

2. Larger sense of space

 

àeffects sense of time/space

[-both are also true for see-through elevators]

America

Engages in random small-talk w/ total stranger àthen, connection is disconnected

      àUsually in public places

Israeli

Bonders better, though slower to develop a relationship

Clockhorn

-Comparative culture study (similar to Hall)

àdeals w/ values 

• to see whether values are a result of surroundings/environment or b/c of history of the group, independent of time/place

 

Value – an act we give weight to 

Upper-class values –make the distinction b/w themselves and lower-class 

 

Clockhorn:

Are values universal or specific to a specific group? 

Study:

She took 5 universal value issues

àCompared the various cultures’ solution to each issue.

Values issues

1. Nature of Man
2. Relationship w/ nature
3. Relationship w/ time
4. The valued personality
5. The dominant way to deal w/ others

 

-she thought that the universal problems/universal ‘solutions’ have limited ranges

àthere are only so many answers you could give:

      àcan’t go between extremes.

Range of answers to Values issues

1. Man ranges from good to evil (range can’t go beyond those 2 limits)

 

2. Man is either beyond, equal or below nature

-Modernity: man=beyond nature àmanipulate nature à‘progress’

-Green-peace: man = nature 

3. Valued time period: Past/present/future

-i.e. Jews have an element of past (and some of future) 

4. Experiential vs. action based personality

 

5. Relationship towards other people

-linearàlateralàindividualistic

      Linear

      -based on linear statue

      àwho’s son is he?

      àfamily times 

      Lateral

      -according to associated group

            àthough you can arbitrarily associate w/ that group

      ài.e. political party/religion 

      Individualistic

-each person, based on pure skill, regardless of family background/race/color 

-Cultures generally aren’t in an extreme of those 5 criteria, but tend to lean towards 1 side

Israeli society’s profile

1. People – generally good
2. Focus: on future ‘for our kids/our future’
3. We might in effect be experiential, but what we think (value) is action (despite the fact that we might not do it
5. We value equality [the in practice, we might not upkeep it]

 

-This profile helps us somewhat compare ourselves to:

1. Other cultures
2. non-dominant cultures within Israeli society

 

Note:

The above deals w/ dominant and not secondary values

àthe answers that were not given at any time in a culture remain the secondary values 

• The Secondary values/opinions associated w/ minority group =subculture
• Since they do try to b/c mainstream, they are a counterculture

 

Norms:

Folkways:

-Weak sanctions against breaking them 

Mores:

Values àmoral issues

      àstrong sanctions 

Laws:

1. Precedents
2. Written laws

àwell defines sanctions

àsometimes weak/sometimes strong 

Tutorial, Jan 24, 2001

Friendship to a group other than the normative one -->this group teaches toy to act differently than general (normative) society, but to conform to this subculture 

Gofman

Symbolic interaction

‘Dramaturgical’

‘The world is a stage – and everyone is an actor in it’

-->people in the same location interact symbolically

-->people never interact individualistically but rather is societal ways 

-->people change roles within different ‘stage’  situations that you are it, 

Status – person’s place in society/situation

-a system of rights/obligations that define my role

      -->everyone has a whole range of statuses 

      Example: one person might be:

• Woman
• Driver
• Daughter
• Teacher
• Aunt
• Friend

 

   -->some affect daily life more: being a woman – more than being a driver 

Role: i.e. of student:

• show up to class
• H.W.
• Exam

 

Co-rolemate: one who is directly/indirectly related status/function/job

      -->i.e. the tutorial teacher is directly/indirectly linked

Conflict of status

-i.e. if I have a child in the classroom I am teaching

-->I am not sure whether I should act as a parent or as a teacher

Class, Jan 24, 2001

Society makes us internalize the values that are hidden in its symbols 

I.e. gender terminology

–male terms always hint at their superiority --> ‘master’

-sexual terms always refer males to act violently towards women 

-->reflected  in family violence towards women 

-->socialization leads to a social order

-->functionalistic theory explains the connection b/w  terminology/socialization and acts

Over-socialized conception of society

-an article criticizing the too much emphasis placed on socialization

-->Marxist -->conflict theory is also present in this phenomenon!

Social control

->dictate us to behave within social norms 

Examples:

-Consciousness

-Social sanctions 

Agents of social control include:

-Family

-Police 

Norms – a range of actions

      -->beyond those actions, sanctions

      -->conformity to those actions = prize 

Too much conformitism

-sometime, an extraneous conformitism to the norms: you loose the end to the mean of the action

Kinds of social control

Physical prize/sanction

Prize: kiss

Sanctions: death sentence 

Economic sanctions:

Sanctions: fines

Social sanctions

-laughing/joking

-curses

-excommunication

-gossip (as seen in Amos’ article) 

-we are in an infinite system of circular social controls

ài.e. circle within a circle within a circle, etc.

Simplified example

Stateàreligionàfriendsàfamilyàconsciousness 

Note: Sometimes, they oppose each other àreligion and state

Fakov

-fakov teaches us that discourse is also a social control

àbut it also makes the social controllers

      ài.e. when we judge others 

-some people try to escape a system, such as when converting/immigrating 

Social control: tries to make us avoid variance  

Variance: the way that society deals w/ someone who ahs already done something non-normative 

According to symbolic interaction theory:

Variance is not so much studies in relationship to norms but how much society sees your act as a variance to the norm 

Example

-a kid steals an apple

-a Director ‘breached social conduct’ by stealing millions

Kay Erikson

Important: boundary-maintaining community

-our boundaries define which kinds of community we are àform 

First Formal agent: things like police/family

      àguard boundaries 

-There is a conflict b/w those those who want to increase or maintsin boundaries

àthis conflict is spread through gossip/media 

 
 
 
 
 

.

 
 

-Ask the Questions 

Institution vs. Norm

Marriage = institution àrepeated

àNorm – the way we did the institution –rabbinate/Cyprus/etc. 

Bar-Yosef

Changes in 2 related/important institutions: marriage/family

-divorce/single parents/common law/adoption 

àmight lead to conflict of roles

      ài.e. if adopted kid finds real parents 

#36

Rivud (social classes) –saviyon?

-Social rank occurs when we place people on the social class pyramid based on criteria we give value to.

àin western society: $ is an important criteria

-religious society in Israel: knowledge

-communism: political power 

How do people go up in status? 

• Vacuum: another group on top moved up àso my group fills the vaccum
• One group went to the bottom\, so everyone else moves up

 

ànew group is always on the bottom of social ranking 

Distinctions

Cultural wealth – rep. our status in society

      àupper groups distinguishes itself from the lower class; since the lower class tries to mimic it 

-i.e. as more people get high-school diploma, BA took on the value that highschool diploma used to have.

Structural functionalism

-sees society as a structure – roles/status, where weach unit has a function, all of which work in cooperation/harmony (vs. conflict functionalism)