This document discusses different types of culture, including material and non-material culture, subcultures, high culture, popular culture, consumer culture, and global culture. It provides definitions and characteristics of each type of culture, and examines how cultures develop and are influenced by societal structures. Revision cards are also included to highlight key aspects of different cultures.

1. CULTURE
CAN YOU DEFINE IT?

2. Learning objectives
• Evaluate sociological definitions of culture
• Identify the difference between material
culture and non-material culture

3. What are the essential ingredients of a
society’s culture?
• List the important elements of
‘Britishness’
– Material things (physical objects:cars,
fashion, food)
– Non-material things (knowledge, beliefs etc)
• List the important elements of your
culture
• What are the similarities/differences?
• What do all cultures have in common?

4. Sharing, teaching and learning
• The things people value and the usual
way they obey and express these values
gives us the concept of a culture
• Eg british culture:
– A belief that we speak a common language
– A belief in love and the right of the
individual to choose their partner
– A belief that murder is wrong and people
who murder should be punished

5. Material and Non-material distinction
• When is a house not a house?
•Physical artefacts have cultural meanings, a house is not
simply somewhere to live (manifest function)
•Houses have cultural meanings –It means different things to
different people which may or may not be obvious (latent
function)
Answer:
When it’s a home

6. Kidd (2002) Abbott (1998)
The features of culture Language is the most obvious
(language, symbols, history, set of symbols through which
norms and values) influence the members of society share
way members of society live meanings
their lives
Marshall (1998) Giddens (1997)
Culture is all that in human No cultures could exists without
society which is socially rather societies. But equally no
than biologically transmitted societies could exist without
culture, no one could human at
all

7. Dahl (2001)
A collectively held set of Societies develop mechanisms
attributes which is dynamic and for the transmission of cultural
changing over time signs, symbols and meanings
from one generation to the next
Mazrui (1996) Jencks (1993)
There are seven functions of culture: There are four ways to describe
Communication culture:
Perception 1. A state of mind – a ‘quality’
possessed by individuals
Identity
2. Civilization – some cultures are
Value systems seen as more civilized than others
Motivation 3. ‘Collective body of arts and
Stratification intellectual work within any society’

15. Look at the images how many can you
recognise the 5 types of culture
• Subculture
• High culture
• Popular culture
• Consumer culture
• Global culture
•Identify at least 4 characteristics of each type of culture
•Comment on how each type of culture has developed as a response
to the way society is structured
•Create a revision card for each type

16. TYPE OF CULTURE:
DESCRIPTION
CHARACTERISTICS
Examples

17. Subculture
• A subculture is a culture enjoyed by a small group within a society.
• In this sense it is a minority part of a majority culture.
• Subcultures have distinct norms and values which make them a subsection of
society
– Eg youth groups such as emos, goths, religious groups such as scientologists
• Memberships of subcultures changes over time as do the types of subculture
within society. In this sense, subcultures can be seen to reflect the changing
nature of society.

18. High Culture
• High culture is linked with the
elite, upper class in society,
those families and individuals
with an ascribed status
position
• They operate a system of
social closure – not allowing
entry to outsiders
• It is associated with the arts
such as opera, ballet and
classical music, sports such
as polo and Lacrosse

19. Popular culture
• Activities enjoyed and accessed by
the masses.
• Media are largely responsible for
creating popular culture in the
contemporary UK .
• What people buy and use plays a
key role in popular culture.
• It could be argued that popular
culture at times borrows an idea
from high culture and popularises it
making it available to the masses.
– Eg Golf, Vanessa Mae ,
Burberry

20. Consumer culture
• Things we consume and use in
society.
• Based on cultural and economic
factors
• Reflects most of western world.
• Shopping is a leisure pursuit
• Culturally the society portrays a
sense of its identity through the
consumer goods available.
• If the society has a bad economy
then a consumer culture is difficult
• But being in debt is the norm
• Packaging and promotion is big
business!

21. Global Culture
• Globalisation is the process by
which events in one part of the
world come to influence what
happens elsewhere in the world.
• The world has become
increasingly interconnected:
socially politically and
economically.
• Economically through the stock
markets
• Politically world leaders have
interest who they ally themselves
with.
• Socially, trends and fashions in
the large cities spread quickly to
other cities.

22. EXAM FOCUS
• Define culture [3]
• Identify two ways in which material culture
differs from non-material culture [4]
• Explain what is meant by ‘folk’ culture [2]
• Explain the difference between ‘high’ and
‘low’ culture [4]
• Suggest 3 characteristics of the
globalisation of culture [6]
• Describe the different types of cultures [6]

23. Characteristics of POPULAR
CULTURE
• Constantly changing
• Based in large, heterogeneous groups of people
• Based mainly in urban areas
• Material goods mass-produced by machines in factories
• Weaker family structure
• Distinct division of labor with highly specialized
professions and jobs
• Contributions to the spread of popular culture
• Industrialization
• Urbanization
• Rise of formal education
• Resultant increase in leisure time

24. CHARACTERISTICS OF
GLOBAL CULTURE
• Increasing connections between various parts of the
world
• Global availability of cultural products (KFC, McDonalds,
curry)
• Access to diversity of cultural products (food, music,
clothing)
• Global media corporations (Sky, Disney, Apple)
• Internet access (WWW, Facebook, twitter)
• Global advertising campaigns (McDonalds, Pepsi, Nike)
• International tourism

25. Characteristics of SUBCULTURE
• Based around ethnicity, social class or age
• Functionalist perspective
• People select norms and values and lifestyles

26. Characteristics of MASSCULTURE
• Culture that is produced for mass consumption
• Value laden as information is ‘dumbed down’ superficial
and bland (goodies and baddies stereotypes)
• Consumers are seen as passive and easily manipulated
• Consumers lack critical judgement of the society in which
they live
• Ruling class exploit working class as media represent
capitalist system as normal
• create false needs through advertising at same time make
profits

27. Characteristics of HIGH CULTURE
• The tastes or wealthy and educated people (elite)
• The opposite is low culture (mass)
• To understand high culture requires access to a
particular kind of education
• Ruling class seen more intellectual
• Value laden as agencies of socialisation present
some cultural products as more ‘worthy’ than
others
– Opera or Soap opera?