SOC 001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Cultural Lag, Culture Industry, Social Fact

• School: University of Vermont
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 001
• Professor: Thomas E Macias

Document Summary

Mainstream american culture taken as a given- the work ethic"; assimilation. When used in sociology, culture was often very abstract. Cultural turn in sociology: the civil rights movement. Questioned unified nature of american culture: anti-colonialism, era of multiculturalism. Culture industry used by elites to spread ideology through mass media. Culture the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. A socially transmitted toolkit of habits , skills, and styles we used to construct our lives. Material culture = physical or technological aspects of our daily lives. Nonmaterial culture = ways of using objects as well as values, patterns of communication, social organization and government. Culture lag period of maladjustment when nonmaterial culture struggling to adapt to new material conditions. Applies to modern societies where basic necessities have been met. Waste is the basis for status and the economy. Conspicuous consumption an overt display of economic power.