SOC 1300 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Mass Communication, Consumerism, Relate
2 Apr 2019
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Defining culture: a system of meanings and symbols: a shared system of beliefs and knowledge, a set of values, beliefs, and practices, shared forms of communication. Culture as a system of meaning and symbols: symbol: something that communicates an idea while being distinct from the idea itself, red heart = love, exist in specific social contexts. Internet-centered communication is mass self-communication: reaches a global audience, but content is often self-generated and self-directed: the digital divide: the social, economic, and cultural gap between those with effective access to information technology and those without such access. American society: ethnocentrism: an inability to understand or accept cultural practices different from one"s own, cultural relativism: the idea that cultural meanings and practices must be evaluated in their own social contexts, central to the sociological imagination. If there are durable differences in cultural norms between different countries, we would expect to find evidence of them in childhood institutions.
