Culture and Identity_1

Culture and Identity_1

1. Subcultures

   • -Culture within a culture, where a group develops specific norms and values different to those of mainstream culture.
     • -Cohen (1955) - developed an explanation of delinquent youth subcultures. He tried to explain why young working-class men were more likely to commit crime than other social classes. He claimed that these men were the group who statistically are least likely to succeed in education and get a well-paid job as a result, they were unable to get the status to expect that they would be regarded as successful.
       • -James Patrick (1973) - "a Glasgow gang observed". In the late 1950's James Patrick joined a violent Glaswegian gang for 4 months. One incident he observed demonstrated Cohen's theory well. One day the gang went to a public library and made lots of noise, they then set a waste bin on fire before running away.

2. High and Low Culture

   • -The Elite is the dominant group within a larger society. The Elite enjoy high status and priveledge within society.
   • -Cultural capital was suggested by BOURDIEU and refers to the use of language, confidence and social skills.
     • -The Middle Class are seen as having more cultural capital than the working class.

3. Popular Culture

   • -A less value-laden than the term 'mass culture', but both concepts are used to describe cultural forms enjoyed by many people.

4. Mass Culture

   • -The term is often used in the same way as low culture, it is a negative way to describe the cultural tastes of the working class.

5. Through the socialisation process we learn VALUES, NORMS and MORES.

   • -A norm is a guideline for behaviour in a specific social setting.
   • -A value is a belief about what is good and bad
   • -A More is an attitude towards certain social behaviours that are seen as completely unacceptable, e.g incest.

6. Folk Culture

   • -The group habits or customs of traditional, rural communitites