Folk and Popular Culture

Chapter 4 - CULTURE

1. What is Culture?CULTURE: A set of values, views of reality, and codes of behavior held in

common by people who share a distinctive way of life; the sum of all learned behavior

• colere – to cultivate, or till the soil– Middle Ages – “the refinement of crops” (agriculture)– Enlightenment – “the refinement of people” ; the arts (cultured)– Present – “learned behavior of a group people”

• instinct vs. learned behavior / habits vs. customs– instinct – eat to satisfy hunger (habit)– learned behavior – choose recipe, take $ to the store, buy ingredients, cook

food in certain way, sit down to eat, use manners or some code of behavior (custom)

– nature vs. nurture (nurture = culture)• Tabula Rosa – John Locke

– because humans can learn so many things they can learn to do things differently

– the different learned behaviors create different cultures and sub-cultures (cultural divergence in isolated culture hearths)

• Culture is learned in 3 ways– Socialization – the process of learning ones culture from previous

generations – if socialization fails, culture dies– Diffusion – learn culture from new members of society, immigrants – Acculturation and Syncretism – combining of old and new

2. What makes cultures different?– Components of “American” Culture –

2. What makes cultures different?• Components of “American” Culture –

2. What makes cultures different?

• Hierarchy of Cultural components –– Cultural Trait – smallest unit of distinction between

culture; specific characteristics of society; units of learned behavior

– Culture Complex – Cultural Universal – set of related traits (complimentary characteristics)

– Cultural Region – portion of earth’s surface occupied by populations sharing distinctive cultural characteristics; principal unit of study for cultural geographers/anthropologists

– Cultural Realm – larger segment of earth; set of regions showing related complexes and landscapes

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3. Structure of Culture – Three Subsystems

1. Technological Subsystem – Artifacts: material objects; visible objects that a group possesses and leaves fro the future (material culture) (Ch. 4)

– food, clothes, houses, tools, weapons, vehicles, art, music, games– Tangible evidence of human interaction with environment –

cultural landscape; built environment

2. Ideological Subsystem – Mentifacts: values, ideas, beliefs, knowledge, communication, abstract belief systems (non-material culture) (Ch. 5&6)

– Language, religion, mythology, legends, literature, philosophy, folk wisdom (“old-wives tales”)

– Transmitted through the education and socialization process – children taught how to think and communicate within a society

3. Sociological Subsystem – Sociofacts: – expected and accepted forms of interpersonal relations– Sociofacts define the organization of and accepted behavior within a

society – family, church, school, state (government)– material and non-material culture

Key Issue #1 – Where Are Folk and Popular Leisure Activities Distributed?

2 categories of Material Culture:

1. Folk Culture – small, homogeneous groups in isolated, rural areas– Exist much in original forms; little or no change over time– Limited interaction with “outside” cultures– Diffuses mainly by relocation/migration; threatened by

expansion diffusion of popular culture thru interaction and communication (tv and radio)

– Strong resistance to change – celebrate local diversity with festivals

– Minimal impact on environment; stewards of scarce resources and fragile environments

2 categories of Material Culture2. Popular Culture

– Large, heterogeneous societies share habits despite different personal characteristics

– Widespread distribution, greater interaction– Rapid global connections – modern communication and

transportation (radio, tv, computers, internet, Facebook, twitter, instagram)

– Frequently changing trends and fads– Globalization of popular culture threatens survival of folk

cultures – Leads to uniformity (sameness) of cultural landscapes– Less consideration for environment; exploitation of natural

resources for commercial profits