Week 1 – introduction to cultural sociology
Houtman, D. & Achterberg, P. (2016), ‘Quantitative Analysis in Cultural Sociology: Why It Should Be
Done, How It Can Be Done’, in David Inglis and Anna-Mari Almila (eds), Sage Handbook of Cultural
Sociology. London: Sage, pp. 225-236.
- Cultural sociology is a study to show non-cultural sociologists that culture must be taken
seriously because it has a big explanatory potential. Marx and Durkheim try to explain culture
through what is normal and what is abnormal. They use the division of labour for this. Marx
explains it through class conflict and exploitation. Durkheim explains it through a harmony
between labour and capital.
- Cultural sociology refuses to see culture as a soft independent variable. There are two main
concerns: the is almost no thematic variation, and there is a restriction to research methods
(thick description). According to the writers cultural sociologists should go beyond
description and see culture as an independent variable. It is also important to convince other
scientists of the explanatory potential of culture and it is important to hold on to the classic
theories of Marx and Durkheim.
- Cultural sociologists are sceptical for surveys because: the influence of the researcher and
secondly because culture is divided into “objective” variables (social status) but they believe
there are “subjective”. An experiment can be used to study culture, you take two groups with
a different culture and see how they react to different factors (violent videogames).
Experiments are seen as more powerful than ethnographic research.
- Example WW2: there is no decline in class voting like earlier studies showed but there is an
increase in cultural voting. These people vote for leftist parties because they find tolerance
etcetera important. This paper shows how quantitative data is helpful for cultural sociology.
- Cultural sociology is aimed at the study of social reality’s cultural layers of meaning and the
broader social consequences.
Lecture 1:
Sociology: blind spot for culture
- Modernization is mostly explained by economics and technology (dominant).
Common idea of modernity and modernization as:
Social patterns linked to industrialization
Social change initiated by industrialization
- Industrialization is also used to explain modernization.
- Cultural sociology is a correction to the marginalization (weglaten) of culture.
In most studies culture happens because of industrialization and technologic change.
But culture can also determine what people do.
Putting the culture central and find out what effect it has.
Social science positivist legacy:
- Marx and Durkheim: both very focussed on the division of labour.
- In the theory of Marx and Durkheim they completely ignore culture.
Marx: people are exploited. This will lead to conflict and revolution. The conflict is bound
to happen. Marx says a theory is useful even if he is wrong.
Durkheim: division of labour causes harmony. Solidarity because they need each other
(mechanical solidarity). They trust each other. Then came a society with a lot of
, professions, division of labour (organic solidarity). Rising conflicts can be avoided by a
more rational type of organisation. If there is no harmony – that’s pathological.
These are value judgements (judgements not based on facts) disguised as scientific
knowledge.
These theories are not really positivist because they can almost not be invalidated.
They say culture depends on structure.
Cultural turn in sociology:
- Aimed to counter this positivist logic.
- Placing cultural meanings and the understanding of people who are studied central – not
assuming anything about anyone (what you think is good or wrong). What does this guy think
and why?
- Central feature:
Social life can not have any deeper meaning than those of the participants in social life
themselves – cultural sociologists tend to know how people see social life.
Culture as a “hard” variable and not as a “soft” variable.
- Self-restriction in qualitative research methods
If culture is so important it is important to show how this influences their behavior.
Quantitative research methods also useful for cultural sociology.
Weberian cultural sociology:
- Religions define the path to salvation (verlossing) – Catholics and protestants have a different
relation to god and a different way to get to heaven.
- Religion interests define social action – protestant are mostly alone, they don’t know if they
are on the right track. Protestants think they have to use their talents and they have to keep
working. Protestant start working their ass off, they become wealthy and they started
capitalism, because they keep investing. Protestants work because they believe success is a
way to go to heaven.
- This would not have happened with Catholics, they get to heaven through priests etc. They
have a mediation between them and god – priests and bishops.
- Weberian cultural sociology is about motivation – why people do things, taking this seriously.
Examples:
- Stouffer’s American Soldier:
When there are a lot of promotions, first people thought that job satisfaction would be
higher because of this. But the opposite is true because al kind of no no’s will get a
promotion but not you -> less satisfaction. People are comparing themselves a lot to
other colleagues.
- Law-abiding behavior (Mascini):
The laws are not the most important, the rules people find important are.
- Testing the Lynn-White theses (Van Bohemen):
There are as much Christians with concerns for the environment as Christians who have
no concerns. People also find passing the world on to the next generation important.
Dominion and stewardship cancel each other out.
Class and cultural voting:
- Decline in class voting. If you don’t consider the cultural aspect in voting there is no effect.
, Durkheimian cultural sociology:
- Culture structuring a groups thinking and cognition, how you see things.
- It is about the knowledge and how people see the social reality. It’s about group-think. Social
facts.
- Ingrained feelings of what is good and what is bad.
- Moral judgement in your way at looking at the world – we know that a naked guy in a bar is
not good.
- Culture structuring a groups thinking and cognition.
- Self-fulfilling prophecies work the same way.
Cultural-experimental sociological research:
- Culture = independent variable, not only a dependent variable.
- Stimulus -> response
Experiments often not replicable.
- Stimulus -> culture -> response
People respond differently according to their culture they use to evaluate the situation
with.
- Most research is focused on finding effects of stimuli, not finding explanations for why stimuli
work. Also most research is focused on the strength of the stimuli, not on the cultural
sensitivity of participants. And most research is focused on finding interactions (gender) to
see why stimuli don’t work.
- Cultural-experimental – in this kind of experiment the researchers don’t only focus on the
response but also on the culture.
Consequences for experimental research:
- Heinrich et al. explains that an experimental group is not replicable to the bigger population.
Because the group in the experiment are all the same (university students). This replication
crisis is not bad, we just need to do more work to get to know why the answers of people
differ so much.
Protestantism and capitalism:
- Traditionalism and innovation
Respect for the past.
Fear of divine consequences.
One need a disenchanted and individualized (if you don’t like this religion, start a new
one) religion aka Calvinism.
Utilitarian individualism:
- Pursuing your own personal interest, that will eventually help the other people in society.
Anti-institutionalism:
- There is a abstract and rationalized institution.
- Technocratic society.
- There is alienation
This leads to a counter movement – free creative, autonomous individuals.
Houtman, D. & Achterberg, P. (2016), ‘Quantitative Analysis in Cultural Sociology: Why It Should Be
Done, How It Can Be Done’, in David Inglis and Anna-Mari Almila (eds), Sage Handbook of Cultural
Sociology. London: Sage, pp. 225-236.
- Cultural sociology is a study to show non-cultural sociologists that culture must be taken
seriously because it has a big explanatory potential. Marx and Durkheim try to explain culture
through what is normal and what is abnormal. They use the division of labour for this. Marx
explains it through class conflict and exploitation. Durkheim explains it through a harmony
between labour and capital.
- Cultural sociology refuses to see culture as a soft independent variable. There are two main
concerns: the is almost no thematic variation, and there is a restriction to research methods
(thick description). According to the writers cultural sociologists should go beyond
description and see culture as an independent variable. It is also important to convince other
scientists of the explanatory potential of culture and it is important to hold on to the classic
theories of Marx and Durkheim.
- Cultural sociologists are sceptical for surveys because: the influence of the researcher and
secondly because culture is divided into “objective” variables (social status) but they believe
there are “subjective”. An experiment can be used to study culture, you take two groups with
a different culture and see how they react to different factors (violent videogames).
Experiments are seen as more powerful than ethnographic research.
- Example WW2: there is no decline in class voting like earlier studies showed but there is an
increase in cultural voting. These people vote for leftist parties because they find tolerance
etcetera important. This paper shows how quantitative data is helpful for cultural sociology.
- Cultural sociology is aimed at the study of social reality’s cultural layers of meaning and the
broader social consequences.
Lecture 1:
Sociology: blind spot for culture
- Modernization is mostly explained by economics and technology (dominant).
Common idea of modernity and modernization as:
Social patterns linked to industrialization
Social change initiated by industrialization
- Industrialization is also used to explain modernization.
- Cultural sociology is a correction to the marginalization (weglaten) of culture.
In most studies culture happens because of industrialization and technologic change.
But culture can also determine what people do.
Putting the culture central and find out what effect it has.
Social science positivist legacy:
- Marx and Durkheim: both very focussed on the division of labour.
- In the theory of Marx and Durkheim they completely ignore culture.
Marx: people are exploited. This will lead to conflict and revolution. The conflict is bound
to happen. Marx says a theory is useful even if he is wrong.
Durkheim: division of labour causes harmony. Solidarity because they need each other
(mechanical solidarity). They trust each other. Then came a society with a lot of
, professions, division of labour (organic solidarity). Rising conflicts can be avoided by a
more rational type of organisation. If there is no harmony – that’s pathological.
These are value judgements (judgements not based on facts) disguised as scientific
knowledge.
These theories are not really positivist because they can almost not be invalidated.
They say culture depends on structure.
Cultural turn in sociology:
- Aimed to counter this positivist logic.
- Placing cultural meanings and the understanding of people who are studied central – not
assuming anything about anyone (what you think is good or wrong). What does this guy think
and why?
- Central feature:
Social life can not have any deeper meaning than those of the participants in social life
themselves – cultural sociologists tend to know how people see social life.
Culture as a “hard” variable and not as a “soft” variable.
- Self-restriction in qualitative research methods
If culture is so important it is important to show how this influences their behavior.
Quantitative research methods also useful for cultural sociology.
Weberian cultural sociology:
- Religions define the path to salvation (verlossing) – Catholics and protestants have a different
relation to god and a different way to get to heaven.
- Religion interests define social action – protestant are mostly alone, they don’t know if they
are on the right track. Protestants think they have to use their talents and they have to keep
working. Protestant start working their ass off, they become wealthy and they started
capitalism, because they keep investing. Protestants work because they believe success is a
way to go to heaven.
- This would not have happened with Catholics, they get to heaven through priests etc. They
have a mediation between them and god – priests and bishops.
- Weberian cultural sociology is about motivation – why people do things, taking this seriously.
Examples:
- Stouffer’s American Soldier:
When there are a lot of promotions, first people thought that job satisfaction would be
higher because of this. But the opposite is true because al kind of no no’s will get a
promotion but not you -> less satisfaction. People are comparing themselves a lot to
other colleagues.
- Law-abiding behavior (Mascini):
The laws are not the most important, the rules people find important are.
- Testing the Lynn-White theses (Van Bohemen):
There are as much Christians with concerns for the environment as Christians who have
no concerns. People also find passing the world on to the next generation important.
Dominion and stewardship cancel each other out.
Class and cultural voting:
- Decline in class voting. If you don’t consider the cultural aspect in voting there is no effect.
, Durkheimian cultural sociology:
- Culture structuring a groups thinking and cognition, how you see things.
- It is about the knowledge and how people see the social reality. It’s about group-think. Social
facts.
- Ingrained feelings of what is good and what is bad.
- Moral judgement in your way at looking at the world – we know that a naked guy in a bar is
not good.
- Culture structuring a groups thinking and cognition.
- Self-fulfilling prophecies work the same way.
Cultural-experimental sociological research:
- Culture = independent variable, not only a dependent variable.
- Stimulus -> response
Experiments often not replicable.
- Stimulus -> culture -> response
People respond differently according to their culture they use to evaluate the situation
with.
- Most research is focused on finding effects of stimuli, not finding explanations for why stimuli
work. Also most research is focused on the strength of the stimuli, not on the cultural
sensitivity of participants. And most research is focused on finding interactions (gender) to
see why stimuli don’t work.
- Cultural-experimental – in this kind of experiment the researchers don’t only focus on the
response but also on the culture.
Consequences for experimental research:
- Heinrich et al. explains that an experimental group is not replicable to the bigger population.
Because the group in the experiment are all the same (university students). This replication
crisis is not bad, we just need to do more work to get to know why the answers of people
differ so much.
Protestantism and capitalism:
- Traditionalism and innovation
Respect for the past.
Fear of divine consequences.
One need a disenchanted and individualized (if you don’t like this religion, start a new
one) religion aka Calvinism.
Utilitarian individualism:
- Pursuing your own personal interest, that will eventually help the other people in society.
Anti-institutionalism:
- There is a abstract and rationalized institution.
- Technocratic society.
- There is alienation
This leads to a counter movement – free creative, autonomous individuals.
