What is Culture?
- Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviours, objects, and other characteristics
common to the members of a particular group or society
- Marshall - culture is everything in human society which is socially rather than
biologically transmitted
- Culture is mainly responsible for shaping how societies work in practice
- Giddens - Without culture, we would have no self-consciousness or ‘identity’
which is our distinction between humans and other animals
- Abbott - Language is the most obvious set of symbols through which members
of society share meaning
- Woodward - Identity is partly formed by our agency and partly affected by
societal structures
1
,Types of Culture 1
- Subcultures - Smaller groups of people or break off groups that share their own
norms, customs and values that are distinct from those of the main culture of a
society while still existing within it - ‘culture within a culture’
- High Culture - High quality cultural products of lasting value like opera. Ballet
and literature
- Refers to the fact that it is accessed by educated elite or the upper class
- Low Culture - Is the popular culture with mass appeal, deemed to be low
quality and enjoyed by the masses
- Football, soap operas, popular TV and popular cinema
- Popular Culture - Refers to the traditions and material culture of a particular
society and is a less derogatory term for mass or low culture
- Music, art, literature, fashion, fance, film, cyberculture, television and radio
- Popular culture was first used to distinguish between itself and official
culture (the culture of the state and governing classes)
- Often regarded to be more superficial and a lesser type of artistic
expression
- Storey - Definitions of Popular Culture
2
, Storey - Definitions of Popular Culture
3
- Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviours, objects, and other characteristics
common to the members of a particular group or society
- Marshall - culture is everything in human society which is socially rather than
biologically transmitted
- Culture is mainly responsible for shaping how societies work in practice
- Giddens - Without culture, we would have no self-consciousness or ‘identity’
which is our distinction between humans and other animals
- Abbott - Language is the most obvious set of symbols through which members
of society share meaning
- Woodward - Identity is partly formed by our agency and partly affected by
societal structures
1
,Types of Culture 1
- Subcultures - Smaller groups of people or break off groups that share their own
norms, customs and values that are distinct from those of the main culture of a
society while still existing within it - ‘culture within a culture’
- High Culture - High quality cultural products of lasting value like opera. Ballet
and literature
- Refers to the fact that it is accessed by educated elite or the upper class
- Low Culture - Is the popular culture with mass appeal, deemed to be low
quality and enjoyed by the masses
- Football, soap operas, popular TV and popular cinema
- Popular Culture - Refers to the traditions and material culture of a particular
society and is a less derogatory term for mass or low culture
- Music, art, literature, fashion, fance, film, cyberculture, television and radio
- Popular culture was first used to distinguish between itself and official
culture (the culture of the state and governing classes)
- Often regarded to be more superficial and a lesser type of artistic
expression
- Storey - Definitions of Popular Culture
2
, Storey - Definitions of Popular Culture
3
