Class Culture

Examples of Class Culture in the following topics:

• Social Class

  • Neighborhood composition is one way in which individuals learn the culture of their own class.
  • One's neighborhood often determines where individuals go to school, which recreational facilities they use, and where they attend religious services (for example), so neighborhood composition can teach class culture and reinforce distinctions between classes.
  • Sociologists studying class distinctions since the 1970s have found that social classes each have unique cultural traits.
  • Due to class mobility, in some cases individuals may also acculturate to the culture of another class when ascending or descending in the social order.
  • Nonetheless, the impact of class culture on delineating a social hierarchy is significant.

• The Working Class

  • Secretaries, farmers, and hair stylists may all be considered members of the working class.
  • Since many members of the working class, as defined by academic models, are often identified in the vernacular as being middle class, there is considerable ambiguity over the term's meaning.
  • In the class models devised by sociologists, the working class comprises between 30 percent and 35 percent of the population, roughly the same percentage as the lower middle class.
  • Due to differences between middle and working-class cultures, working-class college students may face "culture shock" upon entering the post-secondary education system, with its "middle class" culture.
  • Explain how differences in class culture may affect working-class students who enter the post-secondary education system

• Social Class in the U.S.

  • When an elite politician enters a working class social scene, their apparent unfamiliarity can be seen as evidence of disparate class cultures.
  • Sociologists studying class distinctions since the 1970s have found that social classes each have unique cultural traits.
  • The phenomenon, referred to as class culture, has been shown to have a strong influence on the mundane lives of people.
  • Due to class mobility, in some cases, individuals may also acculturate to the culture of another class when ascending or descending in the social order.
  • Nonetheless, the impact of class culture on the social hierarchy is significant.

• The Middle Class

  • The middle class consists of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy, which varies between cultures.
  • The middle class is a category of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy, though common measures of what constitutes middle class vary significantly between cultures.
  • However, the following factors are often ascribed in modern usage to someone in the middle class: having a college education; holding professional qualifications, including academics, lawyers, engineers, and doctors; a belief in bourgeoisvalues, such as high rates of home ownership and secure jobs; a particular lifestyle; and the identification culturally with mainstream popular culture (particularly in the United States).
  • Within the United States, the broader middle class is often described as divided into the upper-middle class (also called the "professional class") and the lower-middle class.
  • The lower-middle class consists mainly of people in technical and lower-level management positions who work for those in the upper middle class.

• Class Structure in the U.S.

  • Many Americans recognize a simple three-tier model that includes the upper class, the middle class, and the lower or working class.
  • The middle class (40%) is divided into upper-middle class (14%, earning $76,000 or more per year) and the lower-middle class (26%, earning $46,000 to $75,000 per year).
  • Many sociologists dispute the existence of such class mobility and point to the ways in which social class is inherited.
  • For example, a son or daughter of a wealthy individual may carry a higher status and different cultural connotations than a member of the nouveau riche ("new money").
  • Thus social classes form social groups so large that they feature considerable internal diversity and any statement regarding a given social class' culture should be seen as a broad generalization.

• High and Low Culture

  • High culture most commonly refers to the set of cultural products, mainly in the arts, held in the highest esteem by a culture.
  • Gellner's concept of a high culture extended beyond the arts; he used it to distinguish between different cultures (rather than within a culture), contrasting high cultures with simpler, agrarian low cultures.
  • Pierre Bourdieu, on the other hand, used a much broader, class-based, definition of high culture or "taste", which includes etiquette, appreciation of fine food and wine, and even military service, but also references different social codes supposedly observed in the dominant class, and that are not accessible to the lower classes.
  • Traditionally the term has been synonymous with low culture, denoting the education and general "culturedness" (or lack thereof) of the lower classes, as opposed to the "official culture" and higher education emanated by the dominant classes.
  • Discuss the roles of both high culture and popular culture within society

• Defining Culture

  • Culture has evolved drastically as a term and a concept since inception.
  • With this evolution and malleability of culture as a modern idea in mind, it is important to explore the various aspects of culture in society today.
  • As culture is such a central component of human identity, the recognition of the role that culture plays in our daily lives is a critical context which we must be consistently aware:
  • As cultures continue to interact and cross paths with one another, understanding one another via culture minimizes cultural friction while maximizing on the potential synergies inherent in diversity.
  • Outline the various perspectives on the definition and aspects of culture.

• Theories of Culture

  • This model is of particular use in understanding the role of culture in sociological research because it presents two axes for understanding culture: one ranging from objective (society) to subjective (culture and cultural interpretation); the other ranging from the macro-level (norms) to the micro-level (individual level beliefs).
  • If used for understanding a specific cultural phenomenon, like the displaying of abstract art, this model depicts how cultural norms can influence individual behavior.
  • This is, in fact, part of what David Halle finds: while there are certainly cultural differences based on class, they are not unique to class.
  • Displayers of abstract art tend not only to belong to the upper-class, but also are employed in art-production occupations.
  • According to Collins, cultural notions of race, class, gender, and sexuality may be used to explain and justify societal level patterns of oppression and privilege by allowing social beings to believe existing inequalities simply reflect the way things have always been.

• Class

  • According to the class social theorist Karl Marx, class is a combination of objective and subjective factors.
  • Class consciousness is not simply an awareness of one's own class interest but is also a set of shared views regarding how society should be organized legally, culturally, socially and politically.
  • The upper class is the social class composed of those who are wealthy, well-born, or both.
  • Class mobility refers to movement from one class status to another--either upward or downward.
  • Compare and contrast Marx's understanding of 'class' with Weber's class model

• Cultural Sociology: Researching Culture

  • How do sociologists study culture?
  • One approach to studying culture falls under the label 'cultural sociology', which combines the study of culture with cultural understandings of phenomena.
  • Not surprisingly, cultural conflict is an optimal scenario for the exploration of culture and cultural interaction.
  • Additionally, Anderson is interested in how individuals in these neighborhoods negotiate interpersonal interactions, especially when individuals from the Village (middle to upper-middle class and predominantly white) are forced to interact with members of the Northton area (lower class and poor blacks).
  • First, he found a cultural border that presented cultural conflict.