SOC 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Dick Hebdige, Cultural Relativism, Symbolic Culture
14 Mar 2014
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It penetrates our lives so deeply that it is taken for granted and provides the lens through which we perceive and evaluate things. It provides implicit instructions that tell us what we ought to do and a moral imperative that defines what we think is right and wrong. 2: coming into contact with a radically different culture produces culture shock, challenging our basic assumptions. It is functional when it creates in-group solidarity: but can be dysfunctional if it leads to discrimination against those who are different (saying they are inferior instead of different) It is important because it is the primary means of communication between people. It allows human experiences to be cumulative; each generation builds on the body of significant experiences that is passed on to it by the previous generation, thus freeing people to move beyond immediate experiences. It allows for a social or shared past (tradition, customs). We are able to discuss past events with others.
