SOCB58H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-3: Mechanical And Organic Solidarity
Document Summary
Griswold"s chapter for this week discusses the emergence of culture; examining how cultural objects are formed and how their meaning(s) are bestowed upon on them. This chapter also explores the ways in which culture is formed as a collective product from various institutions and members within society. Griswold asserts that the collective production of culture originates from durkheim"s work surrounding religion and his theories on mechanical and organic solidarity. Both mechanical and organic solidarity have their notions within functionalism, where every group within a society share common goal(s) and work together or separately to achieve it. Durkheim"s theories on mechanical and organic solidarity supports the notion that culture, alongside cultural objects, are collective representations of society(ies). These groups need collective representations of themselves to inspire sentiments of harmony and mutual support all while governing their norms, thoughts, practices, beliefs etc. and this is where culture fulfills this need.
