welcome to this tutor to you Introduction to Sociology video looking at culture sociologists discuss culture in a variety of different contexts so understanding how culture shapes human behavior is important when studying sociology but what is culture the sociological definition of culture refers to the way of life of a particular group furthermore it can be seen as being part of an individual's identity who they are how they act and how they think culture is what shapes the norms and values of social groups and members of different social groups will often share similar cultural norms and values these cultural norms and values can be shaped by many different social factors such as social class geographical locality or belief in a common religion culture quite simply poor is the way we live as a consequence everybody in society experiences culture but often in different ways um when discussing culture sociologists examine many different aspects of everyday lives to try and understand it one important aspect of culture is language whether a Common Language such as English Spanish Arabic or Urdu or regionalized dialogues this includes accents and idioms forms of expression that are only understood by those in the know it can also extend to signs and symbols such as abbreviations colloquialisms or slang and even emojis and memes a second aspect of culture is Cuisine and this may be more identifiable than other aspects of culture common foods and Customs often seen as being part of a culture although in contemporary Society many types of food that have been adopted as part of a global food culture for example Chinese food Indian Thai Mexican and Arabic food is commonly eaten in the UK despite traditional British food being seen as fish and chips or Sunday roast clothing and forms of dress can be another identifier of culture as can the music and other forms of art with different cultures embrace different celebrations and rituals can also form part of an individual's culture and while the UK may be seen as a secular society that is non-religious many different cultures will identify with a specific form of beliefs each of these factors represents the ways in which people live and how they behave in wider Society whether this is part of the mainstream cultural Society or a reflection of a smaller group within it there are many different types of culture that sociologists discuss the most common form of culture is referred to when people discuss culture is mainstream or popular culture this is the way of life that the majority of the population and often when discussing society's norms and values its mainstream culture they're referring to it's often reflected in the fashions that people wear the trends in film food and music that are most popular and the language spoken by the majority of the population in contrast folk culture is largely regionalized and reflects more traditional aspects of culture before people move to cities and towns for example Morris dancing folk music Irish dancing and the Highland Games are all aspects of different folk cultures across the UK and Ireland this is more evident in music and the Arts but it can also extend to local holidays and celebrations Global culture refers to the influence of globalization on everyday life The increased diversity in society that has led to the development of a global culture one has adopted aspects of cultures from around the world into a single Global culture examples of this can be seen in the foods that we eat art literature and film and how these are becoming more similar across the world although some sociologists would suggest that this is a spread of Western culture rather than a true Melting Pot of cultures other types of culture that are often discussed on sociology courses are high and low culture High culture often reflects the tastes and attitudes of those in the highest status positions in society the middle and upper classes and is assumed to be more sophisticated and complex and therefore has higher value for example theater opera ballet and classical music in contrast low culture is seen as being the culture of the working classes and has a lower value in the eyes of many largely middle class commentators soap operas Sports and electronic gaming are seen as simplified and not adding intellectual value some sociologists would suggest that this is a form of cultural elitism looking down upon the tastes and attitudes of the working class and this highlights one of the problems sociologists have when identifying and defining different cultures finally while the majority of Society adopt mainstream or Global cultures there are groups within society that reject or replace the cultural norms and bodies of society with alternative ones these groups are subcultures adopt their own norms and values and this is often seen through music fashion film and literature for example musical subcultures such as Goths punks ravers mods and Rockers all of these groups have adopted their own norms and values independent from mainstream Society so how do different sociological perspectives view culture functionalism being a consensus Theory argues that society's culture is a reflection of the norms and values of those within it they suggest that the majority of society agree with the norms and values that the society holds what they call a value consensus this means that the majority accept and conform to a similar way of living those that don't accept the value consensus will either reject or replace these social norms and values and this leads to the formation of subcultures these groups within society that have their own norms and values that are independent from mainstream culture conflict theories reject the idea that society's culture is a reflection of the norms and values of the majority and instead suggest that social institutions controlled by the most powerful groups in society impose cultural norms and values upon people Marxist suggests that society's culture is a reflection of the norms and values of the elite what they call hegemonic norms and values these norms and values of those are the capitalist classes making people consume Goods which increases the wealth of the bourgeoisie feminists on the other hand suggest that society's culture is male dominated or patriarchal and that society's culture largely reflects the interests of men over those of women social action theories such as interactionism take a differing viewpoint on culture they argue that culture is a social construction that it is made by people and therefore is based upon how people interpret the different science symbols language and behaviors that exist in society other sociologists such as post-modernists suggest there is no longer a dominant culture in society that increased diversity and globalization of society have meant that individuals all have their own understanding of culture and that this is a personal reflection of who they are and their identity rather than being represented of everybody in society they believe that there is not one culture but rather that society's cultures become fragmented or broken up and individuals choose their own norms and values based upon their life experiences defining culture can be problematic for sociologists because individuals will place different values on aspects of culture and will each have their own interpretation of what parts of culture are valuable this makes it difficult to have an agreement on social norms and values the value consensus and as a result culture means different things to different people for example whilst one group May value the teachings of a religion others may not another issue with defining culture is that social norms and values change rapidly and this leads to culture developing at a pace that leaves people often confused this is particularly true of Youth cultures that become part of the mainstream culture as these norms and values change rapidly there can be resistance to these from the dominant groups in society finally definitions of culture can vary across different social groups between nations and over time for example alcohol consumption may be seen as part of the cultural norm in the UK but in other cultures this may be prohibited likewise attitudes to child rearing education and family life all differ from one culture to the next making it difficult to Define cultural norms on a universal scale that concludes his chief of the Year Introduction to Sociology video looking at culture thanks for watching