Culture Science II: Sociology

As we said in the previous article, anthropology, as science of human adaptation, is not the only one interested in culture. Sociology does it as well. But is not mainly interested in diversity among different societies, as anthopology does, rather than is interested in diversity within one specific society.

The main focus of sociology is the complex industrial society. Their origins were among philosophers and economists. On it, it has tried to study the difference among people of their own culture and society.

Cultural difference inside the society.

In the begining, sociologist had studied high culture, high knowledge, high arts, high educations and high manners among high class. Many through written culture of elites, specially history, because it was the main source of data. But soon they realized that low class had developed their own culture, a popular culture, non-written, orally, that offered resistence, sense of belonging, but at the same time, conformity with a social system.

For Bajtín, carnaval is a popular culture manifestation that used to  practice "inversion": The king was the joker, the joker was the king. Everyone could play to be whatever they want to be. Is it a pressure relise for social tension?

In other hand, another approach was developed by Frankfurt School, where Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer realized about a new kind of culture, product of social transformations of industrial age. They added to the typical analysis of high culture and popular culture, the concept of mass culture. Produced in the industrial way (newspapers, magazines, cinema, television, radio, discography), their aim was keep mass of people in control and acquiescent. A kind of continuous propaganda to manipulate public opinion, keep them ignorant. But not all Frankfurt thought the same. Benjamin saw it different, he thought mass culture as a new opportunity for a more pluralistic culture.

 Mickey mouse was an analysis object in order to study mass culture: While Adorno said that make mass stupid, Benjamin saw on it a example of a new time, the humankind laughing of technical progress.

Of course this argument and the crossing between popular and mass culture was very interesting, even going outside of sociologist's analysis and talking to others like history and comunication theory.

Sources

Bajtín, M., 1965, Popular culture in middle age and renacensse.

Burke, P., 1978, Popular culture and Modern europe.

Zubieta, Ana María, 2000, Cultura popular y cultura de masas: conceptos, recorridos y polémicas.