Cultures and Societies in a Changing World

by Griswold, Wendy

• ISBN13: 9780761930488
• ISBN10: 0761930485
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-12-01
• Publisher: Pine Forge Press

Summary

In the Second Edition of Cultures and Societies in a Changing World, author Wendy Griswold offers a unique sociological perspective on the role culture plays in shaping our social world. By exposing readers to the effects of cultural misunderstandings, cultural conflicts, and cultural ignorance, this book enables students to develop a true appreciation of culture and society in a world that is changing at an accelerating pace.  

Author Biography

Wendy Griswold is currently Professor of Sociology, Comparative Literary Studies, and English at Northwestern University.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
About the Author	xi
Foreword	xiii
Preface	xv
1. Culture and the Cultural Diamond	1	(20)
Two Ways of Looking at Culture	3	(9)
"The Best That Has Been Thought and Known"	4	(4)
"That Complex Whole"	8	(4)
Connections: The Links Between Culture and Society	12	(7)
The Cultural Object	13	(3)
The Cultural Diamond	16	(3)
Summary	19	(1)
Questions for Study and Discussion	19	(1)
Recommended for Further Reading	20	(1)
2. Cultural Meaning	21	(31)
Why Do We Need Meaning?	23	(2)
Culture and Meaning in Reflection Theory	25	(5)
Culture as Mirror	25	(2)
The Greek Background to Reflection Theory	27	(3)
Culture and Meaning in Marxian Sociology	30	(5)
"From Earth to Heaven": The Materialistic Approach to Culture	30	(1)
Historical Materialism	31	(2)
Research Directions from the Marxian Tradition	33	(2)
Culture and Meaning in Functionalist Sociology	35	(4)
Culture and Meaning in Weberian Sociology	39	(5)
The Anxious Protestants and the World They Built	40	(2)
The Cultural Switchman	42	(2)
Meaning Systems or a Tool Kit?	44	(1)
Meaning, Modernity, and the Clash of Cultures	45	(4)
Summary	49	(1)
Questions for Study and Discussion	50	(1)
Recommended for Further Reading	50	(2)
3. Culture as a Social Creation	52	(26)
Durkheim and the Social Production of Culture	54	(6)
The Problem of Modern Social Life	54	(1)
Social Bonds: The Role of Religion	55	(3)
Culture as Collective Representation	58	(2)
The Collective Production of Culture	60	(8)
Symbolic Interactionism	61	(3)
Subcultures	64	(4)
Cultural Innovation and Social Change	68	(7)
Cultural Lags and Leads	69	(2)
Cultural Innovations	71	(4)
Summary	75	(2)
Questions for Study and Discussion	77	(1)
Recommended for Further Reading	77	(1)
4. The Production, Distribution, and Reception of Culture	78	(29)
The Production of Culture	80	(9)
The Cultural Industry System	81	(4)
Cultural Markets	85	(4)
The Production of Ideas	89	(2)
Reception	91	(7)
Audiences and Taste Cultures	92	(3)
Horizons of Expectations	95	(3)
Freedom of Cultural Interpretation: Two Views	98	(7)
Seduction by Mass Culture	100	(2)
Resistance Through Popular Culture	102	(3)
Summary	105	(1)
Questions for Study and Discussion	105	(1)
Recommended for Further Reading	106	(1)
5. The Cultural Construction of Social Problems	107	(21)
Constructing a Collective Identity	109	(5)
Constructing a Social Problem	114	(7)
Making Trouble	116	(1)
From Happening to Event to Social Problem	116	(3)
The Career of a Social Problem	119	(2)
Constructing a Social Movement	121	(4)
Summary	125	(1)
Questions for Study and Discussion	126	(1)
Recommended for Further Reading	127	(1)
6. Culture and Organizations: Getting Things Done in a Multicultural World	128	(25)
Organizational Cultures	131	(10)
Culture and Motivation	131	(4)
Cultures of Solidarity and Ambiguity	135	(6)
Organizations in Cultural Contexts	141	(5)
Working Across Cultures	146	(4)
Summary	150	(1)
Questions for Study and Discussion	151	(1)
Recommended for Further Reading	151	(2)
7. Culture in a Wired World	153	(22)
Cultural Technologies and Cultural Communities	154	(8)
Oral Cultures	155	(1)
The Impact of Literacy	156	(2)
Electronic Media	158	(4)
The Cultural Impact of the Internet	162	(4)
Communities of Meaning in a Global Culture	166	(6)
Postmodernity and Community	167	(3)
Speaking in Tongues	170	(2)
Cultures Without Centers	172	(1)
Questions for Study and Discussion	173	(1)
Recommended for Further Reading	173	(2)
References	175	(9)
Index	184