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Reading: Cultural Change

Cultural Change

As the hipster example illustrates, culture is always evolving. Moreover, new things are added to material culture every day, and they affect nonmaterial culture as well. Cultures change when something new (say, railroads or smartphones) opens up new ways of living and when new ideas enter a culture (say, as a result of travel or globalization).

Innovation: Discovery and Invention

An innovation refers to an object or concept's initial appearance in society-it's innovative because it is markedly new. There are two ways to come across an innovative object or idea: discover it or invent it. Discoveries make known previously unknown but existing aspects of reality. In 1610, when Galileo looked through his telescope and discovered Saturn, the planet was already there, but until then, no one had known about it. When Christopher Columbus encountered America, the land was, of course, already well known to its inhabitants. However, Columbus's discovery was new knowledge for Europeans, and it opened the way to changes in European culture, as well as to the cultures of the discovered lands. For example, new foods such as potatoes and tomatoes transformed the European diet, and horses brought from Europe changed hunting practices of Native American tribes of the Great Plains.

Inventions result when something new is formed from existing objects or concepts-when things are put together in an entirely new manner. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, electric appliances were invented at an astonishing pace. Cars, airplanes, vacuum cleaners, lamps, radios, telephones, and televisions were all new inventions. Inventions may shape a culture when people use them in place of older ways of carrying out activities and relating to others, or as a way to carry out new kinds of activities. Their adoption reflects (and may shape) cultural values, and their use may require new norms for new situations.

Consider the introduction of modern communication technology, such as mobile phones and smartphones. As more and more people began carrying these devices, phone conversations no longer were restricted to homes, offices, and phone booths. People on trains, in restaurants, and in other public places became annoyed by listening to one-sided conversations. Norms were needed for cell phone use. Some people pushed for the idea that those who are out in the world should pay attention to their companions and surroundings. However, technology enabled a workaround: texting, which enables quiet communication and has surpassed phoning as the chief way to meet today's highly valued ability to stay in touch anywhere, everywhere.

When the pace of innovation increases, it can lead to generation gaps. Technological gadgets that catch on quickly with one generation are sometimes dismissed by a skeptical older generation. A culture's objects and ideas can cause not just generational but cultural gaps. Material culture tends to diffuse more quickly than nonmaterial culture; technology can spread through society in a matter of months, but it can take generations for the ideas and beliefs of society to change. Sociologist William F. Ogburn coined the term culture lag to refer to this time that elapses between the introduction of a new item of material culture and its acceptance as part of nonmaterial culture (Ogburn 1957).

Culture lag can also cause tangible problems. The infrastructure of the United States, built a hundred years ago or more, is having trouble supporting today's more heavily populated and fast-paced life. Yet there is a lag in conceptualizing solutions to infrastructure problems. Rising fuel prices, increased air pollution, and traffic jams are all symptoms of culture lag. Although people are becoming aware of the consequences of overusing resources, the means to support changes takes time to achieve.

Diffusion and Globalization

The integration of world markets and technological advances of the last decades have allowed for greater exchange between cultures through the processes of globalization and diffusion. Beginning in the 1980s, Western governments began to deregulate social services while granting greater liberties to private businesses. As a result, world markets became dominated by multinational companies in the 1980s, a new state of affairs at that time. We have since come to refer to this integration of international trade and finance markets as globalization . Increased communications and air travel have further opened doors for international business relations, facilitating the flow not only of goods but also of information and people as well (Scheuerman 2014 (revised)). Today, many U.S. companies set up offices in other nations where the costs of resources and labor are cheaper. When a person in the United States calls to get information about banking, insurance, or computer services, the person taking that call may be working in another country.

Alongside the process of globalization is diffusion , or the spread of material and nonmaterial culture. While globalization refers to the integration of markets, diffusion relates to a similar process in the integration of international cultures. Middle-class Americans can fly overseas and return with a new appreciation of Thai noodles or Italian gelato. Access to television and the Internet has brought the lifestyles and values portrayed in U.S. sitcoms into homes around the globe. Twitter feeds from public demonstrations in one nation have encouraged political protesters in other countries. When this kind of diffusion occurs, material objects and ideas from one culture are introduced into another.

Further Research

The Beats were a counterculture that birthed an entire movement of art, music, and literature-much of which is still highly regarded and studied today. The man responsible for naming the generation was Jack Kerouac; however, the man responsible for introducing the world to that generation was John Clellon Holmes, a writer often lumped in with the group. In 1952 he penned an article for the New York Times Magazine titled, "This Is the Beat Generation." Read that article and learn more about Clellon Holmes and the Beats: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/The-Beats

Think It Over

What are some examples of cultural lag that are present in your life? Do you think technology affects culture positively or negatively? Explain.

Practice

Self-Check: Pop Culture, Subculture, and Cultural Change

You'll have more success on the Self-Check, if you've completed the two Readings in this section.

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As the hipster example illustrates, culture is always evolving. Moreover, new things are added to material culture every day, and they affect nonmaterial culture as well. Cultures change when something new (say, railroads or smartphones) opens up new ways of living and when new ideas enter a culture (say, as a result of travel or globalization).

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How did the Hindu religion emerge from changes in culture or society? | eNotes

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Cultural and biological change are similar enough that we have the idea of Social Darwinism. They are similar because different societies have different cultural values. These societies compete with one another economically and militarily and culturally. One side generally "wins." So it becomes possible to imagine that the cultural values of the "winning" society are better than those of the "losing" society. In such a view, the better cultures win and so culture will improve over time as the better ones win.

There are many problems with this. Just to take one obvious one, why did the United States defeat Japan in WWII? Was it because the US had a better culture? Or was it because they had more resources to use to create and deploy weapons against the Japanese? If we just say that culture is what causes one society to win and another to lose, we miss out on these other factors that can impact the outcome of these competitions.

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How is cultural change analogous to biological evolution and what important limitations are there to this analogy?How is cultural change analogous... | eNotes

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How did European culture change life in the Americas? | eNotes

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Arguably, religions are cultures because the creeds of religion dictate and direct behaviors. Easily perceptible are the effects of the Muslim religion upon those who practice it as women wear hijabs or burgas which cover their heads and faces, along with abayas, which cover their dress. All Muslims pray five times a day, facing Mecca; then, in the fall they observe Ramadan and fast. Never do they eat pork as it is perceived as unclean.

Christians, too, have certain practices which affect their social lives. They, too, observe holy days and Roman Catholics also have a period of fasting, although modified, during the Lenten season of six weeks before Easter. With charity as the greatest virtue, Christians are taught to do good works and to treat others with consideration.

For Jews, there are many practices and customs especially for the Orthodox Jews. One branch of the Orthodox, Hasidic Judaism, which promotes mysticism, the revelation of "the ancient esoteric tradition of the Koran." In Hasidic culture, women must have their arms covered, their hair covered (a wig can be worn), and the men wear a certain style of hat and have their hair and whiskers in a certain style. Passover is an important celebration of freedom and during this time, Jews eat an unleavened bread called matzah.

Certainly, there is a long, running history of antipathy among religious groups, and historically more people have been killed in the name of God than for any other reason. The Crusades in which the Catholic Church first held as its objective to take back the Holy Lands, later extended to re-claiming Spain from the Moors, parts of eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean islands. The Crusades lasted over 700 years and virtually destroyed Arabic culture, which was more advanced than the Christian culture at the time. (e.g. Monks copied the Bible over Arab writings). After the Crusades, the Catholic Church held great wealth and power in political, commercial, and social matters. It was strongly involved in the discovery of the New World as another area for the spread of Christianity.

Nowadays, the Christian world is often threatened by Sunni and Shi'a extremist terrorism, and Israel is threatened by Arabic enemies. Indubitably,today's "War on Terrorism" traces its roots to the Crusades and religious history, differences, and antipathy. In American society, "political correctness" now directs religious tolerance in the hopes that all faiths can live harmoniously.

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How does religion affect social and cultural changes going on in the world today? | eNotes

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Arguably, religions are cultures because the creeds of religion dictate and direct behaviors. Easily perceptible are the effects of the Muslim religion upon those who practice it as women wear hijabs or burgas which cover their heads and faces, along with abayas, which cover their dress.

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I find the biggest social change to be communication. With Twitter, Facebook, text, email, and instant messaging, we can reach each other faster than ever before for the quick message.

In terms of communication on a mass scale, email programs with extra additions (like Microsoft's Office Docs, or Google Docs) have made sharing large amounts of information highly accessible. The onset of the internet and purchasing power have both made large amounts (like published books) available at a person's fingertips.

This quick communication has made us lazy in relationships, but more efficient in our work... or has it? Does the access to so much information make it easier to use other people's work? Is that cheating or just wise?

Passing information quickly has also allowed for working relationships to experience greater collaborative gains. This might mean that when more is achieved in the workplace, more time can be placed on liesure. This might be an interesting discussion board topic.

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Describe the impact of the social changes on today's culture in America?Describe the impact of the social changes on today's culture in America? | eNotes

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I find the biggest social change to be communication. With Twitter, Facebook, text, email, and instant messaging, we can reach each other faster than ever before for the quick message. In terms of communication on a mass scale, email programs with extra additions (like Microsoft's Office Docs, or Google Docs) have made sharing large amounts of information highly accessible.

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What are the causes of cultural change? | eNotes

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Why does cultural change occur?Why does cultural change occur? | eNotes

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