Step 1: Your Initial Post
Your initial post is worth 5 points. Scroll down to click the “Reply” button. You will then see a text box, where you will write your answers to the following questions. After you have finished typing your answers, click “Post Reply” (the blue box on the bottom right corner of the text box). If you need more help on how to reply to these questions on a discussion board, click hereLinks to an external site.. After you have posted your reply, you will see your classmates’ replies to these questions. You are then ready to do Step 2 below.
In the assigned chapter for this week on “Culture,” you read about:
- various ways sociologists have defined and thought about culture (material vs. symbolic; high vs. popular definitions; and culture as values vs. culture as a way of life) (pgs. 4-10).
- sociological examinations of how culture is produced and consumed, which includes examinations of subcultures (pgs. 11-17).
- the ways that culture has been used to create inequalities and how culture has been used to create groups and to create boundaries between groups (pgs. 18-22).
- a critical analysis of what can happen (both good and bad) when cultures mix, especially across the world in the era of globalization (pgs. 23-30).
For this discussion board, you will introduce us to a subculture that you are a part of. As you read in the assigned chapter, a subculture is a segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of customs, rules, and traditions that differs from the pattern of the larger society. Subcultures can be distinctive from the wider society in terms of how they express themselves (e.g., style of dressing, ways of talking, preferred music) and in their general “way of life”.
If you are struggling to think of a subculture you are a part of, consider things like: do you play any sports? do you engage in any hobbies like playing video games, reading comic books, skateboarding, roller skating, etcetera? do you prefer a particular genre of books or music? is the culture of your family and/or your friends different from the culture of the wider U.S. society (i.e., the culture disseminated through mass media, which tends to be white, American English-speaking, Christian-centered, middle- and upper-class, heterosexual, etc)?
Once you have identified your subculture that you will share with us, pretend that you are a tour guide helping us understand your subculture. What would we need to know about your subculture as a tourist interested in trying to blend in with your subculture, if possible? To do so, please answer the following questions:
- What is your subculture? How long have you been a member? Why or how did you join this subculture?
- What is the best thing about your subculture? Is there anything you don’t like about it?
- What are ways that a person could visibly recognize a member of your subculture? If someone wanted to try to fit in, what would they need to wear? Anything else they’d need to do with their appearance to fit in?
- If someone wanted to be able to communicate easily with members of your subculture, what would they need to do to sound like a member of your subculture? Are there any specific words, acronyms, phrases, gestures they should use? What about any words, acronyms, phrases, gestures they should avoid?
- Subcultures have material artifacts that are part of their culture. Are there any objects a person would need to fit in as part of your subculture? Are there any specific brands, or is there a certain quality of material a person would need to achieve elevated status in your subculture?
- Who should a person look out for in your culture and “know” — in other words, what makes someone stand out in a good way in your culture? What makes them a leader? Are there types of people a person should stay away from or not follow their behavior? Why?
- Anything else we should know in order to help us try to blend and fit in?
