Section 2.5: Cultural Change

Culture, like a vibrant, ever-changing tapestry, constantly evolves as time passes. This transformation is a result of the ongoing interplay between material and nonmaterial culture. To understand this better, let’s first clarify these two concepts.

Reading Time: 11 minutes

Imagine your favorite hoodie, the apps you use on your phone, or the cool buildings in your city. These are all examples of material culture—stuff you can touch and see. Now, think about the unwritten rules at school, your family’s traditions, or even the meaning behind a thumbs-up emoji. These are part of nonmaterial culture—the invisible threads that weave our beliefs, values, and norms (Crossman, 2021). Both types of culture are always changing, influenced by new ideas and objects.

Travel: The Great Cultural Mixer

Let’s time-travel with Marco Polo. As he trekked across Asia, he wasn’t just sightseeing; he was picking up new ideas, like how to make pasta and silk. When he returned home, he mixed these new finds into European culture (Murdock, 2021). Just like Marco Polo, whenever people travel, they bring back bits and pieces of other cultures, spicing up their own.

Globalization: The World Gets Smaller

Have you ever thought about how you can play a video game with someone halfway across the world? That’s globalization in action—people, ideas, and economies knitting together globally (Scheuerman, 2014). It’s like a massive cultural potluck, where everyone brings something to the table. This can make cultures more diverse and spark new ideas. However, sometimes it can overshadow local traditions (Scheuerman, 2014).

Tech Revolution: From Stone Tools to Smartphones

Remember when smartphones weren’t a thing? Neither do we! Technology, like the internet and smartphones, has turbocharged cultural change (Jeon, 2021). It’s not just about new gadgets; it’s about how these inventions change the way we think, communicate, and even make friends.

The Mixing Bowl: Fusion and Friction

As cultures blend, it’s like a giant dance party where not everyone knows the steps. It can be exciting but also confusing. Sometimes, new ideas clash with old traditions, creating tensions (Macionis, 2017). It’s a delicate dance of holding onto who we are while being open to change.

Reflect 🔍

1. What’s Your Culture? Think about your material and nonmaterial culture. What are three things that represent each for you?
2. Cultural Exchange: Have you ever adopted something from another culture, like a food or a word? How did it become part of your life?
3. Tech and Culture: How has technology changed the way you or your family do things compared to 10 years ago?

Culture is like a living, breathing creature, always moving and morphing. As we journey through life, our experiences, travels, and the technology we use weave new patterns into this cultural tapestry. Understanding how culture changes helps us appreciate the diverse beauty of human life and guides us as we navigate a world full of both challenges and opportunities.

Innovation and Cultural Change

What’s Innovation in Culture?

Think of culture as a giant Lego structure. Every new idea or object is like a Lego piece that can totally change the look of the structure. Innovation is all about these game-changing pieces—new discoveries or inventions that shake up how we live and think (Murdock, 2021).

Discoveries That Rocked the World

Ever heard of Galileo? Back in 1610, he peered at Saturn and changed our understanding of the universe. This was huge! And when Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the Americas, it wasn’t just a ‘whoa’ moment for him; it changed European and indigenous cultures big time. Europeans got potatoes and tomatoes, which totally revamped their diet. Native American tribes got horses, which transformed their hunting game (Storey, 2006).

Inventions: Rewiring Daily Life

Flash forward to the late 1800s and early 1900s—a time when inventions were popping up like popcorn. Cars, airplanes, vacuum cleaners, you name it. These weren’t just cool gadgets; they changed how people did everyday stuff and connected with each other. New tech often means new rules, as societies figure out how to fit these inventions into their lives (Hall, 1997).

Phones and Phases: Shaking Up Communication

Think about your smartphone. This little device has turned communication upside down. Suddenly, people were chatting in places where they usually wouldn’t, like buses or cafes. This shift needed new manners—like not talking too loud on the phone in public. And then came texting, which became the go-to way to talk without making a sound (Ogburn, 1957).

Generation Gap and Culture Lag

Here’s a fun fact: new tech spreads way faster than new ideas. This can create a gap between generations. Young folks might be all about the latest gadget, while older generations are like, “What’s the fuss?” Sociologist William F. Ogburn called this delay in accepting new ideas ‘culture lag’ (Ogburn, 1957). It’s like when you get a cool new game, but it takes a while to learn the rules.

Old Stuff in a New World

Ever think about how old some city infrastructures are? They were built ages ago and are now struggling to keep up with our fast-paced, crowded world. It’s a classic case of culture lag: new needs arise, but it takes time to catch up and find solutions (Storey, 2006).

Reflect 🔍

1. Discovery or Invention? Can you think of a recent discovery or invention that changed how you or your family do things?
2. Generation Gap: Is there a piece of technology that you love but older family members don’t quite get?
3. Culture Lag in Action: Have you noticed any ‘culture lags’ in your community or school?

Innovations, whether they’re mind-blowing discoveries or nifty inventions, are always reshaping our cultural Lego structure. They can bring people together or create gaps, and often, it takes a while for our ideas and beliefs to catch up. Understanding this dance between the old and new helps us navigate the ever-changing world of culture.

Diffusion and Globalization

What’s Happening in Our Global Village?

Imagine the world as a massive, bustling village where ideas, fashion, food, and music zip across borders like bees in a garden. This buzz of activity is thanks to two big concepts: diffusion and globalization.

The Rise of Globalization

Back in the 1980s, something big happened. Western governments decided to loosen the reins on businesses. This change allowed private companies to spread their wings and fly far and wide, creating a tightly knit web of international trade and finance (Gans, 1979). This is what we call globalization. It’s like opening the doors of a party to everyone in the neighborhood.

Business Without Borders

Globalization has turned the business world into a game of musical chairs, but on a global scale. Companies from countries like the U.S. started setting up shop in places where they could get more bang for their buck. So, you might call a company’s customer service and end up chatting with someone halfway around the world (Storey, 2006).

Diffusion: Culture on the Move

While globalization is all about markets, diffusion is about culture taking a road trip. It’s the spreading of music, fashion, food, and ideas across nations (Hall, 1997). Thanks to the internet, you can binge-watch a show from Korea, groove to music from Brazil, and order sushi from Japan, all from your couch!

The Social Media Effect

Platforms like Twitter and Facebook are like international chat rooms. They connect people from different corners of the world, making it easier than ever to share and swap cultural tidbits (Jeon, 2021).

Travel: The Ultimate Cultural Mixer

Travel is like a cultural exchange program. Americans might jet off to Thailand and come back raving about Thai food. Or, tourists in the U.S. might take home a love for baseball or jazz. It’s a two-way street where everyone brings something to the table (Storey, 2006).

Reflect 🔍

1. Global Favorites: What’s something you love that comes from another country?
2. Travel Tales: Have you or someone you know brought back a piece of another culture from a trip?
3. Internet Influences: Can you think of a trend or idea you discovered through social media from another country?

In a nutshell, diffusion and globalization are like the party planners of our world village, inviting cultures to mingle and mix. They’re why you can find an Italian pizzeria in Tokyo or a K-pop fan in Texas. As our world becomes more interconnected, understanding these processes helps us appreciate the colorful, diverse cultural tapestry we’re all part of.

Impacts of Cultural Change, Diffusion, and Globalization

The Big Picture: What’s Happening?

Our world is like a giant tapestry, woven with threads from every culture. And three big forces – cultural change, diffusion, and globalization – are constantly adding new patterns and colors to this tapestry. But it’s not all smooth weaving. These forces bring a mix of benefits and challenges that are reshaping societies globally.

The Good Bits: Growth and Enrichment

1. Mixing the Cultural Cocktail: Globalization is like a cultural mixer, blending ideas, traditions, and values. This can make our world more vibrant and diverse, enriching societies with new artistic, culinary, and linguistic flavors (Vertovec, 2009).
2. Tech Boom Across Borders: It’s like a worldwide brainstorming session. Countries share knowledge and collaborate, leading to cool tech innovations that can improve our lives and tackle big issues like climate change (Friedman, 2005).
3. Economic High Five: Globalization has boosted trade and economic growth. It’s like a global game of tag where everyone’s ‘it’ and benefits from the economic connectivity (Stiglitz, 2002).

The Flip Side: Challenges and Concerns

1. Cultural Erosion Alert: Sometimes, the influx of foreign influences can wash away local customs. This can lead to a loss of cultural identity and heritage (Tomlinson, 2003).
2. Unequal Pie Slices: The wealth from global trade often ends up in a few pockets. This can widen the income gap and leave some people behind (Stiglitz, 2002).
3. One-Size-Fits-All Culture: The spread of Western culture can sometimes overshadow local traditions. It’s like everyone’s being handed the same cultural outfit, which doesn’t always fit (Tomlinson, 2003).

Crafting Solutions: Preserving Diversity and Fairness

1. Cultural Guardians: To protect diverse traditions, we need to support cultural institutions and study different cultures. Think of it as a cultural conservation effort (UNESCO, 2001).
2. Balancing the Scales: Addressing economic disparities requires fair trade practices and aid for developing countries. It’s about making sure everyone gets a fair slice of the global pie (Stiglitz, 2002).
3. Building Bridges: Promoting dialogue and empathy among different cultures can help weave a more inclusive and understanding global society (Appiah, 2006).

Reflect 🔍

1. Cultural Exchange: Have you experienced or learned something from another culture that you found enriching?
2. Tech for Good: Can you think of a technology from another country that has positively impacted your life?
3. Balancing Act: How can we enjoy the benefits of globalization while preserving our unique cultural identities?

As we navigate this ever-evolving cultural mosaic, it’s crucial to embrace both the beauty of diversity and the challenges it brings. By fostering understanding, respect, and equitable practices, we can ensure that the tapestry of our global village remains vibrant and inclusive for all.

Summary

Navigating Cultural Change in a Connected World

Culture is like a river, always flowing and changing, shaped by what we make and think. People traveling and the world getting more connected stir this river, bringing in new ideas and things. This mixing can make our world more colorful and inventive, but sometimes it causes rough waters and makes everything look the same. We need to be careful to keep our unique cultures alive in this busy, connected world.

The Impact of Innovation on Cultural Change

Innovation is a powerful force that shapes our culture. It’s like discovering new lands or inventing amazing things, changing the stuff we use and how we think. But sometimes, this happens so fast that it creates gaps between generations, and it takes a while for our ideas and beliefs to catch up with all the new things around us. Understanding how innovation shakes up our culture is key to dealing with these changes.

The Role of Diffusion and Globalization in Shaping Cultural Change

The world’s cultural scene is constantly reshaped by the flow of things, ideas, and people across borders. When the rules for businesses became more relaxed, big international companies grew, and the way countries do business together changed a lot. Now, stuff, news, and people zoom around the globe more than ever. This spread of culture is helped along by TV, the internet, travel, and talking to each other. It’s important to grasp how these changes color the diverse cultural picture of our world today.

Balancing Globalization with Cultural Preservation

Cultural change, along with the spread of culture and the world getting more connected, reshapes societies everywhere, bringing both good stuff and challenges. Globalization helps swap ideas, traditions, and values, making for a more varied and creative world. It also helps spread new tech and ideas. But, it can also make everything look the same, create unfair wealth gaps, and take advantage of poorer places. To tackle these problems, we need to protect our cultures, play fair in how we trade, and learn to understand and work together with people from different cultures. This way, we can build a world that’s fair and values everyone’s unique cultural treasures.

Word Count:   2,353

Key Terms

Anthony Giddens, Clifford Geertz, Cultural Diffusion, Cultural Lag, Cultural Preservation, Cultural Revolution, Globalization, Innovation, Max Weber, Robert K. Merton, Socialization, Symbolic Culture, William F. Ogburn

References and Further Reading 

• Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. University of Minnesota Press.
• Appiah, K. A. (2006). Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Crossman, A. (2021). The sociology of culture. ThoughtCo. 
• Friedman, T. L. (2005). The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Jeon, Y. (2021). Symbolic interactionism. In Ritzer, G. & Rojek, C. (Eds.), Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (2nd ed.). Wiley Blackwell.
• Macionis, J. J. (2017). Sociology (16th ed.). Pearson.
• Murdock, G. (2021). Cultural hegemony. In Ritzer, G., & Rojek, C. (Eds.), Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (2nd ed.). Wiley Blackwell.
• Ogburn, W. F. (1957). Cultural lag as theory. Sociology & Social Research, 41(3), 167-174.
• Scheuerman, W. (2014). Globalization. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). 
• Stiglitz, J. E. (2002). Globalization and Its Discontents. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Tomlinson, J. (2003). Globalization and Cultural Identity. Polity.
• UNESCO. (2001). Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. UNESCO.
• Vertovec, S. (2009). Transnationalism. Routledge.

 

Modification History

File Created:  05/07/2023

Last Modified:  11/01/2023

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This work is licensed under an Open Educational Resource-Quality Master Source (OER-QMS) License.