Cultural Turn
According to McLennan he believed that the cultural turn had taken place during the 1980’s and it involved an increase in cultural studies, it was largely inspired by postmodern and post-structuralist ideas, as well the anticipated inspiration of culture, knowledge, consumption lifestyle and identity in a contemporary capitalist society itself (McLennan, 2014, pg. 10). Since some of the key features of the cultural turn are linked to postmodern, it can be assumed that it came about as a response to modernism (McLennan, 2014).
The Cultural turn in current times can be looked at in two main forms, ‘epistemological’ and ‘historical’. By epistemological it refers to the notion that culture is universally fundamental of social relations and identities; and it is based on theoretical facts (Nash, 2001). Anthony Giddens was one of the most significant sociologists who captured the idea that ‘culture is constitutive of social relations and identities’; through this his central theme was about the relationship between structure and agency. The notion that culture is constitutive is mainly linked to post-structuralism (Nash, 2001, pg.78).
Whereas, the historical case refers to a contemporary society in which culture plays an unparalleled role in social relations and identities, it is therefore based on observations of changes in social life (Nash, 2001). The outcome of a loss in faith in modern narratives of progress through reason and science and the overall collapse of predominant norms and values is due to a strong emphasis which is placed on fragmentation and individualism (Nash, 2001). Hence, for the longest period structuralist-f...
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...ultural turn mentioned earlier are the acceptance of agency and subjectivity (Nash, 2001). Therefore it is of utmost importance that the planner does not allow his/her own decisions to impact on work that they are a part of.
The works of advocacy planners are to help ease the planning processes of the weak and powerless against those whom have power. However, marginalized groups often feel overwhelmed and scared of those who hold power (Davidoff, 1965). Therefore, those who have power remain with power and the poor are eliminated. For instance in the “Dixon Case” mentioned earlier, the taskforces together with planners did not address the issue of social planning and community organization, rather their focus was on overcrowding which disfavoured the Somalis. And hence the poor who were supposed to be helped were in fact the ones who suffered from the outcome.
Macey, David. “Postmodernity.” The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory. London: Penguin Books, 2001. 307-309. Print.
The idea of a “social structure” is probably one of the most popular and influential concepts in the world of sociology, with social theorists from Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and Parsons, all base their work off the fundamental idea that there is a large societal structure which pl...
In the Chapter 3 of “The Reality of Social Construction”, Dave Elder-Vass examines the academic views about culture and rules. He calls cultural realism the view according to which culture and rules exist independently of people. In this chapter, the author explains the reason why he does not agree with the academic view of culture.
In 1929, Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre founded the journal, ‘Annales d’historie économique et sociale’. This journal became a rallying point for reform minded historians. These liberal historians believed that if historians were to understand the past they must diverge into other disciplines. The Annales School’s relationship with sociology has often been mentioned specifically in relation the sociological concepts of structuralism and post-structuralism. Both, are very important concepts in the academic discipline of sociology. Structuralism being the belief that our lives are not random but structured by certain regularities that shape our lives.
Jameson, Fredric. "Postmodernism and Consumer Society". The Norton Anthology of Theory & Criticis. 2001. Reprint. New York: Norton & Company, 2010. 1846-1860. Print.
Black, L, Bennet, A, Edles, L D, Gibson, M, Inglis, D, Jacobs, R & Woodward, I 2012, Cultural Sociology: An Introduction, Wildey-Blackwell, Chichester, West Sussex
Postmodernism movement started in the 1960’s, carrying on until present. James Morley defined the postmodernism movement as “a rejection of the sovereign autonomous individual with an emphasis upon anarchic collective anonymous experience.” In other words, postmodernism rejects what has been established and makes emphasis on combined revolutionary experiences. Postmodernism can be said it is the "derivate" of modernism; it follows most of the same ideas than modernism but resist the very idea of boundaries. According to our lecture notes “Dominant culture uses perception against others to maintain authority.”
Emile Durkheim’s view of modern society is thought of as a high division of labour in which ‘ organic solidarity’ predominates. The roles and institutions act like the organs in our body, and are dependent on each other. When it comes to the state, for example, it regulates like the brain, achieving restitory justice and solidarity over the body. This ensures that social inequality is based primarily on merit. In the state of moral and dynamic density, individualism and rationality are able to rise above “collective consciousness” and religion. However, for Durkheim despite great cohesion, there are many pathological phenomena, such as anomie and some economic conflicts too. However, these are only temporary. Emile Durkheim sees social and economic cohesion as a critical part o...
This essay will address actions of individuals and the contribution individual actions make to the social structure, how society flows to the actor via the “Me” and is constructed or reconstructed by the “I,” giving the “I” a place in creating society. I will further analyze the theories and explore the impact of norms and values on the decisions by the actors.
Jameson's analysis of postmodernism (you will find a synopsis below) synthesizes two articles: his original "Postmodernism and Consumer Society" (1983) and "Postmodernism: The Cultural Logic of late Capitalism" (1984), the same title as his monumental book on the topic. In these works, Jameson expands his analysis to include popular culture, architecture, theory, and other texts, and thus can be seen as part of a movement toward cultural studies as a replacement for canonical literary studies. In the version included here, Jameson links current intellectual, social, and spatial disorientation to the technological reinvigoration of capitalism and globalization. He considers present arrangements with critical rationality and calls for a demystifying political aesthetic of "cognitive mapping" (Gray and McGuigan, 1997, pp. 176-77).
McHale, Brian. “Afterword: Reconstructing Postmodernism.” Narrative 213 (2013): 357-364. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
The ‘culturalist’ strand in Cultural Studies was interrupted by the arrival on the intellectual scene of the ‘structuralisms’ (Hall, 1980). Structuralism can defined as psychology as the study of the elements of consciousness. The conscious experience can be broken down into basic conscious elements; a physical phenomenon can be viewed as consisting of chemical structures, can break down into basic elements. Structuralism was found by Wilhelm Wundt and he come out with a method known as introspection to understand the basic elements. Introspection involves informally examining human internal thoughts and feelings. In the journal, Stuart Hall view Levi-Strauss as a structuralist because Levi-Strauss said that culture is like language, is composed of hidden rules that govern the behaviour of its practitioners. Besides, he maintains that c...
Culture may be defined as the sum totaltotal of non-biological activities of a people. For anthropologists like Marvin Harris (1974). Culture is directly related to concrete material conditions of existence. It is a set of altitudinal and behavioral tools as well as a map of adapting to one’s environment. Culture is thus essentially adaptive. Following the concept of cultural relativism espoused by Margaret Mead (1968) it is the view of this article that culture must be seen asbe specific and valid in particular circumstances with value judgement as to its relative significance to other groups, even within the same nation-state or society. The point that is therefore being made is that there are some particularities of culture that characterize
“Culture” is a term that over the years, has taken many forms, served many purposes and has been defined in a variety of contexts. At the rise of the industrial era, inhabitants of rural areas began to migrate to cities, thus starting urbanization. As this new era began to unfold, urbanization, mass production, and modernization became key ingredients in the transformation of culture. As more people became literate and the production of mass media such as magazines, pamphlets, newspapers etc. increased, many had the option and desire to identify collectively – popular culture began to rise. Popular or “mass” culture can be described as a “dynamic, revolutionary force, breaking down the old barriers of class, tradition, taste, and dissolving
Social changes weakened the traditional way of thinking with regards to the human existence (Libarts.wsu.edu, 2014). The British Sociological Association