Table of Contents
This week’s agenda
- Learn what culture consists of and how different they are from society to society.
- Know the sociological study of culture.
Required Reading
Textbook
- 3.1 What Is Culture? – Introduction to Sociology 2e | OpenStax
- 3.2 Elements of Culture in Introduction to Sociology 2e, OpenStax
- 3.3 Pop Culture, Subculture, and Cultural Change in Introduction to Sociology 2e, OpenStax
- 3.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Culture in Introduction to Sociology 2e, OpenStax
Supplementary reading
- Anderson, L.V. 2014. Limits of the Locavor. Dissent Magazine.
Study Guide.
Video: Subculture
The Dark Side Of Harajuku Style You Haven’t Seen Yet
Group Discussion/Activity 1: High Culture VS. Popular Culture
- Each student is required to take 5 photos from home and neighborhood (homework), prior to the lesson.
- Then, we will watch this documentary, The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Do Not Need, in class.
- In class, I will make a group with five students. In a group, students will share their own photos and sort them into two categories: high culture and popular culture.
- Discuss following questions.
- Define what American culture means to you and offer two examples that you think the most American.
- Describe high culture and popular culture from the photos that represent the U.S. society.
Group Discussion/Activity 2: Food Desert – Individuals VS. Society
- Ask students to do research about food desert prior to this lesson.
- Watch two videos or one, but the Nightly Show episode is strongly recommended.
- The first video: Stranded in a Food Desert
- The second video: The food deserts of Memphis: inside America’s hunger capital | Divided Cities
Discuss how social environments shape what we eat by paying attention to class and race.
