SOSYOLOJİYE GİRİŞ - Deneme Sınavı - 17

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), one of the founders of the functional
approach, addressed some basic questions about how culture came into being in his work, Primitive Classification (1903).

The emphasis they put on the culture-bound values is the most important attribute of the functionalist approach.

Marx noted that not only religious ideas, but also all cultural ideas are a reflection of the material production system and thus serve the interests of the dominant class.

The Social Research Institute, founded at the University of Frankfurt in 1923, is known as the Frankfurt School, in short, in the social science literature. The Frankfurt School is also commonly referred to as Critical Theory. Especially, the analyses of Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969), Max Horkheimer (1895- 1973), Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), Leo Lowenthal (1900-1993) and Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) on culture, ideology and the media are very important. Karl Marx was not one of the scholars of the Frankfurt School.

The concept of “culture industry” refers to rationally organized-bureaucratic structures that considerably control and supervise modern culture, such as TV networks.

The concept of cultural reproduction and habitus is produced by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002), one of the most important theoreticians of the 20th century.

Ethnocentrism has a close relationship with heterophobia (fear/hatred of difference), xenophobia (fear/hatred of foreigners), islamophobia (fear/dislike of Islam), homophobia (hatred of homosexual people), chauvinism and more importantly racism. Therefore, the interpretation of other cultures as “bizarre”, then “abnormal,” sometimes “deviant” and occasionally a “threat” could easily lead to hatred and hostility towards the people of those cultures. Ethnorelativism, on the other hand, is diagonally opposite of ethnocentrism.

Despite many definitions of culture, it can be agreed that culture is something that can be learned. It includes many material and spiritual elements of human life and enables the adaptation of the person to the natural environment. Arts, rituals in daily life, songs, stories and literature are some of the components of culture. Finally, culture is seen as a dynamic process used by different social and political actors in different ways. The correct answer is E. 

Culture critic Matthew Arnold (1822- 1888) identified culture with “aesthetic excellence” when he defined culture as the best of what is said and thought in the world in all matters that most concern us, or the best that has been thought and known. This approach, which regards culture as equivalent to intellectual and artistic activities and ideas, considers culture to be a synonym for high culture in the duality of high culture and popular culture. Thus, cultural forms that may not be directly, but are indirectly more popular, are not considered “culture”. The correct answer is A. 

Value can be defined as the thoughts or principles that are thought to be true and necessary by the majority of its members in order to sustain the existence of a society or a social group. The correct answer is C. 

The collective nature of culture can mostly be observed in language. Language is an important part of culture. Within each language, the ideas, mentality and worldview specific to the community that uses this language are reflected. Thus, each culture forms its own unique. The correct answer is D.

Culture-functional approach suggests culture only became possible when human communities began to separate and classify things in their environment. The correct answer is B.

Culture industry refers to rationally organized-bureaucratic structures that considerably control and supervise modern culture, such as television networks. The correct answer is A.

"Habitus" is produced by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002), one of the most important theoreticians of the 20th century. The correct answer is B. 

Ethnocentrism often manifests itself in the level of appreciation for one’s own culture, the belief that it is superior to others, and disdain for, alienation or humiliation of other cultures. For this reason, ethnocentrism, which can be seen as innocent and necessary for every cultural identity at first sight, is not innocent at all. The correct answer id D. 

Cultural heritage is the remnants of the thousands of years of life experience, wisdom and creativity of mankind, which has managed to reach today. Cultural heritage is divided into two as tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The tangible cultural heritage is also divided into two subcategories: movable and immovable. While the intangible cultural heritage appears as “folklore”, “art” or “collective memory”, the tangible cultural heritage sometimes emerges as an archaeological site, sometimes a city from the Middle Ages, and sometimes a rug. The correct answer is D. 

Grobalization is a combination of the words ‘growth’ and ‘globalization.’ Grobalization implies the imperialistic goals, desires, and needs of big businesses or companies (e.g. McDonald’s, Coca- Cola, Wal-Mart, Disney and Hollywood) or even entire nations to settle in diverse areas of the world so that their supremacy and impact can grow. The correct answer is C. 

Culture has a wide range of uses in daily life and has different meanings in different contexts. It  is a complex concept and there are one hundred and sixty four different definitions of culture. Culture gives consistency to our lives. Culture is a system of meanings and significance created historically, or, in other words, culture is a system of beliefs and customs that a group of people use in order to understand, organize, and structure their individual and collective lives. The correct answer is E

When we consider that in everyday life, the term culture is used in a very large area and has varying meanings in various situations, we have to admit that it is very difficult to describe culture briefly and simply. The correct answer is D.

In aesthetic approach, culture can be used as a name for the best, the most beautiful, or the most magnificent products of a society or civilization. Classical music, art, and literature can be articulated as the examples of this group. This approach, which regards culture as equivalent to intellectual and artistic activities and ideas, considers culture to be a synonym for high culture in the duality of high culture and popular culture. The correct answer is A.