Subcultures
Sociology: AQA A Level, topic 3.1.3
Subcultures
A subculture is a small culture within the dominant culture and may have different norms & values while having many aspects in common.
Folk culture
- Folk culture is associated with pre-industrial or early industrial societies and display a number of key features:
- Authenticity.
- Actively created.
- Active involvement.
- Authenticity refers to the way in which folk culture emerges from everyday experiences, customs, and beliefs of ordinary people, such as traditional folk music, songs, storytelling, and dance.
Active creation
- Folk cultures must be actively created, in that they must be produced by ordinary people in local communities rather than manufactured by others.
- Active involvement means that people must actively participate in the culture, rather than being passive recipients of products manufactured by others.
High culture
- High culture refers to that which is deemed to be superior in taste and associated with the privileged intellectual elite, the wealthy and educated upper- and upper-middle classes.
- High culture is seen as something special and something of lasting artistic, literary or intellectual value worthy or preserving.
- Examples of high culture include museums, theatre, art galleries and opera houses.
Mass, popular and low culture
- The terms mass, popular and low culture are often used interchangeably to refer to the same type of culture in slightly different ways.
Low culture
- Low culture is often used in a derogatory (critical and insulting) way to describe mass or low culture, suggesting inferiority in comparison to high culture.