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Summary Key Concepts - Sociological Theory: Structure and Culture (BY)
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Key concept list of Sociological Theory 4 week 1 - 5, given at UvA in the second year of Sociology
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Key Concepts Sociological Theory 4: Structure andCulture
Week 1: The Durkheimian legacy: Culture as classification:
“The sociology of Emile Durkheim has left a legacy of two types of
structuralism. The French tradition has developed into the study of
“cultural structures”, such as cultural classification systems, which has
been one of the core concepts in recent cultural sociology. The British
tradition focused on the study of “social structures” which eventually
led to the development of social network analysis, and which we will
return to at the end of this course. In this week we trace the
development of the French legacy of Durkheim and discuss the concept
of classification systems. We read the work of Michele Lamont on
“symbolic boundaries” as an example of the influence of Durkheim on
contemporary cultural sociology.”
Summary of The culture of the French and American upper-middle
class: Money, morals, and manners by M. Lamont:
o Michèle Lamont’s work is an example of Émile Durkheim’s influence on
contemporary cultural sociology.
o Lamont conducted 160 in-depth interviews with upper-middle-class
white men (e.g., professionals, managers, and entrepreneurs) in the
US and in France to look at how people draw symbolic boundaries.
o She asked questions such as: (1) How do you define ‘worthy’ and
‘unworthy’ people? (2) Who are your friends? (3) Who do you respect?
And (4) Who do you look up to or down on?
o She found that French men draw strong, vertical cultural boundaries:
They emphasize culture as a means to distinguish, as they
expect a certain familiarity and competence in terms of taste,
high culture, language, and intellectualism.
o She found that American men draw weak, horizontal cultural
boundaries:
American men care less about culture in terms of differentiating
factors between people.
Instead they emphasise moral and socio-economic
boundaries.
They respect people who are successful in the socio-
economic sphere and they emphasise morality (strong
work ethics and being trustworthy).
, o Lamont thinks it is important to understand how people think, because
these ways of thinking have social consequences. For example, the
question “How do you define who your friends are,” has a significant
impact on your social networks.
o She assumes that if you understand how people think, you can
understand more about how society is organised and how social
boundaries emerge.
o According to Lamont, the French draw stronger hierarchical boundaries
between “cultured uncultured” and “intellectual non-
intellectual” because of the hierarchical and standardised educational
system with early tracking.
There is this cultural idea of “natural intellectual talent” to
differentiate people. Making it more expectable that the
educationally successful French men think that educational
capabilities are a valid way to categorise people.
This is a Durkheimian hypothesis.
o This also explains why American men draw weaker boundaries, as the
American educational system is less hierarchical and does not have
such early tracking.
o Another explanation of why American men draw weaker cultural
boundaries is that in a geographically and socially mobile country,
where peoples’ social networks span in a diverse array of people and
are less stable, it helps to have a wider range of cultural
preferences.
Cultural omnivore instead of cultural snob.
This is a social network argument.
Vertical cultural boundaries:
o Vertical cultural boundaries (Chat GPT definition): “Vertical cultural
boundaries pertain to the distinctions and divisions within a single
society, often along lines of social hierarchy, power, and status.”
Horizontal cultural boundaries:
o Horizontal cultural boundaries (Chat GPT definition): “Horizontal
cultural boundaries refer to the distinctions between different cultural
groups that exist on the same social level or plane, often across
geographic, ethnic, or linguistic lines.”
Symbolic boundaries:
o “Symbolic boundaries are conceptual distinctions made by social
actors to categorise objects, people, practices, and even time and
space” (Lamont).
o Symbolic boundaries are culture, ways of perception, ways of
differentiating / distinguishing, etc.
The cultural dimension.
o An example from the 2000s:
, “Are you a Britney or Christina fan?” You cannot be both.
This is a way to differentiate.
Social boundaries:
o “Social boundaries are objectified forms of social differences
manifested in unequal access to and unequal distribution of resources
(material and non-material) and social opportunities. They are also
revealed in stable behavioural patterns of association” (Lamont).
In simpler terms, she thinks that these symbolic boundaries are
important to understand social inequalities and social networks.
The relationship between the symbolic and the actual social structures:
o This is a key characteristic of how sociology and sociological theory
has developed over the last thirty years.
o A key theoretical problem that is visible in most readings of this course.
o Culture (independent variable) to explain structure (dependent
variable).
o Structure (independent variable) to explain culture (dependent
variable).
The definition of culture:
o 1) Symbolic boundaries and classification systems (Lamont &
Durkheim).
Culture as a way in which people try to order their social and
natural world into categories.
o 2) Stories and myths (Wright, Alexander, and Lévi-Strauss).
Culture as collective myths / stories / narratives.
Analysing existing cultural objects (e.g., myths).
o 3) Cultural tools (Swidler).
Cultural tools such as a saying in the Bible, a romantic movie, a
slogan, a self-help book, etc.
Swidler analyses how people use culture, this gives a different
theory of how culture works and what it is.
o 4) Cognitive schemata, neutral network, and moral intuitions (Strauss &
Quinn, Haidt & Joseph, and Vaisey).
, This is a more psychological view of what culture is and where
culture is located.
This view builds upon the concepts of symbolic boundaries and
classification systems, but culture is conceptualised as being
and consisting of cognitive schemata.
o 5) Cultural objects (Bourdieu, Benson, and Duell).
Situating cultural objects in the fields where they are being
produced.
Trying to understand the rules that guide the construction of
these cultural objects.
What defines / counts as literary work in the literary field, due to
certain rules that have been developed in this field (context
dependent).
o 6) Network know-how and cultured skills.
o “In a sociological context, culture can be defined as the set of shared
beliefs, values, norms, behaviours, symbols, and material objects that
characterize a group or society. Culture encompasses everything that a
society creates and transmits across generations, influencing how
individuals perceive the world and interact with each other. It shapes
identities, social practices, and institutions, providing a framework for
understanding social life” (Chat GPT).
The definition of structure:
o Distribution of resources (Lamont)
o Social networks (Brown, British structuralism).
o Institutions
o Material environment (week 5).
o And more.
o Social structures are observable, actual existing relations.
o “In a sociological context, 'structure' refers to the organized patterns of
social relationships and social institutions that together compose
society. Social structure encompasses the stable arrangements and
frameworks that shape and influence social behaviour, interactions,
and relationships. These structures persist over time, providing a
predictable context for social life and enabling or constraining
individual actions” (Chat GPT).
Émile Durkheim’s legacy of culture as classification systems:
o Classification is a thoughtless process.
o Pen example:
By picking up a pen and saying “This is a pen,” we categorise
it into the abstract category ‘pen.’
o However, Durkheim argued that people do not classify by nature.
So, where does this idea of classification come from?
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