Subcultures and High Culture
This page explores the concepts of subcultures and high culture within sociology.
Subculture is defined as:
- A culture within a culture - a smaller grouping of people
- A group who share distinctive norms and values which differ from the wider culture
Subcultures can be based on various factors such as age, ethnicity, music/fashion preferences, or political beliefs.
Example: Paul Willis's study "Learning to Labour" examined the "lads" subculture in schools. These students saw themselves as school failures but had turned this into a positive identity, spending most of their time "havin a laff" and not seeing academic success as necessary for their future factory jobs.
Paul Hodkinson identified four key features that characterize subcultures:
- Commitment
- Identity
- Distinctiveness
- Autonomy
High culture refers to cultural practices associated with the powerful, wealthy, elite, or upper social classes. It includes entertainment forms such as opera, ballet, theater, and fine art, as well as collections of work in fields like art, literature, and music.
Example: High culture might include works by artists like Da Vinci, authors like Charles Dickens, or composers like Beethoven.
Highlight: Society invests millions of pounds in institutions such as museums and art galleries to preserve and showcase high culture, which is seen as representing the nation's cultural heritage.