Culture’s Coherence: How the Trees Compose the Woods

Abstract

In cultural sociology, the concept of culture refers to processes and products of meaning-making. This concept sustains coherence while also encompassing empirical complexity and theoretical difference. Much of the variety in the way cultural sociologists talk about culture is simply attributable to inconsequential terminological difference, and the remainder is attributable to differences of empirical angle and theoretical emphasis within the field which are encompassed by this core idea. Cultural sociologists understand meaning as transcending biology, irreducible to social structure, and public rather than private. These conceptual boundaries provide a firm foundation for empirical research and guide the development of cultural theory. Further exploration of the concept of Bmeaning^is better pursued in the analytic philosophy of meaning, but such exploration is unnecessary and potentially counter-productive for cultural sociology.Keywords Culture . Cultural sociology . Meaning . Practices . Schema . Biology/culture . Structure/culture . Public culture . Philosophy of meaning I do not share Chris Smith's worries about how culture is conceptualized in contemporary sociology. His thoughtful and passionate search for some fundamental and shared ontological referent takes up what I have long considered an old and annoying cliché about the Bculture^concept -that it is ambiguous and confusing Bamorphous mist.^1 For a long time -perhaps irresponsibly-I have been very reluctant to revisit this old ground. I have thought for many years now that doing empirical cultural sociology is more productive and interesting than recycling old Am Soc

Schemas and Frames

“…Schemas are cultural because they are learned and may be shared and distributed across persons, provided they have similar life histories and experiences (Bloch 2015; Iacoboni 2009; Lizardo 2009b). 3 The conceptualization of schema used in this article stands in contrast to uses of the term which, following Sewell (1992), are ambiguous as to whether they are talking about an external pattern or an internal mental structure (e.g., Somers 1999:125; Spillman 2016:441-424; Swidler 2001:83-88; Swidler and Arditi 1994:322). Because in our formulation schemas are memory structures located in persons, our definition is not compatible with those who deem them “virtual” objects, irreducible to “any particular location in space or time” (Sewell 1992:8).…”

A Qualitative Analysis of a Positive Elite Parasport Performance Culture

“…Various definitions of organizational culture exist including: a shared pattern of assumptions developed and are used by a group of individuals to resolve issues of external adaptation and internal integration (Schein, 1991;; a "dynamic process that is characterized by the shared values, beliefs, expectations, and practices across the members and generations of a defined group" (Cruickshank & Collins, 2012;p. 6); and "processes and products of meaning-making" (Spillman, 2016;p. 419).…”

Concept Class Analysis: A Method for Identifying Cultural Schemas in Texts

“…S OCIOLOGISTS often use the concept of "schema" to articulate the role of personal culture in social action (DiMaggio 1997;Blair-Loy 2001;Swidler 2001;Vaisey 2009;Cerulo 2010;Spillman 2016). Measuring cultural schemas-which are defined as implicit and unevenly distributed relational memory structures that are slowly learned through prior life experiences-has nonetheless proved tricky for traditional methods, like surveys, not unlike many other kinds of culture (Mohr et al 2020:3).…”