material culture
Summary
Material culture is the physical objects, technologies, and spaces a society creates and uses, such as tools, clothing, buildings, and art. It is contrasted with symbolic (nonmaterial) culture, which covers beliefs, values, language, and norms. The exam asks you to classify examples into one or the other.
Detail
Meaning: Material culture is the tangible part of culture: the artifacts and physical things people make, use, and give meaning to. Examples are tools, smartphones, clothing, houses, religious icons, and monuments. Sociologists treat these objects as reflecting a group's values, technology, and way of life. Material culture is contrasted with symbolic culture (also called nonmaterial culture), which includes ideas, beliefs, values, norms, language, rituals, and symbols. The two are linked: a society's values shape what it builds, and its objects shape how people act. A flag is a physical object (material), but the meaning it carries (patriotism) belongs to symbolic culture.
On the MCAT: Expect a passage about a community, a technology, or a cultural change, followed by a question asking which example is material and which is symbolic. Another common setup is cultural diffusion or globalization, where new objects (such as mobile phones or fast food) spread faster than the beliefs behind them. Related is cultural lag, where symbolic culture (norms, laws) adapts more slowly than material culture (technology).
Common confusion: Students call anything associated with an object material culture. The object itself is material, but the meaning, belief, or norm attached to it is symbolic. A wedding ring is material; the idea of marriage it stands for is not.
Sources
- Introduction to Sociology
- Sociology: A Brief Introduction
- Essentials of Sociology
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.