Dominant culture

See also: Cultural homogenization

A dominant culture is a cultural practice that is dominant within a particular political, social or economic entity, in which multiple cultures co-exist. It may refer to a language, religion or ritual practices, social value and/or social custom. These features are often a norm for an entire society. An individual achieves dominance by being perceived as belonging to that majority culture which has a significant presence in institutions relating to communication, education, artistic expression, law, government and business.[1] The concept of "dominant culture" is generally used in academic discourse in fields such as communication, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.[2]

In a society, culture is established and directed by the individuals with most power (hegemony).[3] In a culture, a group of people that have the ability to hold power over social institutions and influence the rest of the society's beliefs and actions is considered dominant. A dominant culture, is established in a society by a group of individuals that direct the ruling ideas, values, and beliefs that become the dominant worldview of a society. Individuals from the dominant culture spread their dominant ideologies through institutions such as education, religion, and politics. A dominant culture makes use of media and laws to spread their ideologies as well.[4] Furthermore, a dominant culture can be promoted deliberately and by the suppression of minority cultures or subcultures.[1]

The culture that is dominant within a particular geopolitical entity can change over time in response to internal or external factors, but one is usually very resilient. Antonio Gramsci has written that the masses are in the grip of a monolithic ruling class.[citation needed] However, the overall picture that Gramsci provides is not a static, closed system of ruling-class domination. Rather, he states that a society is in constant process, where the creation of counter-hegemonies remains a live option.[1]

The concept of a dominant culture, or the concept of hegemony, originated in Ancient Greece. Although Vladimir Lenin, a politician and a political theorist, defined the concept as “Domination,” Gramsci redefined it as “An intellectual and moral leadership directed by contradictory political and, cultural agents and organizations.”[This quote needs a citation] He called these organizations “organic and traditional intellectuals” which represented the interest of the working class.[5]

  1. ^ a b c Lears, T. J. Jackson (1985). "The Concept of Cultural Hegemony: Problems and Possibilities". The American Historical Review. 90 (3): 567–593. doi:10.2307/1860957. JSTOR 1860957.
  2. ^ Gordon Marshall (1998). A Dictionary of Sociology. Oxford University Press.
  3. ^ Johnson, Richard; Chambers, Deborah; Raghuram, Parvati; Tincknell, Estella (2004-04-14). The Practice of Cultural Studies. SAGE. ISBN 978-1-84860-514-5.
  4. ^ "Cultural Hegemony – What exactly has construct us?". Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  5. ^ Kurtz, Donald V. (2001). "Hegemony: Anthropological Aspects". International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. pp. 747–749. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.12084-7. ISBN 978-0-08-097087-5.