Basic theoretical approaches to the sociological definition of cultural codes

• Main Authors: Yu I Yakovenko, T L Bagaeva, A Yu Tashchenko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 2015-12-01
• Series: RUDN journal of Sociology
• Subjects: культурные коды; структурный функционализм; неофункционализм; структурализм; постструктурализм; постмарксизм; структуралистский конструктивизм; символический интеракционизм
• Online Access: http://journals.rudn.ru/sociology/article/view/6275
• ISSN: 2313-2272; 2408-8897

The article is devoted to the definitions of cultural codes introduced by the classics of sociology within their key theoretical concepts. The authors believe that automatic deduction of ‘cultural code’ interpretation from the concept ‘culture’ within any theoretical approach is not relevant to the rules of sociological knowledge, thus, they identify differences in the contexts that generate similar definitions of cultural codes. The authors analyze definitions of cultural codes in structural functionalism, neo-functionalism, structuralism, post-structuralism, post-marxism, structuralist constructivism and symbolic interactionism to show that the explanations of social reality and its relationships with culture through the notion of cultural codes imply fundamentally different descriptions of the system of social relations even within the same theoretical approach. The authors consider key works and positions of a number of classics of sociology and conclude that representatives of all major theoretical approaches tried to identify the concept ‘cultural codes’. However, while recognizing its significant potential, most theoretical approaches simply considered two or three elements of culture to be components of the cultural code without any reasoned explanation why all other elements of culture were excluded. Moreover, there are no uniform interpretations of cultural codes even within each of the above mentioned theoretical approaches.