Allen et al Well, this is way off the track of the original cross-cultural issue, but, intriguing ... you mean there is less interest (per capita) in classical music in the UK upper classes than the middle/lower classes? Or does the rate bears no relationship (r = 0) to social class? Any data? I am predicting the relationship is positive and will do some digging. I expect so since, in general, upper classes travel more & have more money for music lessons. People who attend opera have more money than those who attend, say, country music; higher SES people are more likely to sample foods from different cultures, try fashions from different cultures; all then filter down the SES. While I am digging up data, let me throw out one bit of nostalgia info that we should all familar with: George Harrison went to India and learned how to play the sitar from Ravi Shankar in the late 60s. He inspired alot of us who were strumming guitars, and all of a sudden we were buying Indian classical music, doing yoga, Hinduism, meditation, etc. Now everyone knows about it.
Cheers p.s. I think cross cultural issues are psych relevant -------------------------- John W. Kulig Professor of Psychology Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 -------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Allen Esterson" <allenester...@compuserve.com> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <tips@acsun.frostburg.edu> Sent: Thursday, August 6, 2009 4:25:11 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [tips] Classical music/culture (was Psychology irrelevant...) John Kulig wrote: >It is amazing how many great virtuousos are being trained in the east, >and how culture flows cross borders ... though the pinko in me notices >how it seems to flow from one upper class to another .. First, in the UK people who like classical music come predominantly from the middles classes, not the "upper class". In any case a reasonable proportion of these "middle class" people would have come from a "working class" background and received an education that took them to a profession which made them "middle class". Second, the interest in classical music in Japan and China goes far beyond the production of virtuososi. And a TV programme on Western classical music in China I saw a month or so ago gave the impression that the interest (certainly in terms of performing) is widespread in schools, and at least among townsfolk it did not seem to be limited to the middle classes. (I'm sure China manufactures musical instruments far more cheaply than in Europe or the States!) There was no indication that it had arrived via upper class transmission! Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
