SOCIETY AND CULTURE

CULTURE- Refers to the values, beliefs, behavior and material

objects that together form a people’s way of life.

- It includes WHAT we think, HOW we act, and WHATwe own.

OUTLINEI. What is Culture?

A. Material and Non-material Culture

B. The Components of Culture

1. Gestures

2. Language

3. Values

4. Norms

5. Mores

6. Folkways

7. Laws

8. Sanctions

II. Variations among Cultures

A. Ethnocentrism

B. Cultural Relativism

C. Xenocentrism

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

1.Culture is socialbecause it is aproduct of behavior.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

2.Culture variesfrom society tosociety.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

3.Culture isshared.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

4.Culture islearned.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

5.Culture is transmitted among members of society.

CULTURE IS TRANSMITTED THROUGH LANGUAGE.

FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

1.DEFINES SITUATIONS

2.DEFINES ATTITUDES, VALUES AND GOALS

3.DEFINES MYTHS, LEGENDS AND THE SUPERNATURAL

4.PROVIDES BEHAVIOR PATTERNS

CATEGORIES OF CULTURE

MATERIAL CULTURE

Physical creations that members of a society make, use and share.

Examples: boats, stone clubs, planes, bridges, artworks

NON-MATERIAL CULTURE

Consists of the abstract or intangible human creations of society that influences people’s behavior

Examples: language, beliefs, ideas, knowledge, behaviors

NON-MATERIAL CULTURE

Also known as symbolic culture

Symbol – something to which people attach meaning and which they use to communicate with each other

Symbol - the basis of culture

Includes the components of culture

COMPONENTS OF CULTURE

Gestures Language Values Norms

Mores Folkways Laws Sanctions

COMPONENTS OF CULTURE

1. GESTURES – involve using one’s body to communicate with others, giving message even without words

2. LANGUAGE – a system of symbols that can be put together in an infinite number of ways for the purpose of communicating abstract thought

- Known as the “storehouse of culture”

COMPONENTS OF CULTURE

3. VALUES – broad, abstract, shared standards of what are RIGHT, DESIRABLE, WORTHY OF RESPECT

- Values underlie their preferences, guide their choices and

4. NORMS – more specific rules about appropriate behavior

- express expectations about how a particular person should behave, think, or feel in a specific situation.

4.a. Formal norms

4.b. Informal norms

FORMAL VS. INFORMAL NORMS

FORMAL

Written down and specify strict rules for punishment of violations

Often formalized into laws

INFORMAL

Generally understood but not precisely recorded

Example: Standards of proper dressing

COMPONENTS OF CULTURE

5. MORES – strong norms that are regarded as morally significant

- violations of them are considered a serious matter

*Taboo – violation of mores

- A social belief that some specific act is “loathsome”

6. FOLKWAYS – the ordinaryusages and conventions ofeveryday life

COMPONENTS OF CULTURE

7. LAWS – a rule that has been formally enacted by a political authority and is backed by the power of the state.

8. SANCTIONS – all normsare supported by sanctions

- Rewards for appropriatebehavior or penalties forinappropriate behavior

CULTURAL UNIVERSALS

Certain common practices and beliefs practiced byall societies

Customs and practices that occur in all cultures

Examples: cooking, gift giving, funeral ceremonies,medicine, marriage and sexual restrictions

INNOVATION

Takes place when a new idea or objectis introduced to a culture

Two forms of Innovation:

1. discovery

2. invention

TWO FORMS OF INNOVATION

DISCOVERYThe process oflearning aboutsomethingpreviously unknownor unrecognized

INVENTIONA combination ornew use of existingknowledge toproduce somethingthat did not existbefore

DIFFUSION

The process by whichculture items or socialpractices spread from onesociety to another

GLOBALIZATION

The worldwide integration ofcultures, social movements,government policies and financialmarkets through trade andexchange of ideas.

WAYS OF EXPLAINING CULTURES

1. ECOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW – people create culture as ameans of adapting to the environment

2. FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE – looks at the functions ofthe components of culture and how they perform, the effect theyhave in maintaining order in a society

3. CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE – based on the assumption thatsocial life is a continuous struggle in which members ofpowerful groups seek to control scarce resources.

VARIATIONS AMONG CULTURES

1. ETHNOCENTRISM – the tendency to judge othercultures by the standards of one’s own culture

2. CULTURAL RELATIVISM – the recognition that oneculture cannot be arbitrarily judged by the standards ofanother

3. XENOCENTRISM – The belief that the products, stylesor ideas of one’s society are inferior to those thatoriginate elsewhere.

SOCIETY- Refers to a population of people that is organized in a

cooperative manner to carry out the major functions of lifeincluding reproduction, sustenance, shelter and defense.

- A population that occupies the same territory, is subject tothe same political authority and participates in a commonculture.

SOCIETYRefers to a group of people living in a community.

A group of individuals sharing a common culture, geographical location and government.

OUTLINE

SOCIETY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE

1.Status

2.Roles

3.Groups

4.Institutions

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

The recurring patterns of behavior thatpeople create through their interactions,their exchange of information, and theirrelationships

Creates order and predictabilityaccording to Functionalists

1. STATUSES

2. ROLES

3. GROUPS

4. INSTITUTIONS

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1. STATUSA socially defined position in a group orsociety characterized by certainexpectations, rights and duties.

Determines how a person relates withother peopleCategories: Ascribed and Achieved

2. ROLES

Closely related to the concept ofstatus

Consists of the norms associatedwith a particular status – norms thatspecify the behavior required of anindividual occupying that position

3. GROUPS

The “building blocks” of societies

Any collection of people whointeract on the basis of sharedexpectations regarding oneanother’s behavior.

Social Interactions

Social interactions refer to particular

forms of externalities, in which the

actions of a reference group affect

an individual’s preferences.

Social Interactions• Social interactions are the acts, actions, or practices

of two or more people mutually oriented towards

each other's selves, that is, any behavior that tries

to affect or take account of each other's subjective

experiences or intentions. This means that the

parties to the social interaction must be aware of

each other--have each other's self in mind.

Types of Social Interaction

• COOPERATION – interaction among individuals or

groups to achieve their goal or promote common interests.

• CONFLICT – a social process whereby two or more

groups consciously seek either to block one another in

achieving a goal or to defeat, harm or annihilate one

another

SOCIAL NORMS

Social Norms are unwrittenrules about how tobehave. They provide us with anexpected idea of how to behavein a particular social group orculture.

SOCIAL NORMS

Social norms are theaccepted standards ofbehavior of socialgroups.

SOCIAL NORMS

They are part of thenon-material aspectof culture.

SOCIOLOGY

If the perspective highlights theexternal influences that ease orconstrain human actions, thediscipline is called Sociology.

SOCIOLOGY

It attempts to provide a deeperassessment of both individualand group behavior and socialphenomena by considering theinfluence of economic, politicaland social factors.

SOCIOLOGY

The study of humansocial life, groupsand society.

SOCIOLOGY

Sociologists focus mainly on human

interactions

IDENTITYIdentity shapes both individual

and group behavior.

IDENTITYThe distinctive characteristic that

defines an individual or is shared by those belonging to a particular group.

SOCIAL FORCESAny effective urge or impulse that leadsto social action. Specifically, a socialforce is a consensus on the part of asufficient number of the members ofsociety to bring about social action

or social change of some sort.(Fairchild, 1970)

SOCIAL GROUPS

1.PRIMARY GROUP – family,friends

2.SECONDARY GROUP –interactions are business-like(i.e., colleagues, classmates,civic organizations, etc.)

IN-GROUP AND OUT-GROUP

Based on a sense of belonging

In-group = “WE”

Out-group = “Them” “They”

BUREAUCRACY

The administrative machinery ofa formal organization or socialorganization which is aimed toenable members to meet theirgoals

ANTHROPOLOGY

If the perspective underlines therole of cultural structures inorganizing human interactions, thediscipline is referred to asAnthropology.

ANTHROPOLOGY

The study of thebiological, culturaland social aspects ofman.

ANTHROPOLOGY

Anthropology is the study of peoplethroughout the world, theirevolutionary history, how theybehave, adapt to differentenvironments, communicate andsocialize with one another.

www.discoveranthropology.org.uk

ANTHROPOLOGY

Anthropos (man)

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Logos (study/inquiry)

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Political science is thesystematic studyof politics, or the processby which governmentaldecisions are made.