Basics in Social Science, Lecture sheet-5, for all sections.
Culture & Society– Buddha dev Biswas, Ph.D
Culture is the totality of learned, socially
transmitted behavior. It includes the ideas,
values, customs and artifacts (as well as the
sailboats, comic books and birth control
devices) of groups of people. In sociological
terms, culture does not refer solely to the fine
arts and refined intellectual taste. It consists
of all objects and ideas within a society,
including ice cream cones, rock music, and
slang words.
Culture is a matter of what people in a society
know to be true (Goodenough, 1957). That’s
why knowledge and belief are at the core of
the definition of culture.
According to Vander zanden, “Culture refers
to the social heritage of a people-those learned
patterns for thinking, feeling, and acting that
are transmitted from one generation to the
next, including the embodiment of these
patterns in material items.”
Culture provides the fabric that enables
human beings to interpret their experiences
and guide their actions.
Material culture refers to the physical or
technological aspects of our daily lives,
including food items, houses, factories,
clothing, literary and musical works,
inventions and raw materials.
Non material culture refers to ways of
using material objects and to customs, beliefs,
values, knowledge, philosophies,
governments, and patterns of communication
or rules concerning behavior.
One important point is that no society is
without culture. For reasons every society
requires some degree of common
understanding of reality and common rules of
behavior in order to function.
Elements of culture:
Language:
Language is an abstract system of word
meanings and symbols for all aspects of
culture. Language includes speech,
written characters, numerals, symbols,
and gestures of nonverbal
communication. Language is the
foundation of every culture, although
particular languages differ in striking
ways.
Norms: Norms are established standards
of behavior maintained by a society. In
order for a norm to become significant, it
must be widely shared and understood.
Just as respect for older people is a norm
of Japanese culture. Sociologists
distinguish between norms in two ways.
First, norms are classified as either formal
or informal. Formal norms have generally
been written down and involve strict rules
for punishment of violators. In a political
sense, law is the body of rules, made by
the government for society, interpreted by
the courts, and backed by the power of the
state. Laws are an example of formal
norms, although not the only type.
By contrast, informal norms are generally
understood but are not precisely recorded.
Standards of proper dress are a common
example of informal norms.
Norms are also classified by their relative
importance to society. They are Mores
and folkways.
Mores: Mores are seen as vital to a
society’s well-being and survival. People
usually attach moral significance to
mores, and they define people as sinful,
evil and wicked who violate them. The
punishment for violators of a society’s
mores is severe; they may be put to death,
imprisoned, cast out, mutilated or
tortured. Thus, murder, theft, rape,
treason and child abuse bring strong
disapproval and severe punishment in
United States.
Folkways: Folkways have to do with the
customary ways and ordinary conventions
by which we carry out our daily activities.
We bathe, brush our teeth, groom our
hair, wear shoes, wave greetings to our
friends and sleep in beds etc. in our daily
activities. However, ordinarily we do not
attach moral significance to folkways. For
example, we may regard people who wear
dirty clothing as crude but not as sinful,
and people who are late for appointments
as thoughtless but not evil.
Sanctions:
Sanctions are penalties and rewards for
conduct concerning a social norm. Note
that the concept of reward is included in
this definition. Conformity to a norm can
lead to positive sanctions such as a pay
raise, a medal, a word of gratitude, or a
pat on the back. Negative sanctions
include fines, threats, imprisonment, and
even stares of contempt.
Values:
Values are these collective conceptions of
what is considered good, desirable, and
proper-or bad, undesirable, and
improper-in a culture. They indicate what
people in a given culture prefer as well as
what they find important and morally
right (or wrong). Values may be specific,
such as honoring one’s parents and
owning a home or they may be more
general, such as health, love, and
democracy. The major value
configurations within the dominant
American culture include the assignment
of high importance to achievement and
success, work and activity, efficiency and
practicality, material comfort,
individuality, progress, rationality,
Patriotism and Democracy.
Aspects of cultural variation:
Subcultures: A subculture is a segment of society
which shares a distinctive pattern of mores,
folkways, and values which differs from the pattern
of larger society. In a sense, a sub culture can be
thought of as a culture existing within a larger,
dominant culture. The
existence of many subcultures is characteristic of
complex societies such as the United States and
India.
Counter cultures:
Some subcultures conspicuously challenge and
attempt to change the central norms and values of
the prevailing culture. A counter culture is a
subculture that rejects societal norms and values
and seeks alternative lifestyles (Yinger, 1982).
Countercultures are typically popular among the
young, who have the least investment in the
existing culture.
Culture shock:
When immersed in an unfamiliar culture, a person
may feel strangely disoriented, uncertain, out of
place, even fearful. These are all indications that he
or she may be experiencing what sociologists call
cultural shock.
Attitudes toward cultural variation:
Ethnocentrism:
Xenocentrism:
Cultural relativism:
We can not grasp the behavior of other peoples if we
interpret in the context of our values, beliefs and
motives. Rather, we must examine their behavior in the
light of their values, beliefs, and motives. This approach
is termed as cultural relativism. It views the behavior
of a people from the perspective of their own culture. In
sharp contrast to ethnocentrism, cultural relativism
employs the kind of value-free or neutral approach
advocated by Max Weber.
N.B. This is not sufficient to understand the whole chapter. Here you get only the definitions along
with some examples in addition to the lecture. So, equip yourself fully for the quiz and final exam .
