Introduction to Sociology

(Culture & Society)

Msc Sociology
Course Code 4681
Resource Person :Miss Zaitoon BiBi
PhD Sociology ( Scholar)
Lecture 2
 Introduction:
 Culture is one of the important concepts in sociology.

No human society can exist and develop without its

culture.
 The main difference between the animal and human

societies is of culture only.

 Animal societies have no culture because they do not

have systems of learning and transmitting social

experiences.
 Sociologists are keenly interested in the study of
culture because the study of human society is
incomplete without it.
 Culture comes from the Latin word "colere", meaning
to build on, to cultivate, to foster.

 Culture is a set of accepted behavior patterns, values,

assumptions, and shared common experiences.

 Culture defines social structure, decision making

practices, and communication styles.
 Culture refers to the beliefs, values, behavior and
material objects that, together, form a people's way of
life.

 Culture determines how we view the world around us.

 Culture includes the traditions we inherit and pass on

to the next generation.

 Culture: totality of our shared language, knowledge,

material objects, and behavior.
 Culture is a unique possession of man every man is born into
a society is the same as saying that “every man is born into a
culture.
 Every man can be regarded as a representative of this culture.
 Culture is the unique quality of man which separates him
from the lower animals.
 Culture can be said to include all the human phenomena in a
society including all learned behavior.
 Culture is a very board term that includes our ways of life and
modes of behavior,
 Our philosophies and ethics,
 Our morals and manners,
 Our customs and tradition,
 Our religious, political, economic and other types of activities.
 DEFINITION
 EB Taylor “Culture is a complex whole, which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, customs and
any other capabilities and habits acquired by the man
as a member of society”

 Leglic AY White “Culture is a symbolic continuous,

cumulative and progressive process”.

 Malinowski B “The cumulative creation of man; the

handwork of man and the medium through which he
achieves is end”.
 Graham wallas
“ An accumulation of thoughts, values and objects; it is the social heritage
acquired by us from preceding generations through learning as distinguished
from the biological heritage which is passed on to us automatically through
genes”.

 CC North
“The instruments constituted by man to assist him in a satisfying his wants”.

 Redfield-
“Culture is an organization of phenomenon of acts, objects, ideas attitudes,
values and use of the symbols”.

Culture is an organized body of conventional understanding manifested in arts

and artifacts which persisting through tradition, characterizes the group.
 Structure of culture

 Trait :Smallest unit of culture is “Cultural Trait” e.g Shaking hands etc

 Complexes: Traits combine to form “Cultural Complexes” e.g. Dance

group consists of dancers, choreographers, production house, manager,
audience etc.

 Pattern: Cultural Complexes combines to form Cultural Pattern e.g.

industrial township has a way of life different from agricultural society .

 Cultural Institutions :An institution is a series of complexes and patterns

centering around a configuration of needs. e.g.: Family: match making
complex, wedding pattern, child rearing pattern, husband-wife relation
pattern, etc.
 Culture and Society
 Society: the structure of relationships within which

culture is created and shared through regularized

patterns of social interaction

 Society provides the context within which our

relationships with the external world develop How we
structure society constrains the kind of culture we
construct.

 Cultural preferences vary across societies

 TYPES OF CULTURE
There are four types of culture;

 Material Culture
 Non-material Culture
 Real Culture
 Ideal Culture
 1. Material Culture

From material culture we understand material and

physical objects. For instance, house, road, vehicles,
pen, table, radio set, book etc. these are the products of
human efforts to control his environment and make his
life conformable and safe.
 2. Non-material culture

In non-material culture we include non material

objects. For example religion, art, ideas, customs,
values system, attitudes, knowledge etc. it does not
have physical shape. It is very important in determining
human behavior and has strong hold on an individual.
Both parts are inter-related with each other.
 3. Real Culture:•

Real culture is that which can be observed in our social

life. The culture on which we act upon in our daily life
is real culture. It is that parts of culture, which the
people adopt in their social life, for example. If a
person/ says that he/she is Muslim, will be, when
followed all the principles of Islam is the real and when
doesn’t follow, is not a real one
 Ideal Culture:•

The culture which is presented as a pattern to the

people is called ideal culture. It is the goal of society
and never achieved fully because some parts remain
out of practice. This culture is explained in books,
speeches etc.
  CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE:

From the definitions it becomes clear that

sociologically culture has specific meaning and
characteristics. It is the product of human behavior and
gaining knowledge through group. It is a system of
learned behavior and set procedure. Some of the salient
characteristics of culture are as under:
• Culture is learned.
• Culture is shared.
• Culture is transmitted.
• Culture is changing.
1. Culture is learned
It is acquired through education, training and
experience.
2. Culture is socially transmitted through language- It
is transmitted from one generation to another through
the medium of language, verbal or non-verbal through
the gestures or signs, orally or in writing.
3. Culture is learned:•
Most of the behavior is learned in society. This learning
might be conscious or unconscious but no body can
deny the process of learning. Culture is something
learnt and acquired e.g. wearing clothes or dancing. It
is not something natural to the person.
4• Culture is shared:•
All the traits, attitudes, ideas, knowledge and material
objects like radio, television and automobiles etc is
actually shared by members of society.
5.Culture is transmitted
All the culture traits and objects are transmitted
among the members of society continually. Most of
the cultural traits and material objects are
transmitted to the members of the society from
their forefathers. We learn new fashion, how to
move in society and how to behave in a particular
social situation.

6.Culture is changing
Culture never remains static but changing. It is
changing in every society, but with different speed
and causes. It constantly under goes change and
adapts itself to the environments.
.7 Culture is continuous and cumulative

Culture is a “growing whole” which includes in itself.

Achievements of the past and the present and makes
provision for the future achievements of mankind
Culture is consistent and integrated.

Culture has a tendency to be consistent and are

interconnected. Culture is dynamic and adaptive
Culture is subjected to slow but constant changes.
Change and growth are latent in culture.
 FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

 Broaden the vision of individuals

 Provide behavior patterns and relationship with others
 Keep the individual behavior integral
 Moulds national character
 Define myths, legends, supernatural believe Creates

new needs and interests.

 COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
Components of culture are as follows
 Symbols
 Language
 Values
 Folkways
 Mores
 Laws
 Customs
 Symbols

Anything that carries particular meaning recognized by

people who share the same culture. It can be either
material object like flag a cross or word or it can be a
non material object like sound gesture. Symbolic
meaning is obvious uniform in culture and powerful.
 Language

A major symbolic system in use in all human societies

is languages. Human languages are learned and
variable, flexible and generative. Without language
there is no culture. It is language through which we are
able to create share, preserve and transmit cultural
meanings such as complex patterns of emotions,
thought, knowledge and beliefs. Language is essential
to give members of society a sense of identity.
  Values

Values are general abstract moral principles defining

what is right or wrong, good or bad, desirable or
undesirable. In other words values often come in pairs
of positive and negative terms. Values define general
moral qualities of behavior expected from members of
society such as honesty, patriotism or commitment to
freedom
 Folkways

Folkways are accepted ways of behavior.

According to Gillin and Gillin folkways are the behavior pattern of every day life
which unconsciously arises within a group.

According to AW Green folkways are the ways of acting that are common to a
society or a group that are handed down from generation to the next.

According to Merill folkways are social habits or group expectations that have
raised in the daily life of the group.

Folkways are social in nature, repetitive in character, unplanned in origin, informal

enforcement, varied in nature and subjected to change.

Example of folkways are eating pattern, habits, communication, dressing walking,

working and greeting.
  Mores

Mores are standard of behavior that influences the moral

conduct of people conformity to mass is called as mores.

According to MacIver & CH Page when folkways have added to

group welfare and high standards that are converted into
mores. mores determine our conception of right or wrong and
proper and improper.

Mores differ from group to group and from society to society.

Mores are dynamic, they keep on changing according to

changing need of society.
 Customs

Customs are formed on the basis of habits. Customs are

social habits which through repetition become the basis
of an order of social behavior.

According to MacIver custom is a group procedure that

has gradually emerged without express enactment
without any constituted authority to declare it, apply it,
to safe guard it.
 Laws

Laws are enacted by the state or centre to have control over

individual.

According to Green law is more or less systematic body of

generalized rules, balanced between the fiction of
performance and fact of change governing specifically
defined relationship and situations and employing force or
the threat of force in defined and limited ways.

Laws applies equally to all Laws are definite, clear and

precise.
DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS/PERSPECTIVE ON
CULTURE
 1.Culture relativism The concept of cultural
relativism states that cultures differ, so that a cultural
trait, act, or idea has no meaning but its meaning only
within its cultural setting.

 2.Culture Shock It refers to the feelings of disbelief,

disorganization and frustration one experiences when
he encounters cultural patterns or practices which are
different from his.
 3. Ethnocentrism It refers to the tendency to see the
behaviors, beliefs, values, and norms of ones own
group as the only right way of living and to judge
others by those standards.

 4. Noble savage mentality It refers to the

evaluation of ones culture and that of others
based on the romantic notion that the culture
and way of life of the primitives or other
simple cultures is better, more acceptable
and more orderly
5. Subculture This refers to smaller group which
develop norms, values, beliefs, and special languages
which make the distinct from the broader society.

6. Counterculture or contra culture It refers

subgroups whose standards come in conflict
with the oppose the conventional standards
of the dominant culture.

7. Culture lag It refers to the gap between the

material and non-material culture.