Culture and Society - Quick Revision Notes

Meaning and Nature of Society

Society is a group of people who share a common territory, interact with each other, and uphold a shared culture. Definitions vary: Arcinas (2016) describes society as people who live together in a definite territory and share culture, with a sense of belonging and interdependence. The term derives from the Latin socius/ societas, meaning companion or association, referring to a community of interdependent individuals in a defined place with a common way of life.

Functional and Structural Definitions of Society

Society can be defined in two ways. Functional: a complex of reciprocal groups whose interactions enable human life activities and help individuals fulfill their wishes and interests in association with others. Structural: the total social heritage of folkways, mores, and institutions—the pattern of relationships and norms by which members maintain themselves.

Why People Live in Society

People live in society for survival (no one can live alone), for gregariousness (emotional warmth, belongingness, and psychosocial needs), and for specialization (professional groups form associations to promote and protect their professions).

Characteristics of Society

1) It is a social system—an interacting set of parts where changes in one part affect others.
2) It is relatively large; social integration distinguishes large units (family, clan, neighborhood, community).
3) It socializes its members and outsiders, transmitting norms and expectations to newcomers.
4) It endures and sustains members across generations, helping them cope with hunger, poverty, and other conditions.
5) It is held together by a common culture—symbols, norms, values, and shared purposes.
6) It has a clearly defined geographical territory.

Major Functions of Society

1) System of socialization: knowledge, skills, norms, values transmitted by family, peers, school, church, and organizations.
2) Provision of basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, medicine, education, transport, and communication.
3) Regulation and social control: conformity to norms; maintained by police, military, law, religion, and other institutions.
4) Means of social participation: opportunities to interact, discuss concerns, and contribute to community development.
5) Mutual support: relief and assistance from family, neighbors, groups, and organizations.

Types of Societies

Societies exist in particular places and times and change over time. Patterns are shaped by food procurement, resource availability, contact with other societies, and cultural beliefs. As societies develop, social structures and relationships change; industrialized societies, for example, often require more formal interactions with strangers. Not all societies follow the same path toward modernization; some resist change or are altered by political and global forces.

Dissolution of a Society

Society may dissolve through several processes: (1) civil revolution leading to mass killings, (2) outside conquest or extermination, (3) widespread apathy and loss of belongingness, (4) absorption by a stronger society, (5) submersion by water, or (6) voluntary attachment to another existing society.

Meaning and Nature of Culture

Culture was first conceptualized by E. B. Taylor as a complex whole including knowledge, beliefs, ideas, habits, skills, values, norms, art, morals, customs, traditions, and other capabilities acquired and transmitted socially via language and living together. This leads to a broader view: culture as a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, enabling people to communicate, perpetuate, and develop knowledge and attitudes toward life.

Definitions and Perspectives on Culture

Culture is a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embedded in symbols (Geertz).
Culture comprises learned systems of meaning conveyed through language and other symbols (D’Andrade).
Culture includes tools, implements, clothing, customs, institutions, beliefs, rituals, language, arts, and technology (White).
Culture consists of shared patterns of behavior and the meanings associated with them within groups (Whitten and Hunter).
Culture is the total socially acquired life-way, including patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting (Harris, Ferraro).

Two Components of Culture

1) Material culture: tangible objects and spaces produced or used by people (homes, tools, clothing, technology, etc.).
2) Non-material culture: beliefs, values, norms, language, organizations, and institutions—things that shape behavior but are not physical objects.

Elements of Culture

Symbols: anything that stands for something else and gives meaning to a culture (e.g., colors, images, religious crosses).
Language: storehouse of culture; a system of words and symbols used to communicate and transmit culture.
Technology: application of knowledge and equipment to ease living and shape the environment (tools, devices, methods).
Values: culturally defined standards for what is good or desirable; guide behavior and verdicts of right and wrong.
Beliefs: ideas about truth, life, and value systems; may be grounded in religion, science, common sense, or tradition.
Norms: social expectations guiding appropriate behavior; can be proscriptive (what not to do) or prescriptive (what to do).

Norms, Folkways, Mores, and Laws

Folkways: everyday customs and practices; violations are usually not serious.
Mores: norms with moral implications; violations are considered immoral (e.g., monogamy in many societies).
Laws: formalized norms enacted by the state and enforced by authorities.

What is Culture? Pattern and Norms

Culture is learned and transmitted through enculturation and socialization.
It is systemic and integrated—various subsystems (religion, economy, politics) work together.
It is shared within a group, yet not monolithic; variations exist within societies.
Language and communication are essential for transmitting culture.

Modes of Acquiring Culture

1) Imitation: copying values, language, and behaviors from the social environment.
2) Indoctrination/Suggestion: formal schooling or informal teaching through observation.
3) Conditioning: reinforcement of values and attitudes via rewards or punishments.

Adaptation of Culture

Parallelism: similar cultural patterns in different places.
Diffusion: spread of cultural traits between cultures via contact and media.
Convergence: merging of different cultures into a new, blended culture.
Fission: splitting from a culture to develop a distinct new culture.
Acculturation: adopting behavioral patterns of another culture, voluntarily or under pressure.
Assimilation: a smaller culture adopting the larger society’s culture.
Accommodation: tolerant coexistence and mutual respect between cultures.

Causes of Cultural Change

1) Discovery: finding new places or objects (e.g., fire, oil, medicines).
2) Invention: creation of new ideas, methods, or devices.
3) Diffusion: spread of traits between cultures (via acculturation, assimilation, amalgamation, enculturation).
4) Colonization: political/social imposition of one culture over another.
5) Rebellion/Revolution: movements that seek to change the social order and norms.

Orientations in Viewing Other Cultures

Ethnocentrism: judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own culture; belief that one’s culture is superior.
Xenocentrism: perceiving one’s own culture as inferior to others.
Cultural Relativism: judging a culture based on its own context and values; no culture is inherently superior.

Other Important Terms Related to Culture

Cultural diversity: variation of cultures across the world; no single right culture, but culturally appropriate practices for a given group.
Sub-culture: a smaller group within a larger culture with distinct patterns.
Counterculture: patterns that oppose widely accepted cultural norms.
Culture lag: parts of society change at different rates, creating a gap between material and non-material culture.
Culture shock: discomfort when encountering different cultural norms and meanings.
Ideal culture: the patterns mandated by cultural values and norms.
Real culture: actual practices that may diverge from ideal expectations.
High culture: patterns associated with a society’s elite.
Popular culture: patterns widespread among the general population.
Culture change: the process by which culture evolves over time.

Quick Recap for Exam Review

Society vs culture: society is people in a territory with interdependent relations; culture is learned patterns that bind and guide behavior.
Culture has material and non-material aspects; symbols, language, technology, values, beliefs, and norms are core elements.
Norms guide behavior; folkways, mores, and laws differ in importance and enforcement.
Culture changes through invention, discovery, diffusion, and interactions like acculturation and assimilation; can be resisted or accelerated by external forces.
Ethnocentrism, xenocentrism, and cultural relativism shape how we view other cultures.
Understand terms like ideal vs real culture, high vs popular culture, and culture change for quick recall during exams.