CULTURE

 Is that complex whole which includes

knowledge, beliefs, art, law and customs and
any other capabilities and habits acquired by
man as a member of society. (Edward Tyler,
English Anthropologist)
 Refers to the values, beliefs, behaviour, and
material objects that together form a people’s way
of life.
 It includes what we think, how we act, and what we
own.
 A bridge to our past and a guide to our future.
 Characteristics of Culture
 Culture is learned
 Culture is socially transmitted through language
 Culture is a social product
 Culture is a source of gratification ( satisfaction)
 Culture is adaptive
 Culture is a distinctive way of life of different
people
 Culture is material/non-material
 Culture has sanctions and controls
 Culture is stable yet dynamic
 Culture is an establish pattern of behaviour
Functions of Culture
 Culture offers specific ways for people
to meet general biological needs.
 Culture protects people from the
weather.
 Because of culture, people do not
have to figure out how to meet the
basic needs, accomplish tasks, or
interpret the word for they can rely on
traditions of their ancestors.
 General Categories of Culture
Material Non- Material
 Physical creations that  Consist of the abstract or
members of a society intangible human creations
make, use and share. of society that influences
people’s behaviour.
 Can be seen and
touch/tangible  Those are the things that
have no physical existence
 Examples: vintas, stone such as language, beliefs,
clubs, jet airplanes, ideas, knowledge and
bridges, artworks, and behaviours.
skycrapers.
 Components of Culture
Symbols
 Something to what people attach
meaning and which they then use to
communicate with one another.
 Basis of culture
 It includes gestures, language, values,
norms, folkways, mores, laws, and
sanctions
 GESTURES
 The use of one’s body to communicate
with others, useful shorthand ways to
give messages.
 It can be changed from one culture to
another.
 Sometimes may lead to
misunderstanding or embarrassment
LANGUAGE
 A system o symbols that can be put
together in an infinite number of
ways for the purpose of
communicating abstract thought.

 The primary way in which people

communicate with one another is
through language.
Values

 Values are broad, abstract,

shared standards of what are
right, desirable, and worthy of
respect.
 To learn a culture is to learn
people’s values.
Norms
 Are more specific rules about appropriate
behaviour. It expresses expectations
about how a particular person should
behave, think or feel in a specific
situation.
FORMAL NORM- Are written down and
specify strict rules for punishment of
violations.
INFORMAL NORM- are generally
understood but not precisely recorded.
 Mores
 Are strong norms that are regarded
as morally significant, and violations
of them are considered as a serious
matter.
 They are considered highly
necessary to the welfare of a society
because they embody the most
cherished principles of the people.
Folkways
 Are the ordinary usages ad
conventions of everyday life.
 Conformity to folkways is
expected but not absolutely
insisted upon.
Laws
 Law is a rule that has been
formally enacted by a political
authority and is backed by the
power of the state.
 Sanctions
 Reward for appropriate behaviour or
penalties for inappropriate behaviours
 POSITIVE SANCTIONS
 Expressions of approval given for
following a norm.
(e.g., money, a prize, a trophy/ hugs,
smiles, a pat on the shoulder, soothing
words or handshakes.
 NEGATIVE SANCTIONS
 Expressions of disapproval for breaking
a norm.
(e.g., payment of a fine, gestures such as
frowns, stares, harsh words, or raised
fists)
DEVELOPMENT OF
CULTURE AROUND THE
WORLD
 Cultural Universals
 Customs and practices that
occur in all cultures
 These cultures may be found
in all cultures, but the manner
in which they are expressed
varies from culture to culture.
 For instance, one society
may allow its members to
choose their own
marriage partners.
Another may encourage
marriages arranged by
parents.
 Cultural universals may not only
vary from society to another; it
may also change over time
within society. Most human
cultures change and expand as
a result of innovations and
diffusion.
 INNOVATION

 Takes place when new idea or

object is introduced to a
culture.
 TWO FORMS OF INNOVATION
DISCOVERY INVENTION
 Process of learning  Combination or
about something new use of existing
previously knowledge to
unknown or produce something
unrecognized that did not exist
 Uncovering of before.
natural elements
or existing realities
 Diffusion
 Process by which culture items or
social practices spread from one
society to another.
 McDonalization- is associated
with the melding of cultures, so
much so that we see more and
more similarities in cultural
expression.
 Describes how the principle of fast-
food restaurants developed in the
United States has come to
dominate many sectors of societies
throughout the world.
 In Japan for instance, African
entrepreneurs have found a
thriving market for hip-hop
fashions that was made popular by
teenagers in the United States.
 TECHNOLOGY
 Information how to use the material
resources of the environment to satisfy
human needs and desires.
 Knowledge, techniques and tools that
allow people to transform resources into
usable forms as well as the knowledge and
skills required to use what is developed.
 Responsible not only in accelerating
scientific innovations but also in
transmitting culture.
 GLOBALIZATION
 Worldwide integration of cultures,
social movements, government
policies and financial markets
through trade and exchange of
ideas.
Cultural Variation
 Refers to the rich diversity in social practices that
different cultures exhibit around the world.
 Music, language, dance, cuisine and art all change
from one culture to the next, but so do gender roles,
economic systems, and social hierarchy among any
number of other humanly organised behaviours.
 Refers to the differences in social behaviors that
different cultures exhibit around the world. What
may be considered good etiquette in one culture may
be considered bad etiquette in another.
(globalsociology.pbworks.com)
Social Difference
 are the situations where people are
discriminated against on the basis of
social, economic, and racial
inequality.
Social Division

 Division of society on the basis of

social differences like language,
region, caste, colour, race, and sex
Social Change
 An alteration in the social structure of a
social group or society which, according
to, International Encyclopaedia of
Social Science (IESS. 1972), are the
change in the nature, social institutions,
social behaviours or social relations of a
society.
Anthropology
 It is a compound of two Greek words,
‘anthropos’ and ‘logos’, which can be
translated as ‘human’ and ‘reason’.
 The study of human societies and cultures
and their development, e.i., human
biological and physiological characteristics
and their evolution.
 The comparative study of cultural and social
life.
What is Culture?
 is a whole way of life.
 A system of meanings embedded in
symbols. The learned values, beliefs,
and rules of conduct shared to some
extent by the members of a society that
govern their behaviour with one
another.
 originates from the Latin ‘colere’,
which means to cultivate. (The word
‘colony’ has the same origin.)
 Cultural anthropology thus means
‘knowledge about cultivated humans;’
that is, knowledge about those aspects of
humanity which are not natural, but
which are related to that which is
acquired.
*acquired, cognitive and symbolic aspects
of existence
What is Society?
 refers to the social organisation of
human life, patterns of interaction and
power relationships
 The aggregate of people living
together in a more or less ordered
community
 An organization or club formed for a
particular purpose or activity
What is Politics?
 The academic study of government and
the state
 The activities associated with the
governance of a country or other area,
especially the debate or conflict among
individuals or parties having or hoping to
achieve power
 The activities of governments concerning
the political relations between countries
 “If each discipline can be said to have a
central problem,” writes Michael
Carrithers (1992, p. 2), “then the central
problem of anthropology is the diversity
of human social life.
 To what extent do all humans, cultures
or societies have something in common,
and to what extent is each of them
unique?