Musammat Mahzebin

Lecturer
Department of Humanities
Khulna University of Engineering and
Technology (KUET)
Chapter Outline
Culture
Types of Culture
Cultural Diffusion
Enculturation
Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
Subculture and Counter culture
Culture and Biology
Cultural Lag
Culture
Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge,
experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings,
hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial
relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects
and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course
of generations through individual and group striving.
Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively
large group of people.
A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the
behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept,
generally without thinking about them, and that are passed
along by communication and imitation from one
generation
Culture
The word "culture" derives from a French term, which
in turn derives from the Latin "colere," which means to
tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture.
Culture is the sum of total of the learned behavior of a
group of people that are generally considered to be the
tradition of that people and are transmitted from
generation to generation.
Types of Culture
A culture has four aspects or four types:
1)material
2)non-material culture
3) ideal
4)real culture.
Material Culture:
 Material culture consists of man-made objects such as furniture,
automobiles, buildings, dams, bridges, roads and in fact, the
physical matter converted and used by man. It is closely related
with the external, mechanical as well as useful objects. It includes,
technical and material equipment like a railways engines,
publication machines, a radio etc. It includes our financial
institutions, parliaments, insurance policies etc. and referred to as
civilization.
Non-Material Culture
 The term 'culture' when used in the ordinary sense, means non-material
culture'. This term when used in the ordinary sense, means non-material.
It is something nonphysical ideas which include values, beliefs, symbols,
organization and institutions etc. Nonmaterial culture includes words we
use, the language we speak, our belief held, values we cherish and all the
ceremonies observed.
 Real Culture
 Real culture can be observed in our social life. We act upon on
culture in our social life is real, its part which the people adopt in
their social life is their real one. The whole one is never real because
a part of it remains without practice. How far we set upon Islam is
our real culture. Being a Muslims, Christian and related to another
religion we do not follow Islam, Christianity etc. fully in our social
life. It means the part of religion which we follow is our real culture.
 Ideal Culture
 The culture which is presented as a pattern or precedent to the people is
called ideal. It is the goal of the society. It can never be achieved fully
because some part of it remains out of practice. It is explained in
textbooks, our leaders’ speeches and guidance. The part of ideal culture
practiced in social life is called real culture. Islam is our ideal one. We
claim to be true Muslims and this claim is our ideal culture but how far
we are Muslims in practice is our real culture. Both the real and ideal
cultures are related together and different from each other.
Different Types of Culture
 High Culture – is linked with the elite, upper class society, those families
and individuals with an ascribed status position. It is often associated
with the arts such as opera, ballet and classical music, sports such as polo
and lacrosse, and leisure pursuits such as hunting and shooting. Clearly,
high  culture is associated with a small elite in society, who, it is argued,
operate a system of social closure – not allowing entry to ‘outsiders’ –
thus ensuring  that high culture maintains its elite and exclusive position.
 Subculture – is culture enjoyed by a small group within society. In this
sense it is a minority part of majority culture. They have distinct norms
and values which make them sub-section of society. Examples of
subcultures in the UK include youth groups such as emos and skaters,
or religious groups such as the Scientologists (New Age Traveller
Groups).
 Popular Culture – is suggested that it borrows the idea from high
culture and popularizes it, making it available for the masses. Thereby
it is depicted to be a product of the media dominated world; that it is a
positive force because it brings people of different backgrounds
together in a common culture.
 Multiculturalism – it is depicted to be very similar to cultural
diversity, other definitions align multiculturalism with different ethnic
groups living alongside each other.
 Global Culture  -  Globalization is the process by which events in one
part of the world come to influence what happens elsewhere in the
world. They has become interconnected; socially, politically and
economically. A global culture is a key feature of globalization, they
emerged due to patterns of migration, trends in international travel
and the spread of the media, exposing people to the same images of
the same dominant world companies.
Cultural Lag
The term cultural lag refers to the notion that
culture takes time to catch up with technological
innovations, and the resulting social problems that are
caused by this lag.
In other words, cultural lag occurs whenever there is
an unequal rate of change between different parts of
culture causing a gap between material and non-
material culture.
The term cultural lag is used to describe the situation
in which technological advancements or changes in
society occur faster than the changes in the rules and
norms of the culture that go along with those
advancements or changes.
This can lead to moral and ethical dilemmas for
individuals as the new social norms are developed.
Subsequently, cultural lag does not only apply to this
idea only, but also relates to theory and explanation.
It helps by identifying and explaining social problems
to predict future problems in society.
The term was first coined in William F. Ogburn's 1922
work Social Change with Respect to Culture and
Original Nature.
According to the theory of cultural lag ( William
Ogburn's), material culture usually changes much
quicker than non-material culture. ...
 An example of cultural lag is the advancement of
genetic engineering and the ethical dilemmas
surrounding this advancement.
Cultural relativism
Cultural relativism is the idea that a person's beliefs,
values, and practices should be understood based on
that person's own culture, rather than be judged
against the criteria of another.
Cultural relativism refers to not judging a culture to
our own standards of what is right or wrong, strange or
normal.
Instead, we should try to understand cultural
practices of other groups in its own cultural context
Why it is important
Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a
culture on its own terms and not to make judgments
using the standards of one's own culture.
The goal of this is promote understanding of cultural
practices that are not typically part of one's own
culture.
Cultural Diffusion
Culture is a broad terminology, and cultural diffusion is
even broader. 
Silk-route is a classic example of cultural diffusion, which
engineered the East-West merger, thus making the world
a global village.
Owing to varied factors, when a culture spreads and
overlaps with other cultures, we then term it as the process
of diffusion.
The core from which a culture is born, and then spreads
over to the rest of the world is a cultural hearth. 
Mecca is an ideal example in terms of religion, from where
Muslims initially traveled to spread and convert people to
Islam.
Cultural Diffusion
Defining Cultural Diffusion
Cultural diffusion is the intermingling of one or more cultures. 
It is the outcome of the spread of literacy and education, inter-
country trade relations, technological development, and
religious interventions. 
Ex: the spreading of restaurant chains is a more recent addition,
along with fabric brands.
 No one can overlook the popularity of KFC, McDonald's,
authentic Asian restaurants, or for that matter, even Reebok or
Adidas. All of them have garnered global attention.
Perhaps, technology is the swiftest catalyst of cultural diffusion.
No boundaries exist in the sharing of technological wonders.
Cultural Diffusion
Cultural diffusion is a long process, which is accentuated in three
ways. These are:
Direct diffusion: Two varying cultures adopt the features of each
other and survive.
Forced diffusion: One culture overpowers the other.
Indirect diffusion: Traits of one culture are incorporated into
others through external factors like education, mass media, and
social forms of communication.
Common Cultural Diffusions:
 The spread of music throughout the world also illustrates cultural diffusion.
Many people in European cities and former colonies speak both
their native tongue and English. In fact, almost 80 percent of English
speakers in the world are non-native speakers due to the spread of
the language through imperialism and trade.
Cultural Diffusion
Religion and Cultural Diffusion:
For many cultures, religion has always been an integral part
of life.
Christianity started in Israel but is now practiced all over
the world, initially spread far and wide by the Roman
Empire.
During the Han Dynasty, Buddhism spread from India to
China via the march of Emperor Wu's armies and the
opening of new trade routes.
Like Christianity, Islam is no longer contained to one region
of the world following immigration.
An example of forced diffusion is the Spanish, French,
English and Portuguese forcing the native population of the
Americas to become Christian.
Cultural Diffusion
Cultural Diffusion in Technology:
Paper was first made in China, eventually spreading to
the Middle East and Europe.
Gunpowder also originated in China. Of course,
nations all across the globe went on to produce
gunpowder, too.
The fax machine was invented by Scottish inventor 
Alexander Bain, but certainly didn't remain in the UK
alone.
The anti-lock brake system was developed in the
United States, despite many claims that the German
manufacturer, Mercedes, got there first. The Germans
then perfected it.
Cultural Diffusion
Economics and Cultural Diffusion:
Trade has been a means of cultural diffusion for centuries,
dating back to the Silk Road and beyond, when caravans
would travel and exchange goods between Europe and Asia.
Today, we can apply tuition money to various study abroad
programs. Students are able to spend semesters anywhere,
from Ireland, to Greece, to Japan. As you immerse yourself
in another culture, you're sure to bring various components
of that lifestyle back home with you and perhaps inspire
someone else to go spend their money abroad.
People learn of new products in other countries, like
personal computers or cell phones, demand increases, the
product becomes more affordable, and the product is spread
around the world.
Cultural Diffusion
Exchanging Ideas, Increasing Knowledge:
In the end, cultural diffusion can be life-changing. When
an American woman in Wisconsin enrolls in salsa classes
taught by an Argentinean man, they might forge a lifelong
friendship that would've never happened if cultural
diffusion wasn't a part of our reality.
Enculturation
The process by which an individual learns the traditional
content of a culture and assimilates its practices and values.
Enculturation is the process of teaching an individual the
norms and values of a culture through unconscious
repetition. 
Enculturation is the process by which an individual
learns the culture that they are surrounded by. 
It enables them to function as members of that
society.
 Enculturation teaches, amongst other things, moral
values, behaviors, expectations, rituals and–the focus
of this article–language.
This helps unify people to create functional societies.
Enculturation
Enculturation can occur at many different levels, as culture
exists both in broad strokes and in miniature.
Consider, for instance, the American culture, which
encompasses its many subcultures, some that depend on
geography such as “West Coast," those based on lifestyle
choices such as hipsters or yuppies, the differences between
different generations, and so on.
Familiar Mechanisms
Enculturation can either refer to formal learning, such as in
a traditional education system, or informal learning, such as
the social feedback you receive from your parents and
friends as a developing child and beyond. 
Both are critical to the process and blend in unique ways to
create different personalities.
Enculturation
Our entire lives may be viewed as an enculturation process
as we constantly learn more about the changing culture
surrounding us, adding depth and breadth to our
knowledge.
Other cultures enculturate children differently,
obviously, but the broad strokes tend to be the same.
With regard to language, the mechanisms by which
one is inculturated include both formal and informal
learning