Culture
Sociology Revision Article Series
Culture consists of shared products of society. Society consists of interacting people who share a culture.
Authors
Culture: An Explanation
In the German, Scandinavian, and Slavic language groups, the word "culture" tends to mean a particular way of life, and it is applied to groups of people or time periods. In Italian and French language, the word refers to art, learning, and a general process of human development. In English language, both meanings exist today. In Sociology, culture refers to the ways of living or customs of a group or society.
Conceptually culture and society can be distinguished. Culture consists of shared products of society. Society consists of interacting people who share a culture [1]. But the two are very closely interrelated. A society could not exist without culture, because there is no bond in the absence of ties that create the bond. Culture is the collection of ties that create society. A culture cannot exist or cannot be identified without a society.
The contents of culture are not genetically transmitted. They are learned during the growth of the person in the society.
Elements of Culture
Sociologist William F. Ogburn made a useful distinction between elements of material and nonmaterial culture.
Some Important Elements of Culture
Norms
Norms (they include folkways, mores and laws and values) are elements of culture, especially that of nonmaterial culture.
Norms or also termed social norms are guidelines that prescribe the behavior that is appropriate in a given situation. While some norms apply to all persons in a society, some apply to some people in particular situation. Norms that apply to students, religious preacher are etc. are norms applicable to some group of people in particular situations.
Folkways
Folkways are norms for everyday life. The food people eat, the way they cook it, the way they dress are all folkways. Those who do not conform to the folkways are considered peculiar and eccentric. But they are not immoral.
Mores
Mores are norms that are much stronger than folkways. People believe that mores are crucial for the maintenance of a decent and orderly society, and the offender is strongly criticized, punched, or insulted. Some violations are almost unthinkable and they are termed taboos.
Laws
Laws are norms encoded in law. A law is a rule that have been formally enacted by a political authority and is backed by the power of the state.
Values
The norms of a society are ultimately an expression of its values. The difference between values and norms is that values are abstract, general concepts, whereas norms are behavioral rules or guidelines in particular kinds of situations. Values influence the content of norms.
American values
Robin Williams (1970) identified fifteen basic values of American society [2].
1. Achievement and success
2. Activity and work
3. Moral orientation
4. Humanitarian mores
5. Efficiency and practicality
6. Progress
7. Material comfort
8. Equality
9. Freedom
10. External conformity
11. Science and rationality
12. Nationalism - patriotism
13. Democracy
14. Individual personality
15. Group-superiority theme.
Reasons for Cultural Variation
Cultural Change
References
Robin Williams, American Society: A Sociological Interpretation, New York, Random House, 1970.
Persell, Caroline Hodges, Understanding Society, Harper and Row, New York, 1984.
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