Culture and The Social Order

Culture and the Social Order
Culture
The term culture is varied in its definition, as such it cannot be limited to one
singular explanation. These are few definitions that capture the sociological
understanding of the term.
Sir Edward B. Tylor, "That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society."
Culture
To the interactionists culture refer to "systems of human meaning."
Culture may also refer to the shared knowledge, beliefs and values of members of
society and may be passed on from generation to generation through the process
of socialization.
It is a way of life.
Identity
Whilst culture determines the accepted behaviours for members of a society, identity
refers to an individual’s relationship to the environment with which he/she interacts and
the persons with whom he/she interacts.
It can be defined as the collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing/a
person is definitively recognizable or known.
Types of Culture
Non-material culture: intangible world of ideas created by members of society e.g.

language, beliefs, religions, etc.
Material culture: tangible aspects of culture created by members of society. They are
objects created by society e.g. food/cuisine, clothing, arts, buildings, tools, etc.
Cultural Groups
Subcultures: a smaller group in society that possesses its own unique features and
thereby is distinguishable from the culture of the wider society. Members of this group
live close together (in communities) and have a shared lifestyle characterised by norms,
values and beliefs. They participate in mainstream society but hold on to their lifestyle.
Countercultures: these emerged out of subcultures as they are characterised by a set

of norms, values, beliefs and customs that are distinctive from and often hostile to the
rest of the society. Difference between subculture and counterculture is that
subcultures coexist with the mainstream culture while countercultures are opposed to it
e.g. Rastafari and Vodou.
Cultural Groups
Multiculturalism- is associated with the idea of cultural diversity as it suggests that in
any one society there will be a multiplicity of different cultures each with their own
cultural attributes that nevertheless share the same social space.
Characteristics of Culture
● Culture is learnt- directly through observation and imitation.
● Culture is shared- not unique to any one individual but is common to all members of
a society.
● Culture is symbolic- every society has symbols that hold special meaning to its
members.
● Culture is adaptive- develops across time and space because as humans adapt to
their physical and social environment they create cultural solutions for the
challenges they face.
Functions of Culture
● Culture enables us to communicate with others through language. Language
allows humans to create meanings and make sense of their world.
● Culture makes it possible to anticipate how others in our society are likely to
respond to our actions.
● Culture gives us standards for distinguishing between right and wrong (norms),
beautiful and unpleasant (values) and reasonable and unreasonable.
● Culture provides methods for training children to behave (socialisation)
appropriately in society.
Elements of Culture
There are various components of culture. They fall into four categories:
Symbols- structures, gestures, material possessions, food, clothing
Language-symbols that express ideas and allow people to communicate with each other
Values- what is desirable and undesirable
Norms- rules that govern social action. Types of norms include: folkways, mores,
customs and laws.
Cultural Variations
Dominant Culture- is often associated with the concept of ‘high’ or ‘elite’ culture and
simply refers to the lifestyle of the more socially dominant group in a society.
Popular culture- is any cultural product appreciated by large numbers of ordinary people
(for example, television programmes, music, detective stories or movies).
Ideal culture- culture refers to the values, norms, and beliefs that a society desires to
achieve. For example, the values of honesty and respect set the tone for how members
should live and how society should function.
Cultural Variations
Real Culture- is the actual values, beliefs and customs that members of society follow.
While there is an ideal standard, in reality people fall short in many ways and engage in
behaviours that go against what they advocate (for example, some people lie).
Cultural shock- is the feeling of disruption that individuals might experience when they
are confronted with and alien culture.
Ethnocentrism- occurs when a person uses their culture as a yardstick against which
they measure other people’s culture and in the process give a negative evaluation of that
culture while suggesting that their own culture is superior.
Cultural Variations
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. It offered as a solution to the
problem of ethnocentrism.
Cultural Differences
Cultural Diffusion-is the spreading of cultural traits-could be a cooking utensil, an idea or
behaviour pattern-from one society to another. This process is achieved through
migration and mass media, and grow more with globalisation.
Acculturation- involves the borrowing of cultural traits by one culture from another.
Interculturation- refers to the mixing of cultures that goes on between groups who share
a space. The groups do not have to necessarily give up on their culture but participate in
various ways in each others lives. This happens in the plural society where different
groups exchange cultural traits.
Cultural Assimilation- occurs when a minority group is completely absorbed into the
majority culture so that it becomes indistinguishable from it.
Cultural retention- is the act of retaining the culture of a specific ethnic group of people,
especially when there is reason to believe that the culture, through inaction, may be lost.
Some Caribbean governments preserve historical sites and promote folk festivals to
keep cultural traditions.
Cultural renewal- occurs when members of a society make a conscious effort to
rejuvenate some elements of the society’s culture that they believe have been ignored or
suppressed.
Cultural erasure- is associated with the belief that certain cultural practices have died
out or are dying out.

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Culture and the Social Order

Non-material culture: intangible world of ideas created by members of society e.g.

Countercultures: these emerged out of subcultures as they are characterised by a set

Symbols- structures, gestures, material possessions, food, clothing

Values- what is desirable and undesirable

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