| Culture | -agency of social change -total design for living -social heritage transmitted from one generation to another -sum total of materials and intellectual equipments by which we satisfy needs | |
|---|---|---|
| Etymology of Culture | Colere - Latin word - cultivate / till the soil | Etymology |
| Malinowski | handiwork of man; medium through which man achieves his ends | Definition |
| Edward B Tyler | complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, law, customs, language, morals, and any other capabilities acq by man as a member of society | Definition |
| Characteristics of Culture | Learnt, social, shared, transmissive, relative, dynamic, gratifying, continuous, ideanational [DISC STRGL] | Mnemonic |
| Culture is learnt | not inborn, it is learnt, transmitted, learnt through socialization and group life; ex shaking hands, clothing, worshipping, saying thanks, etc | characteristics |
| Culture is social | social heritage of man, group life, social interaction. behaviour patterns. shared by members of group, does not belong to one person | characteristics |
| Culture is shared | social property, belongs to group, customs, beliefs, ideas, folkways, mores, langs, etc belong to people of group. shared by members. product of group life, cannot be used by single person. Cannot exist without group | characteristics |
| Culture is transmissive | social heritage, linked with past, transmitted from one gen to another; passed through language, customs, traditions. Lang = chief vehicle. sum of experiences | characteristics |
| Culture is relative | Culture is not uniform, differ from society to society, variations in morals, mores, customs, diet, values, etc., relative to time and place | characteristics |
| Culture is dynamic | is not static, changes from time to time, factors like inventions and policies, problems, etc have an impact, evolves, factors that bring change in society bring change in culture | characteristics |
| Culture is gratifying | provides environment for satisfaction of human wants, guides activity of men, eg marriage provides framework to satisfy bio needs to have family; | characteristics |
| Culture is continuous | Ever-growing phenomenon; glory of past and achievments of present. Eg - bullock carts, aeroplanes | characteristics |
| Culture is ideanational | Not material or non-material, not objects; psychological meanings to traits, sentiments to cultural elements. For eg - National Flag is not just a cloth but yada yada | characteristics |
| Types of culture / Contents of culture | Material and Non-Material; High culture, folk culture, mass culture, popular culture, sub culture | |
| Material Culture | Tangible, Man-made, concrete, visible. Eg buildings, trains, so on. Referred to as Civilization. Rapid change in short period of time | |
| Non Material Culture | Abstract, Intangible, Invisible. Traditions, values, beliefs, customs, habits, rituals, etc. Language and idealogy, family, marriage, religion. Changes slowly and does not adjust itself to changes in material culture | |
| High Culture | Cultural creations that have high status / highest level of human creativity. Eg classical composers, famous paintings. | |
| Folk Culture | Culture of ordinary people. Grassroots level. Self created and autonomous. reflects the lives and experiences of people. Eg folk songs and stories | |
| Mass Culture | Essentially product of mass media. For eg popular films, TV operators, recorded music | |
| Popular Culture | Similar to mass culture. Anything that is popular i.e liked by a large number of ordinary peeps. eg pop music | |
| Sub Culture | Counter-culture. Group of people with something in common that distinguishes them from others | |
| Cultural Lag | Introduced by Ogburn. (in Social Change) Delineated two aspects of culture - material and non material. both dynamic. material - changes rapidy, while non material is slow. Difference = lag. Can’t adjust, non material lags behind. Two correlated parts of culture that change at uneven paces. Adjustment issues | |
| Socialization | Learning process where person becomes a member of society; mould individuals into ways of their society and culture. Begins at birth, continues throughout life. Born as biological organism with animal needs. Socialization helps mould and become social beings and learn social ways of acting and feeling. Makes society and culture possible. Acquire culture of the group | |
| Socialization - Ogburn and Nimkoff | ”Socialization is the process by which the individual learns to conform to the norms of the group.” | Definition |
| Stages of socialization | 1) Oral 2)Anal 3)Oedipal 4)Adolescence. HM Johnson | |
| Oral Stage | from birth to 1 year. Cries a lot. Oral dependency, learns to signal needs for care. Sub sytem - himself and mother. Can’t differentiate the roles of other from mother. Infant and mother’s role are merged. Freud called it primary identification | |
| Anal Stage | 1 - 3 years. Anal crisis. Imposition of new demands. Asked to take care of himself to a certain degree. Toilet training. Internalises seperated roles, his and mother’s. Not only recieves but also gives love. Becomes capable to diff bw correct and incorrect performance by training from socializing agent (mother) , and rewards / punishments. Two systems - i) subsytem - child and mom. ii) family. Mediator bw both | |
| Oedipal Stage | 4 - 13 (puberty). Takes himself part of family. Oedipus and Electra Complex. (jealousy towards parent of same sex and love towards other). Believed to be sexual. Playmates. Three role identifications - i) Sex role (with brother and father) ii) role of child in fam (identification with siblings) iii) with whole family. | |
| Stage of Adolescence | Physiological and psychological changes. Want to free from parental control. Emotional crisis. Interest in opposite sex. Learns morals. | |
| Agencies of Socialization | INFORMAL - [Family, Peer Group] FORMAL - [School, Mass Media, State] | |
| Socialization as child | Two - One from peeps with more authority, second from equal in authority | |
| Family as agency of socialization | Informal. First agency. Close rel, passiveness of child, emotional attachment, physical proximity. Parental influence, esp mother. Learns language, civic virtues, cooperation, love, tolerance. Parents = more authority. Child is passive. This makes easier. Cultural heritage is passed. | |
| Peer group as an agency of socialization | Informal. Agemates, playmates, classmates, friends. Equal authority. Acq appropriate roles, conduct, personal independence, goals. Cooperation. Explore tabooed topics, for eg sexual knowledge. Fashions, fads. | |
| School as an agency of socialization | Formal. Teachers help mould personality. Ideas and attitudes. Education. Friendship, cooperation, discipline. Intellectual, social, and emotional development. Authoritative | |
| Mass media as an agency of socialization | Formal. Print and media. Have an effect on personality. Eg books, magazines, shows, etc. Transmit culture. Educate masses and change value systems. | |
| State as an agency of socialization | Authoritarian agency. Formal. Makes laws. Immense power. Social adjustment. Teaches to follow rules. Punishes | |
| Role of culture in socialization | i) base to socialization in making normal social being ii)Acts as guidance to control various activities. iii) teaches cultural qualities like morality, ideals, values. iv) help decide career. v)help become an important contributor to society. vi)guidance to behaviour patterns vii)kindhearted and sympathetic viii) social welfare and positive attitude |