UCSP: Reporting 1-9

Introduction to Culture: Clarence

1. Edward Tyler (1881) a British anthropologist -defined culture as "that complex whole which includes
knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by a
human as a member of society."
2. Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn an American anthropologist described culture as an abstraction
from behavior .
3. Leslie White’s essay (1959) American anthropologist -The Concept of Culture (1959), provided an
explanation for this. The said issue is not whether culture is real or merely an abstraction; rather, the
issue is the context of the scientific interpretation.
4. Emile Durckheim (1893) affirmed Comte’s definition in his book the division of labor in society.
Durkheim believed that solidarity was the normal condition of society; that harmony rather than
conflict defines society. He is a French sociologist.
5. Talcott Parsons American sociologist- culture is a complex system made of many parts -Talcott Parsons
pointed out another assertion when he maintained that "any social system can be analyzed in terms of
functional prerequisites (i.e., adaptation, goal attainment. integration, and pattern maintenance);
Ex: Education technology etc.
CULTURE: Concept Map
• Language • Religion • Celebration • Child-rearning
• Working Schedule • Food • Jokes Methods
• Medical Cure • Folk Art • Manners

What makes up Culture- Shared characteristics of group of people who associate themselves with particular
values, belief and religion.
Aspects of Culture: RJ
 Culture is depicted in many ways when individuals were asked “What is the culture like?” about places
they visited they normally respond by describing the food they tasted, customs they observed and types of
people they interacted with. All these and more define what culture is.
All culture are classified according to material and non-material :
 Material- this includes all material objects and then with physical representation like tools,
building ,gadgets, etc. It includes cultural component which are produced, utilized and changed by people.
 Non-material- Culture that is non-tangible and has no physical representation is called non- material
culture.
o Cognitive Culture- consists of concepts ideas and philosophies that are considered the products of
rational functioning of the human mind.
o Normative Culture- consists of shared expectation, role and standards of human behavior.

Elements of Culture:EJ
All culture is made up of elements that are fundamental to human life. Such elements include belief, language,
norms , symbols, technology and values.

 Belief- are ideas, viewpoints and attitudes of people based on common sense, folklore religion or science
the tenets or conviction that people hold to be true.
 Language- is a shared set of spoken and written symbols for transmission of culture. A system of words
used to communicate with other people.
 Norms-are rules or standard that guide the behaviors of individuals. While often unspoken norms offer
social standards for appopriate and inappopriate behavior that govern what is (and is not) acceptable
interaction among people.
 Symbols- whether verbal or non-verbal, are used to communicate meanings to others. It is a domain of
objective facts whose existence depends paradoxically on collective belief.
 Technology- the appliacation of scientific knowledge for practical purposes .
 Values- are principles of standards of behaviors. Culturall defined standards for what is good or desirable.

Characteristic of Culture- Reij

1. Culture is dynamic, flexible and adaptive - Culture is a product of society through the dynamic interactions
of humans with one another.
2. Culture is shared and contested -It implies that culture is shared among a group of people commissioned
to pass it on to the future generations.
3. Culture is learned through enculturation and socialization- Culture comprises attitudes, beliefs, behaviors,
knowledge, laws, norms, and practices that people learn from their family. school, church, and other social
institutions. The process of learning one's culture is called enculturation.
4. Culture is consists pf patterned social interactions- It is evident that we interact with many people each
day. Such social interactions are regular and repetitive aspects of the exchanges among members of a
given social entity.
 Cooperative  Competition  Exchange  Conflict
 Accomodation-Forms of Accomodation
o Compromise o Truce o Mediation o Arbitration
5. Culture is integrated and at times unstable- All aspects of a culture are interrelated.
6. Culture is transmitted through socialization or enculturation- An enduring process where individuals
develop a self-concept in order to prepare for their roles is known as socialization.
7. Culture requires language and other forms of communication - Meaning-creating and interpreting meaning
is done within a cultural framework"

Different Type of Societies (Report 5-7) Yuan, Jiro,Karl

 Foraging societies also called hunting and gathering society word described as the oldest and simplest
form of society, which mainly covered the paleolithic age 2.6 million years ago. The member of this society
were nomadic and survived mainly by hunting, fishing, and gathering plants to eat using various stone
tools and weapons.
 Pastoral societies emerged between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago were hunting and gathering groups
staled to capture, breed and tend species of wild animals. In pastoral societies human beings relied on
products acquired through breeding and domestication of animals both for food and transportation
 Horticultural societies- Horticultural societies depend on the cultivation of plants, like fruits and
vegetables, in order to survive. People in this type of society usually relocate when their resources are
depleted. Horticulturists apply their knowledge, skills, and technologies to grow plants for both food and
nonfood needs.
 Agricultural Societies- Agricultural societies use technology in order to cultivate crops. Sociologists call this
Agricultural Revolution. This term refers to the technological changes that have occurred 8 500 years ago
and have led to the cultivation of crops and raising of farm animals.
 Industrial societies utilize advanced sources of energy for productivity. This period is referred to as the
Industrial Revolution,Because of new technologies. As a result, the means of transportation improved.

The industrial age resulted in changes in major aspects of society. Among these changes were the following:
o Factories as the center of work
o public education via schools became the norm
o life expectancy increased as the population's health improve
o political institutions changed into modern models of governance
o cultural diversity increased as did social mobility

 Post-industrial societies base their economies on services and technology.

o In The Coming of Post-industrial Society (1973), American sociologist Daniel Bell stated that in a post-
industrial society, "there will be an enormous growth in the 'third sector'-the nonprofit area outside of
business and government, which include schools, hospitals, research institutes, voluntary and civic
associations, and the like."
o Social mobility also arose in this form of modern society.
o The aforesaid changes-from the manufacturing of goods to the proliferation of economies on services
and technology-gave birth to the concept of globalization. In his book Globalization and its Discontents
(2002), American economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz defined globalization as "the closer
integration of the countries and Main- peoples of the world brought about by the enormous reduction
of costs transportation and communication, and the breaking down of artificial barriers to the flows of
goods, services, capital, knowledge, and people cross borders."
 o An example is the common market. Business dictionary defines it as "A group formed by countries
within a geographical area to promote duty free trade and free movement of labor and capital among
its members" (e.g., European Union and ASEAN).

CULTURAL ICEBERG - Zykhe

 Because cultures share characteristics essential to each other's existence, it is important to understand
their observable and hidden features. Observable features include words and actions, while the hidden
features include attitudes and values.
 In his book Beyond Culture (1976), American anthropologist Edward Hall explained the iceberg analogy of
culture. He explained that if the culture of a society was the iceberg, then there were some aspects visible
and a larger portion hidden beneath the surface. Correspondingly, individuals often assume that the
culture consists only of observable features called behaviors, words and, actions visible to the casual
observer.

ICEBERG: TOP OF ICEBERG

Observable
 Behaviors- Words and actions which are apparent to the casual observer
BENEATH THE ICEBERG
Non-observable
 Interpretations -How we feel the core values should be reflected in specific situations in daily life
such as working or socializing.
 Core Values- Learned Ideas of what is considered good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or desirable,
acceptable or unacceptable

CULTURAL HERITAGE – Chantal

 The diversity of culture is essential for the stability of human development. This is evident in all societies
because of their tangible and intangible culture, which are considered cultural heritage by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
 UNESCO defines cultural heritage as the "legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or
society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present, and bestowed for the benefit
of future generations.
 This consists of landmarks, monuments, and collections of objects. It also includes traditions inherited
from our ancestors, such as festivals, knowledge, oral traditions, practices. performing arts, rituals, and the
like.
 UNESCO has been advocating the concept of World Heritage.
 To promote this global campaign, UNESCO's World Heritage mission endeavors to "encourage the
identification, protection, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered
to be of outstanding value to humanity." The said mission is adopted by UNESCO in 1972, embodied in an
international treaty known as the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage.