SOCY101: SOCIOLOGY

Lecture-9
Topic: Culture
Instructor: Muhammad Adeel Irshad
Email: adeelsociologist@lgu.edu.pk
Lahore Garrison University, Lahore
 What is Culture?
•Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a
particular group of people, defined by everything from
language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.
•Culture consists of language, ideas, values, attributes,
beliefs, customs, codes, institutions, tools, works and arts,
religion, law, morality, ceremonies and festivals.
•Culture is people’s way of life. It is their pattern of
behavior, which has been created by human beings.
•Pakistani culture can be called as "Mixed Culture".
 Types of Culture
 Tangible:

Tangible things – material objects. Items like

technology, art, clothing etc.

 Intangible:

Intangible Culture (non-material) items like

values, beliefs, norms, language, and ideas. The
way we play our roles.
 Components of Culture
 Communication (Language)
 Symbols
 Ideas/Knowledge/Beliefs
 Values
 Norms;
– Mores
– Laws
– Folkways
 Rituals
 COMMUNIATION
Language
– It forms the core of all culture. When people share a language,
they share a set of symbols or meanings. That makes
communication possible.
 Symbols
A symbol is anything that carries a particular
meaning recognized by people who share
culture.
 Ideas/Knowledge/Beliefs
Ideas - are mental representations (concepts,
categories, metaphors), they are the basic units
out of which knowledge is constructed and a word
emerges.
Knowledge - is the storehouse where we
accumulate representations, information, facts,
assumptions, etc.
 Values
The values people hold vary to some degree by age,
sex, race, ethnicity, religion, and social class.
Principles or standards of behaviour; one's judgment
of what is important in life.
 Norms (Principles)
 Norms are standards that define the obligatory and expected
behaviors of people in various situations.
 Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior
of its members.
 Types of Norms
 Mores (tradition):
– They are customary behavior patterns or folkways which have taken
on a moralistic value.
 Laws:

– Violation of mores brings a strong reaction from others.

– the system of rules which a particular country or community
recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may
enforce by the imposition of penalties.
– Laws are the mores deemed so vital to dominant interests that they
become translated into legal formations that even nonmembers of
society are required to obey.
 Types of Norms
 Folkways (famous):
– These are behavior patterns of society which are organized and
repetitive.
– Folkways are commonly known as customs.
 Rituals:
– These are highly scripted ceremonies or strips of interaction that
follow a specific sequence of actions.
– A ritual is a ceremony which involves a series of actions
performed in a fixed order.
 Major Differences
Between Rural and Urban Societies
 Rural and Urban Communities
The social life of people is affected by
the kind of community in which they live
in.
The community is old as the humanity.

A community life can be defined as:

–A local grouping within which people carry
out a full round of life activities.
 Rural (Simple)
Lifein the rural
society is very simple
and reflected in the
way of living,
dressing, food
habits, shelter and
manners etc.
 Urban (Complex)
Lifein the city or
urban area is
not simple but
very complex
and
complicated.
 Rural (Uniformity)
The people in the
society had
homogeneity and
thus enjoyed
more or less the
same social
status.
 Urban (Discrimination)
 The people in
the city belong
to different
castes, creeds,
religions and
cultures, thus do
not enjoy the
same social
status.
 Rural (Limited Exposure)
In the rural
society there
was very little
scope for
occupational
mobility.
 Urban (More Opportunities)
In cities there
are many
occupations, so
occupational
mobility is as
well as
frequent.
 Rural (Strong Family Norms)
Here the family
played a very
significant and
predominant
role. Its hold
was very strong.
 Urban (Smaller Family)
 Inthe cities hold
of families is not
strong, and many
functions which
the families used
to perform have
been taken away
by other
institutions and
associations.
 Rural (No Adaptability)
In villages there
is no fast change
and as such no
necessity for
social
adaptability.
 Urban (Adaptability)
In the cities
there must be
fast mobility and
adaptability to
suit ever
changing fast
life.
 Rural (Culture Lover)
 Inthe rural
society culture
was very deep-
rooted. Everyone
loved culture
and cultural
heritage above
everything else.
 Urban (Mix Culture)
In the
cities it is
difficult to
find pure
culture.
 Rural (Division of Labour)
In a rural
society there
is no division
of labour.
 Urban (Division of Labour)
In an urban
community there
is always division
of labour and
specialization in
job allotment.
 Rural (Womenfolk)
Rural society
gives proper
respect to the
womenfolk.
 Urban (Women Roles)
Inurban
communities
women enjoys
comparatively
high social
status.
 Rural (Nature Lover)
 Inthis society
people loved
nature and
natural bounties.
They were
religious minded
and afraid of
gods and
goddesses.
 Urban (Materialistic)
In cities, people
have no time to
stand and gaze
at the nature.
They are not
religious minded
but more
materialistic.
 Rural (No Job)
 There were very
few chances of
providing
employment
and incentives
to the
unemployed by
the society.
 Urban (More Opportunities)
 The cities provide
both incentive and
employment to the
people and thus
frustrated villages
find solace in the
cities which
respects ability and
judges their worth.
 Rural (Panchayat)
Arural
society is
administere
d by a
‘Panchayat’.
 Urban (Law)
An urban
society has
local laws.
 Rural Characteristics
Community feeling
Lower crime

Tolerance

Social security

Cultural Barriers

Static life
 Urban Characteristics
 Absence of community feeling
 The increase in crime

 No spirit of tolerance

 Lack of social security

 Gross disparities (differences)

 Break down off cultural Barriers

 Dynamic life