Culture

Faiqa Chaudhary
Introduction
- Term culture was introduced by ‘Tyler” in 1871
- Culture is derived from Latin word “Cultura” which means ‘Growing’ or
‘Cultivation’ or “colere” which means ‘cultivate’

Culture is defined as:

Collection of mixture and symbols, languages, morals, values, beliefs,

knowledge,qualities, practices, customs, rituals, art and material assets that a
gathering of people not only owned, shared but also pass them to the next
generation
Characteristics of Culture
1- Culture is learned
2- Culture is shared
3- Culture is transmitted from one generation to another
4- Culture is accumulative in nature
5- Culture is constantly changing and can never be static
6- Culture is organized in nature
7- Culture is symbolic in nature
8- Culture is shaped and designed by humans for gratification
9- Culture has uniformities and variabilities
1- Culture is learned

- Man, since his inception to desire learn and excel.

- Culture is not only inherited from parents but it can also be learned from
society
- Direct Learning may occur through direct instructions such as in classroom
environment, by a teacher or at home by parents.
- Indirect learning may take place through observation or personal
experiences
2- Culture is shared
- Culture is collective in nature and is not an individual product, it shares,
experiences and agreed collectively by mist individuals
- Culture becomes significant when majority holds it as a standard
- Traditional societies usually share more commonalities with one another in
their way of thinking and behaving than complex industrial societies.
- Sharing symbols, languages, norms, values, customs, rituals etc
3- Culture is transmitted from one generation to another
- Cultural transmission is a continuous and spontaneous process in which
culture transfers from one generation to another.
- The significant cultural traits, customs, traditions and laws are modified to
transfer from one generation to another.
- Such traits survive and remain alive for centuries and gain acceptance and
recognition among other cultures.
- Traits which lose their significance are not transmitted and become extinct.
- New features can also emerge
4- Culture is accumulative in Nature
- Culture accumulates in the form of knowledge, values, art, beliefs and morals
over time.
- It is impossible to create it in a day or a month, it takes decades and centuries
to develop a culture
5- Culture is constantly changing and can never be static
- Every human culture and society changes with time and place.
- The speed and direction of change may vary from community to community.
- The traditions of eating, dressing, residing vary with time and change of place.
- New and emerging traditions replace old cultural patterns

6- Culture is organized in nature

Cultural patterns and elements are organized and integrated in such a way that
change in one aspect of culture also changes other parts of the culture
7- Culture is symbolic in Nature
- Culture exists in the forms of symbols and the members of the society convey
meanings through these symbols.
- Signs and characters don’t have inherited meaning, instead community
members assign meanings and importance to them.
- Symbolic attachment can guide human behavior
- Example : 1: People stand at the time of the National Anthem

2: Traffic signals
8- Culture is shaped and designed by humans for
gratification
- Culture is a human product that is shaped, designed and created by humans
to fulfill their needs.
- Culture gives us happiness by providing opportunities to meet our physical
and psychological and cultural needs.

Examples: World Health Day, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha etc

9- Culture has uniformities and variabilities
- Cultural uniformities refers to “Cultural traits that are found in most cultures”

Example: Family life, marriage, language, housing, clothes, inheritance

- Societies and nations cooperate and exchange these traits with one another
because of these cultural uniformities
- Cultural Variabilities refers to “difference between cultures”
- Example Dressing style, Eating habits, residential patterns
Types of Culture

There are 2 types of Culture

1- Material & Non-Material Culture

2- Ideal & Real Culture

Cont..
1- Material Culture: it includes tangible things that people make, use and share. Tangible part of a culture
means it can be touched which includes, monuments, technologies, clothing, music instruments, books,
currency, entertainments etc. it tells us the complexity of interaction among people their choices, identities
and affiliation.

2- Non-Material Culture: it is made up of knowledge, values, beliefs, values, morals and ideas. It is the
intangible part of the culture which cannot be touched. It only exists in our minds. Non-Material culture has
too much significance because it gives direction and order to the community. The opinion help to shape
our ideas, norms and beliefs. The symbols and languages help in communication.

Every material culture has a non-material aspect too. Example: A book is material culture, but the contents
are non-material culture
Cont..
Ideal Culture: it is what we wish to be.

What it ought to be in society is ideal culture. It is what society thinks and what it
wants to be.

Example: No one lies or steals

Real Culture: it represents our actions in social life. Real culture is what exists in
society. It is the culture that is observable in society.

Example: Marriages often end up in Divorce

Components of Culture
Sociologists refer to Non-Material culture as component of culture.
The Main components are:
1- Symbols
2- Languages
3- Values
4- Norms
5-values
6- Beliefs
1- Symbols
- Symbols refer to everything that carries particular meaning and is a standard
for members of society.
- People use symbols to communicate and to convey their messages.
- Every culture has its specific symbols along with universal symbols.
Example:
1- Alphabets of a language
2- Flag of a country
3- Traffic signals
2- Language
- It refers to the collection of systems of symbols that helps to communicate.
- Language helps in the transmission of culture among generations.
- Language enables us to share our past experiences, feelings, emotions and
plans.
- It helps in expanding and developing social networks because it serves as a
medium of communication.
- More than 70 languages are spoken in Pakistan (Punjabi, Saraiki, Pushto,
Balochi)
- Urdu is a National language Pakistan
- English is an official language of Pakistan
3- Values
- Values refer to ‘desirability and are the standards that people have about what
is good or bad, beautiful or ugly.
- Every culture possesses unique and universal values.
- Values are significant for socialization and transmitting culture.

Example
Loyalty to spouse

Honesty, bravery and hardwork are valuable traits in most societies

4- Norms
- Norms refers to ‘expected behavior by the members of society’.
- Norms are informal and unwritten expected behavior by the society

Example

1- Greeting people when you see them

2- Holding door for others

2 Types of Norms

1- Prescriptive Norm: Those behaviors and gestures that are valued and suggested to do.

2- Proscriptive Norm: Those norms that are prohibited and not appreciated.
- Informal Norms: These are not written, codified form and usually deal with
informal sanctions.

Example: Tipping at a restaurant, shaking hands to say ‘Hello”

Folkways, Mores and Taboos are informal norms

- Formal Norms: These are written, codified form and usually enforced by
formal sanctions such as law. They are considered to be more crucial and
significant.
Informal Norms
1- Folkways
- it refers to those habitual beliefs, styles, attitudes and customs that occur
most frequently and repeatedly
- These are casual interaction patterns that happen repeatedly. People usually
take them for granted.
- Folkways are expression of a culture and direct proper behavior in day to day
practices.
Example: Way of eating, dressing, talking, shaking hands etc
2- Mores
- Mores are the more severe and vital norms of society that control moral and ethical
behavior.
- Mores are ‘moral standards, rules, and principles about right and wrong’
- Mores are unwritten norms like folkways but their violation poses a threat to society’s
survival. It leads to social disruption and moral decline.
- Examples
Alcoholic consumption at a public place, Rape, Murder,
Kidnapping, Plagiarism and Bullying
3- Taboos

- A taboo is a very strong negative norm; it is a prohibition of certain behavior

that is so strict that violating it results in extreme disgust and even expulsion
from the group or society.
- Often the violator of the taboo is considered unfit to live in that society.
- For instance, in some Muslim cultures, eating pork is taboo because the pig is
considered unclean, or Drinking Alcohol
4- Laws
- Laws are considered as formal Mires and always in written form.
- Laws are formal, codified, standardized and written set of guidelines that
define right and wrong and are enforced by formal sanctions.
- Law of the state is defined according to the social norms and beliefs system
of a particular society.
- Society builds consensus what should be law and what should be outlawed.
Its violation is labelled as crime. The person who violates the law is known as
“criminal”.
- Law enforcement agencies take action in the form of a fine, imprisonment and
death sentence.
- Example: Violation of traffic rules, Murder, Human trafficking, Money
laundering
-
5- Beliefs
- Beliefs are the convictions or specific statements that people consider to be
true. Shared beliefs bind people together.
- Every society and culture has its own belief system.
- Belief may construct on tradition,faith, myth, experience and scientific
research.
- Example: Belief in Allah, democracy, belief in magic, electronic devices,
vaccination etc
Cultural Diversity
- It refers to “cultural differences that are found between and within nations”.
- Understanding cultural diversity is essential for the wellbeing of the global
world.
- Example: Religion, Languages
- High culture
The cultural patterns that distinguishes the nobility of the society is known as
high culture. It refers to the “culture of Elites”

Examples: Fashion show, theatres, clubs etc

Cont..
- Popular culture
Popular culture is a set of beliefs, practices and customs shared by the larger
community.
Example: Wearing Shalwar Qameez, movies, music etc
- Subculture
It refers to those distinguishing beliefs, values, customs, practices, attributes
and ideas that differentiate ones significantly from the dominant culture.
Members of Subculture follow dominant culture, but they have some additional
traits that are not common in dominant culture.
Example: Tattoos, LGBT, wheeling on bikes
 - Counterculture
It refers to the solid and forceful rejection of dominant culture patterns, values,
norms and seeks alternative lifestyles. They want to promote the values of the
subculture,

The followers of counterculture usually deviate from the established norms of

society and oppose mainstream society.
Understanding Cultural Concepts

- Cultural Relativism
In cultural relativism, one does not judge others according to one’s own
cultural standards. It entails that no culture traits are superior or inferior, good
or bad when comparing one culture to another.

- Ethnocentrism
It refers to judging others cultures according to your cultural standards. One’s
feels that their culture is superior to others and judge other cultures negatively.
 - Xenocentrism
It refers to other’s culture superior and our own culture inferior.

Example: Pakistani youth is influenced by Western culture

- Cultural Lag
It refers to the situation where material and non material part of the culture
doesn’t change simultaneously and in result disparity occurs.

Material culture changes faster and brings technological development. On the

contrary, non material culture always struggles to adapt new material conditions.
 - Cultural Shock
It refers to the unfamiliar behavior experienced by people within their own or
other cultures.

Example: Muslims eating pork, or drinking Alcohol

Class Activity

Choose a Country or City of your choice and

create a poster (add pictures) or write about their culture,

and explain it among your classmates.