Society and Culture

What is a society?
 a shared, learned, symbolic system of values,
beliefs and attitudes that shapes and influences
perception and behavior -- an abstract "mental
blueprint" or "mental code."
 A shared perception of reality
 Commonly known as
 “Commonly known as”
 Common sense
 “They say”
 “Everybody knows”
 Why bother with societies and
cultures?
 Humans are weak
 Societies are mutual support pacts
 Let’s build a society
 An individual
 Two people
 More than two…
 Or twenty…
 Or twenty million
 1st purpose of a society: reduce friction between
people in the society
 2nd purpose: separate one society from others
 Early Human Culture
Small groups of around 25
Gatherer/hunters
Nomadic
Limited possessions
more permanent settlements
Became tribes
xenophobia
 End of the Ice Age
 About 12,000 BCE
 The high grasslands began to dry out
 Tribes migrated down into the river valleys
looking for food
 Tigris/Euphrates
 Indus

 Yellow

 Nile
The first great change
Domestication of animals
Irrigation
Canals
Fields
Granary
Pharaoh
Pyramid of Zoser
The Torah
Class and Clothing
Class and Clothing
Chinese Fingernail Shields
Jocks vs. Nerds
Weighing the Heart
Ramses II
Queen Hatshepsut
Nazis
Soviets
Sparta vs. Athens
Rome vs. everybody
War of the Roses
English Civil War
American Revolution
French Revolution
American Civil War
Inquisition
Women’s Suffrage
Civil Rights
Timothy McVeigh / John Allen
Muhammad / Aileen Wuornos
James von Brunn; Scott Roeder; Jim
David Adkisson
Anders Behring Breivik