Caribbean Society and Culture

Characteristics of Society and Culture.

 What is Society?
• A group of people living interpedently with a
common purpose, in a single community
within a defined territorial space.
 What is Culture?
• As ways of Life
• As products
• As ordinary
• As learned behaviour
• As sub culture
• Culture in a way of life of a particular society.
It speaks to the values, beliefs and practices
that the members of that particular society
hold in common.
• It is embodied by societal institutions and
includes definitions of the role of gender.
• Culture is the vehicle that shapes behaviour.
 Characteristics of Culture
• Culture is Learnt- it is transmitted through generations
by institutions.
• Culture is Shared- this means that systems consist of
negotiated agreements(symbols).
• Culture is Transmittable- It comes down from the pass
and is not created by anyone person or generation.
• Culture is Adaptive- In order to adapt culture must
adapt to changes in society
• Culture is dynamic- It is variable over time and place.
• Culture is Symbolic- Symbols and behaviours to which
people give mean.
 Functions of Culture
• It enable us to communicate with each other through
language
• It makes us anticipate how others in society are likely to
respond to our actions.
• Culture gives us standards for distinguishing between what
is right from wrong(norms), beautiful and unpleasant
(values), reasonable and unreasonable.
• Culture provides methods for training children to
behave(socialization) in certain ways generally considered
appropriate in society.
• Culture provides the knowledge and skill necessary for
meeting sustenance needs
 Culture can be…
• Material - is concrete and tangible. It refers
the those things that society produces for
survival. E.g. Food, Clothes, Tools etc.

• Non-Material - all the intangible components

of a people way of life. i.e. Language, Beliefs,
Values and ideas of a people that shape their
norms and standards of behaviour.
 Types of Culture
• High Culture (dominant culture) refers to the cultural creations that are, essentially,
the culture of the dominant group or colonisers. The products of established lives.
• Folk Culture refers to the culture of ordinary people. ‘From the grass roots, is self-
created and autonomous and directly reflects the lives and experience of people.
• Mass Culture refers to a product from the mass media
• Popular Culture often used in a similar way to the term mass culture. It includes
cultural products that are enjoyed by large numbers of ordinary people who do not
pretend to be experts.
• Subculture refers to groups of people who have something in common with each
other distinguishing them in a significant way from other social groups.
• Ideal culture refers to the values and standards of behaviour that people in a
society profess to hold and that are worthy of aspiring to.
• Real Culture refers to the values and standards of behaviour that people actually
follow
 Culture in the Caribbean
• Caribbean culture is diverse. It is often refered
to as the melting pot of cultures because of
the input of the various groups and races.The
area of Language is a good example of
Caribbean diversity.
 Caribbean Cultural diversity
• Cultural diversity can be described as a way of
life that comprises habits and practices
derived from more than one race or group of
people.
• It is as a result from the variety of ethnic
groups found in the region.
 The Socialisation Process
• This in the process by which individuals learn
the culture of their society.
• It is not only synonymous with childhood, but
it is a lifetime process.
• It is essential for not only fitting new members
into the society but also to the process of
actually becoming human.