The document defines culture and discusses its key characteristics. It states that culture can be defined as the complex whole of a society, including language, beliefs, values, customs, and cuisine. All cultures share five basic characteristics: they are learned, shared, based on symbols, integrated, and dynamic. It provides examples of how culture is learned through socialization, shared through predictable social behaviors, relies on symbolic communication like language, is interconnected as changes in one aspect impact others, and changes over time through cultural exchange and adaptation.

1. ECONOMICS & SOCIOLOGY

2. WHAT IS CULTURE?
• The word culture is one of those terms that we use quite often, but what is it exactly? If you were to
ask a group of anthropologists whose job it is to study culture, you may get a different definition
from each of them. However, even though definitions of culture may differ, many of them do
emphasize similar things. For the purposes of this lesson, we'll define culture as the complex whole
of a society. So this can include everything that gives a society its identity, which would include
such things as language, beliefs, values, customs, laws, cuisine, etc.
• What is particularly fascinating about cultures is that each culture, no matter where it is located,
shares at least five basic characteristics. This means the Mayan culture, which is now extinct, shared
at least five basic characteristics with present-day American culture. The five basic characteristics
that all cultures share are that they are learned, shared, based on symbols, integrated, and dynamic.

3. CULTURE (WORLDWIDE)

4. DEFINITION OF CULTURE
FOLLOWING ARE SOME IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE BY SOCIOLOGISTS:
• Horton and Hunt definition of culture, “Culture is everything which is socially shared and
learned by the members of a society.”
• Tylor defined “It is that complex whole including beliefs, art, region, values, norms, ideas,
law, taught, knowledge, custom and other capabilities acquired y a man as a member of a
society.”
It is the totality of human experience acquired during transmission of heritage from one
generation to another and to learn the ways of learning, eating, drinking, behaving, walking,
dressing, and working is the culture of man.

5. CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
• Culture has five basic characteristics: It is learned, shared, based on symbols, integrated, and
dynamic. All cultures share these basic features.

6. • Culture is learned:
It is not biological; we do not inherit it. Much of learning culture is unconscious. We learn culture
from families, peers, institutions, and media. The process of learning culture is known as
enculturation. While all humans have basic biological needs such as food, sleep, and sex, the way we
fulfill those needs varies cross-culturally.
• Culture is shared:
Because we share culture with other members of our group, we are able to act in socially appropriate
ways as well as predict how others will act. Despite the shared nature of culture, that doesn’t mean
that culture is homogenous (the same). The multiple cultural worlds that exist in any society are
discussed in detail below.

7. • Culture is based on symbols:
A symbol is something that stands for something else. Symbols vary cross-culturally and are
arbitrary. They only have meaning when people in a culture agree on their use. Language, money and
art are all symbols. Language is the most important symbolic component of culture.
• Culture is integrated:
This is known as holism, or the various parts of a culture being interconnected. All aspects of a
culture are related to one another and to truly understand a culture, one must learn about all of its
parts, not only a few.
• Culture is dynamic:
This simply means that cultures interact and change. Because most cultures are in contact with
other cultures, they exchange ideas and symbols. All cultures change, otherwise, they would have
problems adapting to changing environments. And because cultures are integrated, if one component
in the system changes, it is likely that the entire system must adjust.

8. CASTE STRUCTURE
Caste word is derived from a Spanish language and its
meaning is breed in English. We will see caste practice
mainly in Hindu religion because there is the broad division
of castes in India, total 2800 castes in India.
Caste has played a vital role in making many crucial
decisions at the time and hence played as an important
social institution. According to researchers, it has been
found that Aryans from central Asia ruled over South Asia
and introduced the concept of the Caste system to control
the population, thus dividing people into different
categories.

9. • In India, caste was firstly classified into four types according to Chaturvarna system. Chaturvarna system is
a Sanskrit term which means four kinds of color. The four types are as follows
• Brahmins– They have been most overrated peoples from the ancient times. They have been even
worshipped by other caste people. It gave them the authority to be the most powerful people in society.
Some of the Brahmins humiliated other caste people. For example, they stopped Shudras to enter temples
by giving logics that they are not appropriate people to worship God. They were mostly priests by
occupation but nowadays it is not necessary for a Brahmin to be a priest.
• Kshatriyas- They were mainly kings who ruled states and were seen majorly in battles securing their
kingdom. They can be seen as leaders of a particular place and they also gave a massive amount of respect
to Brahmins.
• Vaishyas– They were merchants and businessman by profession. They were seen lower to Brahmins and
Kshatriyas. Their economic condition was although much better than Brahmins but it was not considered as
the basis of varna division.
• Shudras- They were also called as Mushars in ancient times and were bounded to not enter temples or wells.
Their existence was considered impure by many people thus they were banned at many places.

11. SOCIOLOGIST VIEW ON CASTE SYSTEM
• Ghurne depicted caste as a complicated phenomenon and inferred that its definition cannot be put
in words.
• Maclver and Page gave a theory that a person birth cannot be controlled and it is his ascribed status
which cannot be changed by any factor.
• According to Cooley status is a factor of family and the family in which a man is born can be called
his caste.
• Risley believed that caste is an integration of some people who belong to a same family by the title,
also can be depicted as coming from the common ancestor and later on forming a community
which can be called as their caste too.
• Durmont also gave his perspective stating that caste is mainly religion driven fact and the people of
same level be it economy, same culture and religion come together and forms a caste.

12. STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
The Government in India or the central or
the union government is divided into three
main sections namely the executive,
legislature and the judiciary shown as
under. The responsibility of each section of
the government is also mentioned along.

13. THANK YOU
SOURCE: http://nideffer.net/classes/GCT_RPI_S14/readings/Chap8CharacteristicsofCulture.htm
https://www.elections.in/government/