Culture is everything that is socially learned and shared within a society, including beliefs, values, customs, and ways of behaving. It encompasses both material and non-material aspects. Culture is shared, learned, symbolic, varies across time and place, and is integrated across its different elements. The main elements of culture include symbols, language, values and beliefs, norms, and sanctions. Symbols represent meanings recognized within a culture, while language allows communication. Values and beliefs represent standards and ideas held to be true. Norms establish rules of behavior, and sanctions reward or punish adherence to norms.

1. Culture
By mudassar ali

2. Contents
• What is culture
• Forms or types of culture
• Elements of culture
• Culture and socialization
• Cultural evolution
• Different concepts of culture

3. What is culture
• Culture is every thing that is socially learned and shared by the members of
society. It includes what we think, how we act and what we own.
• Culture is a complex system that defines the way of life for a given group or
society. It includes beliefs, art, laws, customs knowledge, habits, language ,
dressing, housing and other activities performed by members of society.
• Culture includes ways of thinking, and behaving in specific situation in society.
• It is both our link to past and guidelines to the future. Culture defines what is
beautiful and ugly, right and wrong, good and bad. It holds society together gives
meanings to society.
• Culture includes every thing that is mad and used bye humans of a particular
society or group. Like housing, dressing, games, customs, values, roads, furniture,
books, etc. those are adopted by human at present time is called culture

4. Culture and society
Every society has its unique culture,
Bothe culture and society exist together, the independent existence of culture or
society is impossible.
In any society culture defines what is right or wrong, good or bad, beautiful or ugly.
Culture holds society together
It gives people a sense of belonging
It guide our behavior
Culture gives meanings to society
Society play important role in promotion of culture

5. Forms or types of culture
• Material culture
• It consists on material, physical or tangible objects created bye members of
society, which includes every thing from needles to airplane, houses,
markets, motor cars furniture, tools toys etc.
• Non material culture
• It includes nonmaterial, intangible things those are created and shared by the
members of society. For example ideas, beliefs, values, norms, customs
patterns of behavior and thinking and traditions etc.
• For example in cricket bat, helmet, wickets, ball, gloves are elements of
material culture. And rules and regulation of game, skills of players,
concepts of game are non material culture.
• Material culture is mostly product of none material culture, it is meaningless
without it.

6. Nature or characteristics of culture
• Culture is shared
Culture is shared ideas, values and standards of behavior. All members of society have
same cultural objects they are involved in same kind of activities. It is collectively
experienced and it make society possible. Shared nature of culture may difficult to see in
complex society because there is more diversity in thinking, ideas, perspectives and
traditions .
• Culture is learned
Culture is learned rather than biological inherited. It is socially inherited. Cultural beliefs
and practices are usually so well learned that these seems perfectly natural. We learn
culture from peoples of our society. Some times it learned through conscious effort and
some times we learn our culture unconsciously.
Culture is transmitted from one generation to other generation, this procedure is called
enculturation. The procedure in which culture is thought to the members of society is
called socialization.
• Culture is symbolic
Culture is based on symbols those are widely shared in particular society. All member of
that society understand the meanings attach to these symbols. Language is an important
symbolic aspect of culture. Symbolic meanings are changed with the context

7. • Culture varies across time and place
All cultures change over time. In some societies the change is rapid and in some societies
the process cultural change is slow. Culture rapidly change in open, developed, modern or
urban societies. The processes of cultural change is slow in closed, traditional or rural
societies. Culture change can be measured b/w two time spans. For example culture of
Pakistan in1980 is totally different from 1915.
Culture is also changed from place to place for example culture of USA is different frome
culture of Pakistan and Egypt.
• Culture is integrated
Culture is well integrated in society. And all cultural aspect are also well integrated in
order to properly functioning. All cultural elements are linked with each other in more or
less organized way. Like roads are integrated with motor transports, traffic polices, signals
and rules. Wight board with marker. etc

9. Elements of culture
• Symbols
• Language
• Values & beliefs
• Norms
• Sanctions

10. Symbols
• Symbol: Anything which contains a particular meaning recognized by people who
share culture. Symbol is a thing or behavior to which people gives meanings i.e a
word, flag, signal, red light, refers to symbols. Langue is also a set of symbols.
People do not respond to a word but they response to meanings those are attach to
the word.
• Human gives the meanings to world and Society creates the symbols all the time,
symbols caring different meanings in different societies for example red color is
symbol of danger in form of a flag and it gives meanings of love in form of rose.
• We are so dependent on cultural symbols that take them for granted Not
understanding a symbol leave a person isolated, unsure and confused. The
significance of culture lies in meanings it holds for people of given society.

11. Language
• Language: is a system of symbols that allows people to communicate with
one another.
• Language and Culture transmission. The process by which one generation passes
culture to the next. Culture transmission is based on the oral and written modes of
transformation.
• Language is one of the prominent mode of transmission of culture. Learning a langue
of a culture is important to becoming a member of a society. And it is one is the first
thing that children learn. Even until children don not have command over langue they
do not learn other features of culture.
• Langue is so important to human interaction, it is difficult to think about life without
language.
• When you are going to become a member of a new social group or society you
should learn language first to become a full member of that group or society.

12. Values and beliefs
• Value and Beliefs:
• Value: Culturally Defined standard of desirability, goodness and beauty that serve
as a broad guideline for social living.
• Values are standards that people who share a culture use to make choices about
how to live.
• Values are broad principles those support beliefs.
• Beliefs
• Specific statement that people holds to be true. Beliefs are shared ideas held
collectively by people within a given culture. Shared beliefs binds people together
within society. For example Muslims are united on the belief on One God.
Western countries belief in democracy.
Values and beliefs effects how we see the world. We learn vales and beliefs from
our family, friends, schools, and religious organizations through the processes of
formal and informal socialization.

13. Norms
• Norms are general rules and regulations of daily life which guide human
behavior in specific situation. Norms guide a person that what he has to do
and what he has to avoid.
• Norms are expected behavior of members of society.
• Hand shaking on meeting, eating with right hand, respecting elders, siting
in class room, dressing properly etc.
• Norms change according to societies. Every society has its own norms. For
example in some societies people may eat while seating in chair, and in
other society people may like to eat by standing. In some people may eat
together and in other societies people may prefer to eat in privacy.
• Some norms are less important and some are less important for society.

14. Types of norms
• Folkways
Folkways are rules of routine or casual interaction. These are norms those are less important for society.
For example hand shaking, wearing tie on formal suite, standing on the coming of teacher.
Violation of folkways is not taken seriously by society. It can not distinguish b/w right or wrong, but it
differentiate b/w right and rude.
Folkways are informal norms because these are not in written form.
Violation of folkway invite light punishment like raise eyebrow. Making laugh etc.
• Mores
Rules and regulation which are widely observed and have great moral significance for society. People
pay more attention to mores. Mores distinguish b/w right and wrong.
Like wearing clothes, eating with right hand, obedience of parents. Showing respect for teachers etc.
Violation of mores invite harsh punishment and criticism by society
These are informal norms of social life
• Laws
Laws are developed forms of mores. Some times people are forced to obey mores bye the threat of legal
punishment. Laws are made and forced bye state or institutions. These are called formal norms which is
found in written form. These are elaborated by courts and enforced through police and other agencies.

15. Sanctions
• A system of Reward and punishment that forced people to obey the
norms of society called social sanctions. Sanctions are operate as
system of social control.
Positive sanctions are rewards and prizes
Negative sanctions are punishments and fines