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Culture definition, Meaning and Elements
- 1. Culture: Definition, Meaning andElements DR. M. SWARNA LATHA DEPT. OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK KAKATIYA UNIVERSITY, WARANGAL
- 2. Culture Definition EBTaylor(1860): The Sum Total of Ideas, beliefs, values, material cultural equipments and non- material aspects which man makes as a member of the society. culture is the result of the human collectivity LA White: Culture is continuous, cumulative, progressive. George Simmel: "the cultivation of individuals through the agency of external forms which have been objectified in the course of history." M.J. Herkovits: Culture is Man-made part of environment. B. Malinowski : “the handwork of man and the medium through which he achieves his ends.” R. Redfield : “an organised body of conventional understandings manifest in art which persisting through tradition, characterises a human group.” V. de Robert : “Culture is the body of thought and knowledge, both theoretical and practical, which only man can possess.” H.T. Mazumdar: “Culture is the total of human achievements, material and non-material, capable of transmission, sociologically, i.e., by tradition and communication, vertically as well as horizontally.”
- 3. Characteristics of Culture Culture and society are inseparable. two sides of the same coin Society cannot exist without culture and culture is an outcome of society It is continuous Cumulative Shared Learnt Transcendent Unique to its own society. varies from one society to another Collective actions of the human society Gratifying. fulfills the needs of the members of the society Consists of contingent, normative and materialistc forms Contains both material and non-material culture forms Culture has both static and dynamic forces of change
- 4. Elements of culture Cognizant:, education, Art Knowledge: collection of ideas and facts about physical and social world which are relatively objective, reliable or verifiable: Ex. Technology Beliefs: Collection of ideas considered as true or false without a definite proof Beliefs are subjective. ex. religious faith Normative :values, Norms education system, economic, political, law and order, government, religion, customs and traditions, Food and Shelter Norms: culturally defined expectations of behavior. include folkways (blurping in public places), mores (appropriate or inappropriate clothing), Taboos(avoiding some objects, food, color etc) and Laws Laws: imposed by a code of written rules. breaking these rules attract legal punishment. Symbolic: Religious symbols, Artforms, dressing styles, language, body language, slang, sound traffic signals, music, many such other symbols that carry a cultural or practical meaning
- 5. Functions of culture it has a boundary-defining role; it creates distinctions between one social function and role to other. it conveys a sense of identity for the society members. Influences and shape the behaviour of the members of the society facilitates the generation of commitment to something larger than one’s individual self-interest. it enhances the stability of the social system. Culture is the social glue that helps hold the society together by providing appropriate standards for what members should say and do. culture serves as a sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shapes members’ attitudes and behavior. It is this last function that is of particular interest in social setting.
- 6. Different types ofCulture Two major types are material and non material cultures Mass culture Popular culture Sub culture