CHAPTER 3CULTURE

CULTURE

“The distinctive way of living of a group of people.”

“Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything including language, religion, social habits, music, arts and lifestyle.”

Nonmaterial Culture

Includes the words that people use, ideas, beliefs

and habits.

Material Culture

Physical substances used by people, like tools,

automobiles, roads, farms etc.

EXAMPLES

Material Shopping centers.

Nonmaterial The way people shop in the shopping centers.

IMPORTANT TERMS

National CharacterDifferences that distinguishes one nationalgroup from another.Silent LanguageNon-verbal language like gestures, postures,symbols, food and drinking habits.Taboos Prohibited things in a culture, like color,

phrase orsymbols.

Rituals A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly fortheir symbolic value. It is usually repeated over a fixed episodicsequence, and repeats over and over again.

Example Hajj, Dewali, Eid ets

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

1. Culture is InventedCulture does not exist to be discovered but

rather invented by groups of people. a.Ideological System Ideas, beliefs, values and way of reasoningthings.b.Technological systemsConsists of skills, crafts, arts used to producematerial things

c. Organizational SystemsIn coordination with others. E.g. family system and social class.

2. Culture is Learned. Culture is passed from one generation toanother.Younger generation learns the culture from thesenior one.e.g. corruption in Pakistan.

3. Culture is Socially Shared.

We share the our culture with others.

Adapt other cultures in to our culture.

The food we eat and clothes we wear are

elements of imported culture.

e.g. Basant, Mehndi, Valantines etc

4. Cultures are Similar but Different

All cultures have a lot in common.

Like all cultures have food, dresses, songs,

dances, worshiping style etc.

Yet all these elements are different among

other cultures.

e.g. Hajj and The Mela of KUM KUM

6. Culture is Adaptive.

Although culture is persistent and does not

change over night, yet it is adaptive.

It is always changing gradually by the passing

time.

Some old things fade away while new things

enter in to it.

Some culture change slowly while others rapidly.

5. Culture is Gratifying and Persistent

A culture is happily meeting the needs of its

practitioners.

They are driving a sense of happiness and

satisfaction from their culture.

So it stays over a longer period of time and does

not change overnight.

7. Culture is Organized and Integrated.

All cultures follow a set of rules and are hanging

together upon those.

All elements must fit together to form a

consistent and integrated culture.

The guide lines set must be rationale and

understandable.

8. Culture is Prescriptive Culture gives direction.What to do in what situation etc.NormsRules or guideline of behavior in a givensituation whether acceptable or not.SanctionsTo impose a penalty in case of wrongful act.Mores Norms that have been converted into law. e.g. murder, robbery etc

IMPORTANT CULTURAL VALUES

1. Individualism

2. Equality

3. Activity

4. Progress and Achievement

5. Efficiency and Practicality

6. Mastery over the Environment

7. Religious and Moral Orientation

8. Humanitarianism

9. Youthfulness

10. Materialism

11. Social interaction and Conformity

QUIZ