Society and Social ChangePrepared by: Ms.

Krista Alvarez

Culture

Culture is defined as the set of learned behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, values, and ideals that are characteristics of a particular society or population (Ember, 1999).

Culture

According to Hunt et al, (1992), culture means the entire way of life of people and everything learned and shared by people in society.

Cultural relativism

It is an anthropological approach which posits that all culture are of equal value and need to be studied in a neutral point of view (Glazer, 1996).

Cultural Differences

• Expressions are differentiated according to their importance: for the Inuits (Eskimos) snow is part of their everyday life, so many words exist to describe it.

Cultural Differences

• Shaking the head in a horizontal direction in most countries means “no”, while in India it means „yes”, and in hindi language the voice lowers in pitch at the end of a question.

• Enduring silence is perceived as comfortable in Japan, while in Europe and North America it may cause insecurity and embarrassment. Scandinavians, by Western standards, are more tolerant of silent breaks during conversations.

Cultural Differences

• Laughing is connoted in most countries with happiness - in Japan it is often a sign of confusion, insecurity and embarrassment.

Cultural Differences

• In Mediterranean European countries, Latin America and Sub Saharan Africa, it is normal, or at least widely tolerated, to arrive half an hour late for a dinner invitation, whereas in Germany and Switzerland this would be extremely rude.

Cultural Differences

• Showing the thumb held upwards means “everything’s’ ok” in Latin America, especially Brazil, but also in many other countries while it is understood in some Islamic countries as well as Sardinia and Greece as a rude sexual sign. Furthermore, the sign of thumb up may signify the number "one" in France and a few other central European countries.

Cultural Differences

• Patting a child’s head is considered to be a friendly or affectionate gesture in our culture, it is considered inappropriate by many Asians to touch someone on the head, which is believed to be a sacred part of the body. In the Middle East, the left hand is reserved for bodily hygiene and should not be used to touch another or transfer objects. In Muslim cultures, touch between opposite gendered individuals is generally inappropriate.

Cultural Differences

• In mainstream Western culture, eye contact is interpreted as attentiveness and honesty; we are taught that we should “look people in the eye” when talking. In many cultures, however, including Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Native American, eye contact is thought to be disrespectful or rude, and lack of eye contact does not mean that a person is not paying attention. Women may especially avoid eye contact with men because it can be taken as a sign of sexual interest.

Cultural Differences

• Although it is common in Western culture for adults to admire babies and young children and comment upon how cute they are, this is avoided in Hmong and Vietnamese cultures for fear that these comments may be overheard by a spirit that will try to steal the baby or otherwise cause some harm to come to him or her.

Cultural Differences

Society A society, or a human society, is a group of people

involved with each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

Society More broadly, a society may be illustrated as

an economic, social, or industrial infrastructure, made up of a varied collection of individuals. Members of a society may be from different ethnic groups. A society can be a particular ethnic group, such as the Saxons; a nation state, such as Bhutan; or a broader cultural group, such as a Western society.

Social Change

Throughout the historical development of their discipline, sociologists have borrowed models of social change from other academic fields. In the late 19th century, when evolution became the predominant model for understanding biological change, ideas of social change took on an evolutionary cast, and, though other models have refined modern notions of social change, evolution persists as an underlying principle.

Social Change

Social change, in sociology, is the alteration of mechanisms within the social structure, characterized by changes in cultural symbols, rules of behavior, social organizations, or value systems.

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