Society, Culture & Cultural Change

Introduction to Social Science

Today

• Culture• Causes of cultural change• Cultural change & social problems

Culture• Set of learned behaviours and ideas that are

shared by particular society or other social group– Defining features: Learned, Shared

• Includes beliefs, values, ideals, attitudes, customs, etc.

Subculture

• Group within a society with commonly shared customs

Society

• group of people who occupy a particular territory and speak a common language

Cultural universals

• Cultural element, trait or pattern that is common to ALL cultures

Cultural alternates

• Cultural characteristics not shared by all cultures

Cultural integration

• The degree to which a culture is internally consistent and homogenous

Some Elements of Culture

Social NormsSocial InstitutionsMaterial Culture

LanguageSocial Values

Social Norms

• Norms: standards or rules about acceptable behaviour– Conventions: simple, every day customs– Mores: conventions that would have serious

consequences if violated– Laws: principles and regulations established in a

community by some authority, applicable to the people either in form of legislation or policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision

Social Institutions

• Normative systems of behavior for five basic areas of life:– Family– Government– Economics– Education– Religion

Social Institutions

Material Culture

• Material products of customary behaviour

• Culture includes knowledge of how to produce and/or use a variety material products

Material Culture

Language

• Complex system of symbols used for communication

Social Values

• Culturally defined standards of desirability, goodness, beauty, etc.

Some causes of social change

Discovery and InventionDiffusion

Acculturation

Discovery and Invention

• An innovation – either an object (e.g. the wheel) or an idea (e.g. democracy) - gains widespread acceptance

• Discovery: Addition to knowledge

• Invention: Practical application of knowledge

Discovery and Invention

Diffusion

• Spread of cultural traits from one group to another – Direct Contact– Intermediate Contact– Stimulus Diffusion

Diffusion

Acculturation

• Adaptation of cultural traits due to contact with a dominant , more powerful society

Acculturation

Revolution

• Replacement, usually violent, of a country’s rulers through rebellion against the established authorities

Revolution

1971 2004

Social Problems

• Social problem: situation or condition recognized as adversely affecting the welfare of a large number of people

Cultural Lag• William Ogburn (sociologist)

• Cultural lag: slowness in the rate of change in one part of culture in relation to another (due to material invention/technological change)

• The change in one part of the cultural pattern may create strain and disturbances in closely related parts

• Although adjustments will be made to restore harmony, there will be lag time during which tension persists

Cultural Lag

Ethnocentrism• Belief that one’s culture’s own behaviours and attitudes are

the correct ones and that people who do not share them are immoral or inferior

• Judgement of other cultures by the standards of one’s own culture

• Has both positive and negative consequences– Positive side: it creates social solidarity within the group– Negative: can lead to harmful discrimination against people

whose ways differ from ours

Cultural Relativism

• Belief that a society’s customs and beliefs should be described objectively and understood in the context of that society’s problems and opportunities

Cultural Relativism & Human Rights

• Idea of universal human rights challenges cultural relativism

• Is there a moral/ethical code that is superior to any country, culture, or religion?

• Cultural relativism does not preclude an anthropologists or other social scientists from respecting human rights

Summary• Culture is a set of learned behaviours and ideas that are

shared by particular society or other social group

• Elements of culture include social norms, social institutions, language, social values, material culture

• Cultural change can be brought about by diffusion, acculturation, invention and discovery

• Sometimes change addresses social problems, other times it causes it (cultural lag)

Dancing with a Ghost:Exploring Indian Reality

By Rupert Ross

“We are not seeing, despite what we

seem to be seeing….”

Dancing with a Ghost:Exploring Indian Reality

By Rupert Ross

• Rupert Ross - Canadian lawyer who works with the Cree and Ojibway people in Canadian court system

• “Rather than assume their behavior stems from principles similar to our own and judging it poorly for not conforming, we must realize its different because it stems from different principles.”

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down:A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors,

and the Collision of Two CulturesBy Anne Fadiman

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down:A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors,

and the Collision of Two CulturesBy Anne Fadiman

• Clash between Hmong refugee family from Laos and American doctors at small California hospital

• Six year old Lia’s diagnosis:– Family and Tvix neeb: Quag dab peg “The Spirit

catches you and you fall down”– American Doctors: Epilepsy