Sociology

Part 2 : Culture

Culture and Society

Culture exists in every society, no single society is empty from culture. Culture replaced biological instinct as humans primary strategy for survival. In sociology culture and human society is viewed as integrated, one cannot be separated from each other.

Summary: 1. Two major forms of culture: nonmaterial culture (intangible world of ideas created by members of a society) and material culture (tangible things created by members of a society). 2. Culture is created and learned in society. 3. Therefore, the manifestation of culture in a society is different from the others. Also, some manifestation of culture may disappear, develop, grow or sustain (stable and dynamic).

What is Culture?
The values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that, together, form a peoples way of life. Complex that include knowledge, beliefs, art, moral, law, customs and other abilities and habits that are gathered by people as the members of society(Taylor). All of peoples creation ( technology or material culture) and immaterial culture including expression (art, ideology), and mental-spiritual activities (knowledge, philosophy) that are used to benefit the society (Soemardjan and Soemardi).

Ever heard or experience culture shock?

Culture shocks
The inability to read meaning in new environment. Culture shock leaves a person feeling lost and isolated, unsure to act, and sometimes scared. Two way process: 1) When encountering people whose way of life is different. Seeing a group of people act in a way that is not appropriate or acceptable by our culture. 2) By acting in ways that offend them Doing something that is not appropriate or acceptable by other culture.

In Indonesia calling much older person by his/her first name or receiving something using left hand is considered impolite. Most Westerners view slaughtering animals like cows, goats, etc in public (i.e. when we do qurban) is considered barbaric. In many parts of Asia, "smile" is a "Thank you , thus people from other cultures may think they are quite rude because they dont say thank you when in fact they aren't because everything is "said with a smile. Using left hand for bathroom hygiene (as commonly applied in Indonesia) is shocking for most Westerners. Others?

Universal categories of culture

There are some categories of culture manifestation that are universal. This means that those categories can be found in any society in this world. Kluckhohn summarized them as:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Artifacts and life equipments (clothing, housing, household tools, etc). Livelihood system and economic system (agriculture, industry, production system, etc). Societys system ( political, law, marital systems, etc). Language (verbal and written) Art (vocal, dance, etc). Knowledge system Religious system

Five components of culture (Macionis)

Symbols Language Values and beliefs Norms Material culture

Symbols
Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share culture. Examples: flags, colors, gestures

Do you recognize the symbols below?

Some symbols may be applicable or understood in a limited number of societies and some others may be shared more widely. This means, the use of symbols may potentially lead to a shared or different feeling/reaction. Example: what does Nazis flag symbolize? What message you capture when someone is smiling or winking his or her eye at you?

Language
A system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another. Language is a cultural heritage and the key to cultural transmission (the process by which one generation passes culture to the next). What word family means for the Indonesian, Chinese, etc?

Values and Beliefs

Values: culturally defined standards by which people assess desirability, goodness and beauty and that serve as broad guidelines for social living. Beliefs: specific statements that people hold to be true (values are broad principles that underlie beliefs). Example: if the society value equal opportunity for all, they will belief (for example) that any man or woman can be the president of the country.

Cultural values and beliefs affect how we perceive our surroundings and form our personalities. Source of values learning: families, friends, religious organizations, schools, etc influence our thinking and acts in accord to particular principles.

Examples: key values in some cultures

1. The United States Equal opportunity, material comfort, and freedom. 2. The Javanese Social harmony 3. Sweden Egalitarianism, behaviors are strongly balanced towards lagom or, everything in moderation

4. The Japanese

On (indebtedness) especially is found in the parent-child relationship, where parents give life to the child, provide nurturance, and socialize him. The child is then forever indebted to the parents...Insofar as parents expect the child to repay the debt in socially accepted forms, the child must behave accordingly if he is not to hurt the parents' feelings and consequently alienate himself from them

Ninjo (psychological) refers to a person's natural feelings and inclinations, which may or may not be in accord with societal expectation. If conflict arises "there are three alternatives: one, to suppress one's private feelings and honor moral principles; two, to close one's eyes from moral obligations and follow the dictates of one's feeling; and three, to annihilate oneself through committing suicide, being able neither to ignore the society's moral obligations nor suppress one's moral desires."

Values in Conflict
The society may support equal opportunity while disapprove the acceptance of homosexuality in the military. The society may support the idea of individualism but also support the idea that society is responsible to the success or failure of an individual.

Norms
Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members (some tell you what we should do and should not do). Example: 1. Many parents from various culture expect their childrens obedience. 2. Students are expected to listen attentively and dont make noises when the lecturer deliver the classes/services. 3. Cheating in any forms is prohibited. 4. Audience are expected to give an applause after a musical performance, but not after a religious service. 5. It would be seen as very strange if you began laughing incoherently in the middle of a funeral, or for that matter began making jokes about death.

Norms based on its significance

1. Mores: norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance (distinguish between right and wrong). Example: societys disapproval of stealing, prohibition against pre-marital sexual relationships; disapproval against adults engaging in sexual relations with children; approval of heterosexual marriage.

2. Folkways: norms for routine, casual interaction (draw a line between right and rude). Example: Wearing a partys cloth when attending a funeral may rise eyebrows for violating folkways. Eating food at a fine-dining restaurant using your hand may be seen as unusual or weird by many others.

Functions of Norms
Social control: various means by which member of society encourage conformity to norms. Norms operate as system of social control that make our interactions with others more orderly and predictably (patterns of behavior). Observing or breaking the rules of social life prompts sanction rewards or punishments from others. As we learn cultural norms, we gain the capacity to evaluate our own behavior. If we do wrong, it can cause shame and guilt.

Ideal and Real Culture

Ideal: how we should behave Real: what actually occurs in everyday life Example: - most of us agree on the importance of sexual fidelity in marriage yet there is growing evidence of sexual unfaithfulness among married men and women. - most of us agree that stealing is unacceptable yet there is growing practice of stealing in any forms (including corruption)

Material Culture and Technology

Material culture: wide range of tangible human creations - The Chinese use chopsticks to eat whereas the Westerners use knife and fork. - The Americans love big cars but the Japanese prefer smaller cars; in average the ratio of car and people in France is 1:2 but it is 1:1000 in Peru.

Technology: knowledge that people use to make a way of life in their surrounding. The more complex a societys technology, the more the societys members are able to shape the world for themselves.

Example: technology advancement in some developed countries may help the societies to challenge the natural constraints in order to improve the living situations.

Discuss
How do you think technology affect the culture of a society? Compare technologically advanced societies and technologically simple societies with regards to their living situations.

Why culture is important? What are the functions of culture?

1. Technology, as one of culture manifestations, is useful to fulfill the needs of the societys members (i.e. to deal with nature challenges, to explore and utilize resources). 2. Have function to value, regulate and predict peoples behavior, to create an order. 3. Shaping the personalities of its member.

Cultural Diversity: Many ways of Life

High culture: cultural patterns that distinguish a societys elite; indicating that some cultural patterns are readily accessible to limited members of society. Example: Classic music (i.e. Beethoven, Mozart) is more cultured than dangdut; rice as more prestigious than cassava; golf as better than badminton. Other examples?

Do you agree with the idea about high culture?

 Mainstream culture: some very widely shared cultural norms and some very popular cultural products. Parts of mainstream culture: 1. Mainstream products - Popular songs, popular movies - Flags and other popular symbol - Sacred texts

2. Mainstream ideas and values -Widespread religious beliefs -Ideas about what type of people are most important (Father or mother? Men or women?). Ideas about what type of government is best (Democracy? Communism?). 3. Mainstream practices -National holidays -Dating and marriage practices

Subculture: cultural patterns that set apart some segment of societys population (in general is not contradictory with mainstream culture). Examples: bloggers, pesantren (Islamic boarding school), etc.

Counterculture: Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society (its not always negative because it may indicate that mainstream culture cannot accommodate with the growing need/idea of some parts of the society). Example: the hippies (started in the 60-s) rejected the mainstream culture of competitive, self-centered and materialistic, thus, applied contrary way of life from mainstream culture.

Cultural Change
Change in one aspect of culture due to invention, introduction of new technology, new ideas, cultural diffusion, or change of natural environment that can sparks change in others. Example: televisions affected how and when members of families interacted with each other. Less time was available for direct conversation.

Discuss: 1. The change of women roles in society, e.g. increased women participation in the work force and how it brings other impact on parenthood, child care, marriage, etc. 2. How does war in Iraq affect the life of its people? (Example: culture, employment, family life, etc).

 Ethnocentrism: the practice of judging another

culture by the standard of ones own culture; the tendency for the members of each society to assume the rightness of their own customs and practices and the inferiority, immorality, or irrationality of those found in other societies.

- The colonists from the Europe viewed that one of particular reasons for the
colonialization of many African societies was that because they less were less civilized, therefore, needed to be civilized. -In some developed countries, some Nike products (i.e. shoes) are refused because it is found that they are made by child labor in developing countries who worked long hours in an unsafe arrangement. For people in the developed world, the childhood is the period for playing and learning, not working for a life. However, it is different fact for children in many poor countries. - Many animal lovers in Western countries campaigned against the animal killing (i.e. dogs, cats) for consumption of people in some Asian countries. They believed that those animal are pets and should be taken care not, not consumed. On the other hand, many societies have practiced eating those kind of animals for hundreds of year, it has been part of their culture.

Cultural relativism: the practice of evaluating a culture by its own standard. Difficult to adopt, requires understanding unfamiliar values and norms. Example: -General Motors found that one of cars they produced (called Nova) did not sell well in Spanish-speaking regions because in Spanish Nova may be translated as not moving, no go. GM, then, replaced the cars name with something else.

Discuss: What are the advantages and disadvantages of cultural ethnocentrism and cultural relativism?

A Global Culture?
What do you think global culture is? Any example?

1. The global economy: the flow of goods (i.e. TV shows, music, fashion, food, cars, etc) 2. Global communication: the flow of information 3. Global migration: the flow of people

Limitations of global culture

1. What do you think about global culture in terms of distribution of the global flow of goods, information and people? Are they evenly distributed? 2. What do you think about how those various global goods and services are afforded by the people across the globe? Do all people can afford them?

Theoretical Analysis of Culture

Structural-Functional Analysis
Culture as a complex strategy to meet human needs; cultural values give meaning to life and bind people together. Cultural universals: traits that are part of every known culture. Example: family (to control sexual reproduction and oversee the care of children); funeral rites ( because death is part of reality found in every society); jokes ( a safe means of releasing social tensions).

 Showing how culture operates to meet human needs. However the approach emphasizes the role of dominant cultural pattern and cultural stability. Therefore, it ignores cultural diversity and undermines the importance of change.

Social Conflict Analysis

Focuses the link between culture and inequality; any cultural trait benefits some members of society at the expense of others. Views cultural systems do not address human needs equally. The Proletariat follow and accept the values and norms of the Bourgeoisie because all of the institutions of society, particularly education, religion, and the economy are shaped to serve the exploitative purposes of the Bourgeoisie Yet, it understate the ways in which cultural patterns integrate members of society.