INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

(SOC 101)

READING GUIDE

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What is Sociology?
Before attempting to define what sociology is, les us look at what the popular conceptions of
the discipline seem. As may be the case with other sciences, sociology is often misconceived
among the populace. Though many may rightly and grossly surmise that sociology is about
people, some think that it is all about“ helping the unfortunate and doing welfare work, while
others think that sociology is the same as socialism and is a means of bringing revolution to
our schools and colleges” (Nobbs, Hine and Flemming, 1978:1).

The first social scientist to use the term sociology wasa Frenchman by the name of Auguste
Comte who lived from 1798-1857. As coined by Comte, the term sociology is a combination of
two words. The first part of the term is a Latin, socius- that may variously mean society,
association, togetherness or companionship. The other word, logos, is of Greek origin. It
literally means to speak about or word. However, the term is generally understood as study or
science (Indrani,1998). Thus, the etymological, literal definition of sociology is that it is the
word or speaking about society. A simple definition here is that it is the study of society and
culture.

Although the term “sociology” was first used by the French social philosopher august Comte,
the discipline was more firmly established by such theorists as Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx and
Max Weber (Nobbs, Hine and Flemming, 1978).Before going any further, let us note that the
concept “society and “culture” are central in sociology. While each concept shall be dealt
with later in some detail, it appears to be appropriate here to help students differentiate
between these two important concepts Society generally refers to the social world with all its
structures, institutions, organizations, etc around us, and specifically to a group of people
who live within some type of bounded territory and who share a common way of life. This
common way of life shared by a group of people is termed as culture (Stockard, 1997).

Now, turning to the definitional issues, it is important that in addition to this etymological
definition of the term, we need to have other substantive definitions. Thus, sociology may be
generally defined as a social science that studies such kinds of phenomena as:
• The structure and function of society as a system;
• The nature, complexity and contents of human social behavior;
• The fundamentals of human social life;
• Interaction of human beings with their external environment;
• The indispensability of social interactions for human development;
• How the social world affects us, etc.
A more formal definition of sociology may be that it is asocial science which studies the
processes and patterns of human individual and group interaction, the forms of organization
of social groups, the relationship among them, and group influences on individual behavior,
and vice versa, and the interaction between one social group and the other (Team of Experts,
2000).Sociology is the scientific study of society, which is interested in the study of social
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relationship between people in group context. Sociology is interested in how we as human
beings interact with each other (the pattern of social interaction); the laws and principles
that govern social relationship and interactions; the/influence of the social world on the
individuals, and vice versa (Ibid.). It deals with a factually observable subject matter,
depends upon empirical research, and involves attempts to formulate theories and
generalizations that will make sense of facts (Giddens, 1982).
Regarding the detective and expository nature the science, Soroka (1992:34) states that
“Sociology is a debunking science; that is, it looks for levels of reality other than those
presented in official interpretations of society and people’s common sense explanations of
the social world. Sociologists are interested in understanding what is and do not make value
judgments.”

Brief Historical Overview

Sociology and other social sciences emerged from a common tradition of reflection of social
phenomena; interest in the nature of human social behavior and society has probably always
existed; however, most people in most past societies saw their culture as a fixed and god-
given entity. This view gradually was replaced by more rational explanations beginning from
the17thcentury especially in Western Europe (Rosenberg,1987). The sociological issues,
questions and problems

had been raised and discussed by the forerunners starting from the ancient Greek and Roman
philosophers' and Hebrew prophets' times. Sociology as an academic science was thus born in
19thcentury (its formal establishment year being 1837) in Great Britain and Western Europe,
especially in France and Germany, and it greatly advanced through out 19thand 20th
centuries. The development of sociology and its current contexts have to be grasped in the
contexts of the major changes that have created the modern world (Giddens, 1986).Further,
sociology originated in 18th century philosophy, political economy and cultural history
(Swingwood,
1991). The major conditions, societal changes, upheavals and social ferments that gave rise to
the emergence and development of sociology as an academic science include the Industrial
Revolution which began in Great Britain, the French Political Revolution of 1789, the
Enlightenment and advances in natural sciences and technology. These revolutions had
brought about significant societal changes and disorders in the way society lived in the
aforementioned countries. Since sociology was born amidst the great socio-political and
economic and technological changes of the western world, it is said to be the science of
modern society.
The pioneering sociologists were very much concerned about the great changes that were
taking place and they felt that the exciting sciences could not help understand, explain,
analyze and interpret the fundamental laws that govern the social phenomena. Thus sociology
was born
out of these revolutionary contexts.
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The founders or the pioneering sociologists are the following (Henslin and Nelson, 1995;
Giddens, 1996;Macionis, 1997):

• Auguste Comte, French Social Philosopher

(1798- 1857)
Comte was the first social philosopher to coin and use the term sociology (Nobbs, Hine and
Flemming, 1978).He was also the first to regard himself as a sociologist. He defined sociology
as the scientific study of social dynamics and social static. He argued that sociology can and
should study society and social phenomena following the pattern and procedures of the
natural science. Comte believed that a theoretical science of society and the systematic
investigation of human behavior were needed to improve society. He argued that the new
science of society could and should make a critical contribution towards a new and improved
human society. Comte defined sociology as the study of social dynamic and social static, the
former signifying the changing, progressing and developmental dimensions of society, while
the latter refers to the social order and those elements of society and social phenomena
which tend to persist and relatively permanent, defying change.

Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883)

Marx was a world-renowned social philosopher, sociologist and economic historian. He made
remarkable contributions to the development of various social sciences including sociology.
He contributed greatly to sociological ideas. He introduced key concepts in sociology like
social class, social class conflict, social oppression, alienation, etc. Marx, like Comte, argued
that people should make active efforts to bring about societal reforms. According to Marx,
economic forces are the keys to underestimating society and social change. He believed that
the history of human society has been that of class conflict. He dreamed of, and worked hard
towards realizing, a classless society, one in which there will be no exploitation and oppression
of one class by another, and wherein all individuals will work according to their abilities and
receive according to their needs. Marx introduced one of the major perspectives in sociology,
called social conflict theory (Macionis, 1997)

Herbert Spencer, British Social Philosopher,

(1820-1903)
Spencer was a prominent social philosopher of the 19thcentury. He was famous for the
organic analogy of human society. He viewed society as an organic system, having its own
structure and functioning in ways analogous to the biological system. Spencer's ideas of the
evolution of human society from the lowest("barbarism") to highest form ("civilized")
according to fixed laws were famous. It was called "Social Darwinism", which is analogous to
the biological evolutionary model. Social Darwinism is the attempt to apply by analogy the
evolutionary theories of plant and animal development to the explanation of human society
and social phenomena (Team of Experts, 2000).

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Emile Durkheim, French Sociologist, (1858-
1917)
Durkehiem was the most influential scholar in the academic and theoretical development of
sociology. He laid down some of the fundamental principles, methods, concepts and theories of
sociology; he defined sociology as the study of social facts. According to him, there are social
facts, which are distinct from biological and psychological facts. By social facts, he meant
the patterns of behavior that characterize a social group in a given society. They should be
studied objectively. The job of a sociologist, therefore, is to uncover social facts and then to
explain them using other social facts. Some regard Durkheim as the first sociologist to apply
statistical methods to the study of social phenomena(Macionis, 1997; Clahoun, et al, 1994).

Max Weber, German Sociologist (1864-1920)

Weber was another prominent social scientist. According to him, sociology is the scientific
study of human social action. Social action refers to any “action oriented to influence or
influenced by another person or persons. It is not necessary for more than one person to
Introduction to Sociology be physically present for action to be regarded as social action….”
(Team of Experts,2000). It is concerned with the interpretive understanding of human social
action and the meaning people attach to their own actions and behaviors and those of others.
Weber was a renowned scholar who like Marx, wrote in several academic fields. He agreed
with much Marxian theses but did not accept his idea that economic forces are central to
social change. Weber argues that we cannot understand human behavior by just looking at
statistics. Every activity and behavior of people needs to be interpreted. He argued that a
sociologist must aim at what are called subjective meanings, the ways in which people
interpret their own behavior or the meanings people attach their own behavior (Henslin and
Nelson, 1995;Rosneberg, 1987).

Subject Matter, Scope and Concerns of Sociology

The scope of sociology is extremely wide ranging, from the analysis of passing encounter
between individuals on the street up to the investigation of global social processes The
discipline covers an extremely broad range that includes every aspect of human social
conditions; all types of human relationships and forms of social behavior (Indrani, 1998).
Sociologists are primarily interested in human beings as they appear in social interaction and
the effects of this interaction on human behavior. Such interaction can range from the first
physical contacts of the new born baby with its mother to a philosophical discussion at an
international conference, from a casual passing on the street to the most intimate of human
relationships (World Book Encyclopedia 1994. Vol. 18, PP. 564-567). Sociologists are
interested to know what processes lead to these interactions, what exactly occurs when they
take place, and what their short run and long run consequences are. The major systems or
units of interaction that interest sociologists are social groups such as the family or peer
groups; social relationships, such as social roles and dyadic relationships, and social
organizations such as governments, corporations and school systems to such territorial
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organizations as communities and schools (Broom and Selzinki, 1973).
Sociologists are keen to understand, explain, and analyze the effect of social world, social
environment and social interaction on our behavior, world views, life style, personality,
attitudes, decisions, etc., as creative, rational, intelligent members of society; and how we as
such create the social reality

Major Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

Sociology as science employs perspectives or theories to understand, explain, analyze and
interpret social phenomena. To interpret social facts, they must be subjected to a
theoretical framework. A theory may be defined as a general statement about how some
parts of the world fit together and how they work (Macionis, 1997). Scupin and DeCorse (1995)
define a theory as a set of interconnected hypotheses that offer general explanations for
natural or social phenomena.
It should also be noted that the terms “perspectives” and “schools of thought” are often used
interchangeably with the term “theory”. There are three major theoretical perspectives in
sociology that have provided an overall framework for sociological studies. These are
structuralfunctionalism, social conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. There are also
theories that have emerged challenging these major ones.

The Structural-Functionalist Theory

This is one of the dominant theories both in anthropology and sociology. It is sometimes called
functionalism. The theory tries to explain how the relationships among the parts of society
are created and how these parts are functional (meaning having beneficial consequences to
the individual and the society) and dysfunctional (meaning having negative consequences). It
focuses on consensus, social order, structure and function in society.
The structural-functionalist theory sees society as a complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and stability; it states that our social lives are guided by social
structure, which are relatively stable patterns of social behavior (Macionis, 1997). Social
structure is understood in terms of social function, which are consequences for the
operations of society. All social structure contributes to the operation of society. The major
terms and concepts developed by anthropologists and sociologists in this theory include (or
the theory focuses on): order, structure, function (manifest or direct functions and latent or
hidden, indirect functions), and equilibrium.

Those hold this view ask such questions as: what hold society together? What keeps it steady?
The Structural- functionalist theory pays considerable attention to the persistence of shared
ideas in society. The functional aspect in the structural-functionalist theory stresses the role
played by each component part in the social system, whereas the structural perspective
suggests an image of society wherein individuals are constrained by the social forces, social
backgrounds and by group memberships.
Many of the great early founding sociologists such as August Comte, Emile Durkheim and
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Herbert Spencer and later American sociologists like Talkot Parsons andRobert K Merton.
Structural -functionalist theorists in modern sociology are more likely to follow in the
tradition of the writings of particularly Emile Durkheim, who is regarded as the pioneering
proponent of this perspective (Hensiln and Nelson, 1995).
After dominating sociology and anthropology for a long time, this theory was challenged by its
main critics, notably those who proposed the social ‒conflict theory (see below). The theory
was attacked for its emphasis on stability and order while neglecting conflict and changes
which so vital in any society.

The Social Conflict Theory

This theory is also called Marxism; to indicate that the main impetus to the theory derives
from the writings of Karl Marx This theory sees society in a framework of class conflicts and
focuses on the struggle for scarce resources by different groups in a given society. It asks
such questions as what pulls society apart. How does society change? The theory holds that
the most important aspect of social order is the domination of some group by others, that
actual or potential conflictsare always present in society. The writings of Karl Marx are
generally in the spirit of conflict theory, and Marxism influences most of conflict theorists in
modern sociology.
The theory is useful in explaining how the dominant groups use their power to exploit the less
powerful groups in society. Key concepts developed in this perspective include: conflict,
complementation, struggle, power, inequality, and exploitation.
Although this theory gained fame in recent decades, it came under sharp criticism, for its
overemphasis on inequality and division, for neglecting the fact of how shared values and
interdependence generate unity among members of society; it is also criticized for its explicit
political goals. Another critique, which equally applies also to structural functionalism, is that
it sees society in very broad terms, neglecting micro-level social realities (Macionis 1997).

Symbolic Interactionism
This theory was advanced by such American sociologists as Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)
William I Thomas (1863-1947) and George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) in early 20th century.
This perspective views symbols as the basis of social life. Symbols are things to which we
attach meanings. The theory stresses the analysis of how our behaviors depend on how we
define others and ourselves. It concentrates on process, rather than structure, and keeps the
individual actor at the center. According to symbolic interactionism, the essence of social life
and social reality is the active human being trying to make sense of social situations. In short,
this theory calls attention to the detailed, person-oriented processes that take place within
the larger units of social life (Calhoun et al, 1994; Henslin and Nelson, 1996; Soroka, 1995).
As indicated above, there are contemporary sociological theories that have emerged in
recent decades that have heavily influenced sociological and anthropological thinking. These
include the following:

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Social Exchange Theory
This theory focuses on “the costs and benefits which people obtain in social interaction,
including money, goods, and status. It is based on the principle that people always act to
maximize benefit. However, to receive benefits, there must always be an exchange process
with others” (Marcus and Ducklin, 1996: 26).

Structuralism
This theory denies any basis for humans being active, since human consciousness is no longer
seen as the basis of meaning in language. Structuralism differs from the mainstream
traditional theories in that it rejects objective social facts and a concept of society as an
objective, external entity. It defines social reality in terms of the relations between events,
not in terms of things and social facts. Its basic principle is that the observable is meaningful
only in so far as it can be related to an underlying structure or order (Swingwood, 1984).
The equivalent of structuralism in anthropology, advanced by its famous French structuralist
anthropologist, Claude Levi-Strauss, states that “the origin of universal principles that order
the ways in which we behave and think about the world is to be found in the structure of
human thought.”(Howard and DunaifHattis, 1992:373). The problem with this theory is that
they view societies as static and do not help very much in explaining variation among societies.
The theory treats culture as a given order and fails to explain the adaptive dimensions of
culture.

A note on applying sociological theories to health, culture and society may be important here.
Each of he above sociological theories may have its own views on medicine and society. But for
the sake of brevity, I would just focus on the three major theories:
• Structural functionalism: the version of this theory as applied to medicine ad society may be
termed as the “medical ecological approach. The structural functionalist theory views
medicine and the systems of health care as important social institutions; and it focuses on the
functions and roles played by the institution in maintaining odder and stability in society. The
medical institutions whether scientific or traditional and the various practitioners exist to
meet the needs of individuals and society (Henslin and Nelson, 1995).
• Symbolic interactionist theory: This theory as applied to medicine and society may be
termed as the”cultural interpretationist approach. This approach focuses on the social and
cultural constructions of health, illness and disease.
According to this theory, illnesses and health are not just things that exist “out there”; they
are productions of the complex social interactions; and health and illness are highly shaped by
the manner in which people as actors give meanings to them and how the actors respond to
them in socio-culturally sanctioned ways.
• Conflict theory: The equivalent of this theory in medical sociology and anthropology may be
termed as “the critical” or “radical political economy” approach. It is an approach which
stresses on the socio-economic inequality in power and wealth which in turn significantly
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affects the health status and access to health care facilities. Individuals, groups,
communities and even nations thus tend to have unbalanced share of health resources; and
these often leads to the unequal distribution of morbidity and mortality patterns among a
given society; those in power and dominance enjoy better health and the marginalized groups
suffer from the burden of diseases (Turner, 1987).

The Significance of Learning Sociology

Generally, learning sociology provides us with what sociologists call the sociological
imagination. Sociological imagination is a particular way of looking at the world around us
through sociological lenses. It is a way of looking at our experiences in light of what is going on
in the social world around us. This helps us to appreciate the social and non-biological forces
that affect, influence and shape our lives as individuals, groups, and communities (Giddens,
1982). Sociological imagination helps us look beyond individual psychology to the many and
varied facets of social and cultural forces, and "the recurring patterns in peoples' attitudes
and actions, and how these patterns vary across time, cultures and social groups." (Henslin
and Nelson, 1995)
Learning sociology helps us understand how social forces influence our goals, attitudes,
behavior, and personality. We become more sensitive towards the social issues. Furthermore,
learning sociology helps to cast aside our own biased assumptions, stereotypes and ethno-
centric thinking and practices to become more critical, broad- minded and respectful in our
interpersonal and inter- group relationships. By learning sociology, we can be more humane
and people ‒ centered; we give high value to human dignity.
In general, sociology increases our self-knowledge. Learning sociology can provide us with
self enlightenment. When we learn sociology, we gain more knowledge about the conditions of
our own lives, and about the way our society and social system function. As such knowledge
increases, we can be moreempowered to influence the direction of forces and circumstances
that affect our lives. We can also be more responsive to the various policies set by
governments; and can suggest our own policy initiatives and alternatives (Giddens, op cit). In
addition to the aforementioned theoretical benefits, sociology has certain practical benefits.
There is what we call applied sociology, the application of sociological knowledge, principles,
methods, concepts and theories to provide the solutions to the contemporary social
pathologies. Sociology plays practical roles to tackle social pathologies.
Sociological knowledge is highly applicable in dealing with today's most crucial social problems,
and in facilitating developmental activities in socioeconomic sectors.
Before closing this section, it is important to note why health/ medical sciences students need
to take a course in introductory sociology. The following are some of the arguments for the
necessity of such a course:

The Relationship between Sociology and Disciplines

Sociology occupies an important position among the disciplines, usually called the social
sciences. These include sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, political science,
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history and human geography. These disciplines are sometimes also referred to as behavioral
sciences, as they study the principles governing human social behavior.

How is sociology related to other sciences? What are the similarities and differences? These
are important questions. Sociology is similar with all other sciences in that it employs the
scientific methods and its major aim is production of scientific knowledge. Sociology is related
to other social and behavioral sciences in that all of them have more or less similar subject
matter; they all in one way or another study society, human culture, social phenomena; and
aim at discovering the laws that govern the social universe.

However, sociology differs from other social sciences in terms of its focus of study, approach
of study, and the method of study. The closest discipline to sociology is social anthropology.
The two share concepts, theories and methods, and have similar historical background.
However, they are different in that sociology is primarily interested in the problems of
modern society, whereas anthropology is primarily interested in the problem of traditional,
non-western society. (It should be noted here that this conventional distinction between the
two is now disappearing.) Further, sociology focuses mainly on quantitative techniques where
as anthropology on qualitative research techniques. Perhaps, the methods of research are
more important in differentiating the two. Anthropology's heavy focus on qualitative method
and sociology's on quantification are still persistent natures of the two disciplines. Further,
one point of difference worth mentioning is that sociology is narrower in scope than
anthropology, which has four sub fields; and anthropologists tend to stay in the field for long
period (several months to few years) while sociologists prefer brief stay (weeks to few
months).

The Concept of Society

Definition
The term society as mentioned earlier is derived from a Latin word socius. The term directly
means association, togetherness, gregariousness, or simply group life. The concept of society
refers to a relatively large grouping or collectivity of people who share more or less common
and distinct culture, occupying a certain geographical locality, with the feeling of identity or
belongingness, having all the necessary social arrangements or insinuations to sustain itself.
We may add a more revealing definition of society as defined by Calhoun et al (1994): "A
society is an autonomous grouping of people who inhabit a common territory, have a common
culture (shared set of values, beliefs, customs and so forth) and are linked to one another
through routinized social interactions and interdependent statuses and roles." Society also
may mean a certain population group, a community The common tendency in sociology has
been to conceptualize society as a system, focusing on the bounded and integrated nature of
society. Great founders of sociology had also focused on the dynamic aspect of society. Such
early sociologists as Comte, Marx and Spencer grasped the concept of society as a dynamic
system evolving historically and inevitably towards complex industrial structures (Swingwood,
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1991:313).

The common tendency in sociology has been to conceptualize society as a system, focusing on
the bounded and integrated nature of society. But in recent years such an approach has been
criticized. Contemporary sociologists now frequently use the network conception of society.
This approach views society as overlapping, dynamic and fluid network of economic, political,
cultural and other relations at various levels. Such a conception is analytically more powerful
and reflects the reality especially in the context of modern, globalizing world. (Personal
communication: Dr Teketel Abebe, Addis Ababa University, Department of Sociology and
Social Anthropology).

Basic Features of a Society

First, a society is usually a relatively large grouping of people in terms of size. In a very
important sense, thus, society may be regarded as the largest and the most complex social
group that sociologists study. Second, as the above definition shows, the most important thing
about a society is that its members share common and distinct culture. This sets it apart
from the other population groups. Third, a society also has a definite, limited space or
territory. The populations that make up a given society are thus locatable in a definite
geographical area. The people consider that area as their own. Fourth, the people who make
up a society have the feeling of identity and belongingness. There is also the feeling of
oneness. Such identity felling emanates from the routinized pattern of social interaction that
exists among the people and the various groups that make up the society. (Henslin and Nelson,
1995; Giddens, 1996; Calhoun et al., 1994).

Fifth, members of a society are considered to have a common origin and common historical
experience. They feel that they have also common destiny.
Sixth, members of a society may also speak a common mother tongue or a major language
that may serve as a national heritage.
Seventh, a society is autonomous and independent in the sense that it has all the necessary
social institutions and organizational arrangements to sustain the system. However, a society
is not an island, in the sense that societies are interdependent. There has always been inter‒
societal relations. People interact socially, economically and politically.
It is important to note that the above features of a society are by no means exhaustive and
they may not apply to all societies. The level of a society’s economic and technological
development, the type of economic or livelihood system a society is engaged in, etc may
create some variations among societies in terms of these basic features.

Types or Categories of Societies

Sociologists classify societies into various categories depending on certain criteria. One such
criterion is level of economic and technological development attained by countries. Thus, the
countries of the world are classified as First World, Second World, and Third World; First
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World Countries are those which are highly industrially advanced and economically rich, such
as the USA, Japan, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and Canada and so on. The Second World
Countries are also industrially advanced but not as much as the first category. The Third
World societies are thus which are least developed, or in the process of developing. Some
writers add a fourth category, namely, Fourth World countries. These countries may be
regarded as the "poorest of the poor" (Giddens, 1996).

Another important criterion for classifying societies may be that which takes into account
temporal succession and the major source of economic organization (Lensiki and Lensiki,
1995). When societies modernize they transform from one form to another. The simplest type
of society that is in existence today and that may be regarded the oldest is that whose
economic organization is based on hunting and gathering. They are called hunting and
gathering societies. This society depends on hunting and gathering for its survival. The second
types are referred to as pastoral and horticultural societies. Pastoral societies are those
whose livelihood is based on pasturing of animals, such as cattle, camels, sheep and goats.
Horticultural societies are those whose economy is based on cultivating plants by the use of
simple tools, such as digging sticks, hoes, axes, etc.

The third types are agricultural societies. This society, which still is dominant in most parts of
the world, is based on large-scale agriculture, which largely depends on ploughs using animal
labor. The Industrial Revolution which began in Great Britain during 18th century, gave rise to
the emergence of a fourth type of society called the Industrial Society. An industrial society
is one in which goods are produced by machines powered by fuels instead of by animal and
human energy (Ibid.). Sociologists also have come up with a fifth emerging type of society
called post-industrial society. This is a society based on information, services and high
technology, rather than on raw materials and manufacturing. The highly industrialized which
have now passed to the post-industrial level include the USA, Canada, Japan, and Western
Europe.

The Concept of Culture

Definition
Before going any further, it may be important to note that common people often misuse the
concept of culture. Some misconceptions about the to term culture include: 1. Many people in
the western world use the term culture in the sense that some people are more "cultured"
than others.

This basically emanates from the idea associated with the root word of the term culture,
“kulture” in German, which refers to “civilization". Thus, when one is said to be “cultured”, he
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or she is said to be civilized. For sociologists and anthropologists, "culture includes much more
than refinement, taste, sophistication, education and appreciation of the fine arts. Not only
college graduates but also all people are ‘cultured’” Kottak (2002: 272).

2. A second commonly used misconception is that which equates “culture" with things which
are colorful, customs, cloths, foods, dancing, music, etc. As Kottak (op. cit p.525) argues, “…
many [people] have come to think of culture in terms of colorful customs, music, dancing and
adornments clothing, jewelry and hairstyles…. Taken to an extreme, such images portray
culture as recreational and ultimately unserious rather than something that ordinary people
live everyday of their lives not just when they have festivals” (Ibid. P. 525).

A third misconception about what culture is and what it constitutes is that which may be
entertained by many common people here in Ethiopia. This misconception is similar to the
second one, but it differs from it in that most people here think culture (as conceptualized in
its local language for example, bahil in Amharic) is that which pertains to unique traditional
material objects or non ‒ material things of the past. According to this view, the cultural may
not include things (material or non ‒ material), which are modern, more ordinary, day-to ‒
day, life aspects. Here, the simple, ordinary social, economic and other activities, ideas and
affairs are regarded as not cultural or somewhat “less cultural" although not clearly stated.

The concept of culture is one of the most widely used notions in sociology. It refers to the
whole ways of life of the members of a society. It includes what they dress, their marriage
customs and family life, art, and patterns of work, religious ceremonies, leisure pursuits, and
so forth. It also includes the material goods they produce: bows and arrows, plows, factories
and machines, computers, books, buildings, airplanes, etc (Calhoun, et al, 1994; Hensiln and
Nelson, 1995).
The concept of culture has been defined by hundreds of times by sociologists and
anthropologists, emphasizing different dimensions. However, most often scholars have
focused on eh symbolic dimension of culture; that culture is essentially symbolic (see below)

Basic Characteristics of Culture

1. Culture is organic and supra-organic: It is organic when we consider the fact that there is
no culture without human society. It is supra organic, because it is far beyond any individual
lifetime. Individuals come and go, but culture remains and persists Calhoun (op cit).
2. Culture is overt and covert: It is generally divided into material and non-material cultures.
Material culture consists of any tangible human made objects such as tools, automobiles,
buildings, etc. Nonmaterial culture consists of any non-physical aspects like language, belief,
ideas, knowledge, attitude, values, etc.
3. Culture is explicit and implicit: It is explicit when we consider those actions which can be
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explained and described easily by those who perform them. It is implicit when we consider
those things we do, but are unable to explain them, yet we believe them to be so.
4. Culture is ideal and manifest (actual): Ideal culture involves the way people ought to
behave or what they ought to do. Manifest culture involves what people actually do.
5. Culture is stable and yet changing: Culture is stable when we consider what people hold
valuable and are handing over to the next generation in order to maintain their norms and
values. However, when culture comes into contact with other cultures, it can change. However,
culture changes not only because of direct or indirect contact between cultures, butalso
through innovation and adaptation to new circumstances.
6. Culture is shared and learned: Culture is the public property of a social group of people
(shared). Individuals get cultural knowledge of the group through socialization. However, we
should note that all things shared among people might not be cultural, as there are many
biological attributes which people share among themselves (Kottak, 2002).
7. Culture is symbolic: It is based on the purposeful creation and usage of symbols; it is
exclusive to humans. Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and to culture.
Symbolic thought is the human ability to give a thing or event an arbitrary meaning and grasp
and appreciate that meaning Symbols are the central components of culture. Symbols refer
to anything to which people attach meaning and which they use to communicate with others.
More specifically, symbols are words, objects, gestures, sounds or images that
representsomething else rather than themselves. Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to
humans and to culture. It is the human ability to give a thing or event an arbitrary meaning
and grasp and appreciate that meaning. There is no obvious natural or necessary connection
between a symbol and what it symbolizes (Henslin and Nelson, 1995; Macionis, 1997).

Culture thus works in the symbolic domain emphasizing meaning, rather than the
technical/practical rational side of human behavior. All actions have symbolic content as well
as being action in and of themselves. Things, actions, behaviors, etc, always stand for
something else than merely, the thing itself.

Elements of Culture
Culture includes within itself elements that make up the essence of a society or a social group.
The major ones include: Symbols, values, norms, and language (See Henslin and Nelson, 1995;
Calhoun et al. 1994).

Symbols
Symbols are the central components of culture. Symbols refer to anything to which people
attach meaning and which they use to communicate with others. More specifically, symbols
are words, objects, gestures, sounds or images that represent something else ratherthan
themselves. Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and to culture. It is the human
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ability to give a thing or event an arbitrary meaning and grasp and appreciate that meaning.
There is no obvious natural or necessary connection between a symbol and what it symbolizes.
Language
Language, specifically defined as a system of verbal and in many cases written symbols with
rules about how those symbols can be strung together to convey more complex meanings, is
the distinctive capacity and possession of humans; it is a key element of culture. Culture
encompasses language, and through language, culture is communicated and transmitted.
Without language it would be impossible to develop, elaborate and transmit culture to the
future generation.
Values
Values are essential elements of non-material culture. They may be defined as general,
abstract guidelines for our lives, decisions, goals, choices, and actions. They are shared ideas
of a groups or a society as to what isright or wrong, correct or incorrect, desirable or
undesirable, acceptable or unacceptable, ethical or unethical, etc., regarding something.
They are general road maps for our lives. Values are shared and are learned in group. They
can be positive or negative. For example, honesty, truth ‒ telling, respect for others,
hospitality, helping those in need, etc are positive values. Examples of negative values include
theft, indecency, disrespect, dishonesty, falsehood, frugality, etc. The Hippocratic Oath in
medical profession dictates that practitioners should among other things, keep the secrets of
patients, provide them whatever help they can, do no harm to patients willingly, etc. This is an
example of positive value.

Values are dynamic, meaning they change over time. They are also static, meaning they tend
to persist without any significant modification. Values are also diversified, meaning they vary
from place to place and culture to culture. Some values are universal because there is bio-
psychological unity among people everywhere and all times. In other words, they emanate
from the basic similarity of mankind’s origins, nature anddesires. For example, dislike for
killing people, concepts and practices of disease management, cleanliness, personal hygiene,
cosmetics, incest taboo, etc.

Norms
Norms are also essential elements of culture. They are implicit principles for social life,
relationship and interaction. Norms are detailed and specific rules for specific situations.
They tell us how to do something, what to do, what not to do, when to do it, why to do it, etc.
Norms are derived from values. That means, for every specific norm, there is a general value
that determines its content.

Individuals may not act according to the defined values and norms of the group. Therefore,
violation of values and norms and deviating from the standard values and norms are often
common. Social norms may be divided into two. These are mores and folkways
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Mores: Are important and stronger social norms for existence, safety, well-being and
continuity of the society or the group or society. Violation of, anddeviation from these kinds
of norms, may result in serious reactions form the groups. The strongest norms are regarded
as the formal laws of a society or a group. Formal laws are written and codified social norms.
The other kinds of mores are called conventions. Conventions are established rules governing
behavior; they are generally accepted ideals by the society. Conventions may also be
regarded as written and signed agreements between nations to govern the behaviors of
individuals, groups and nations.

Folkways:
Are the ways of life developed by a group of people. They are detailed and minor instructions,
traditions or rules for day-to-day life that help us function effectively and smoothly as
members of a group. Here, violating such kinds of norms may not result in a serious
punishment unlike violating mores. They are less morally binding. In other words, folkways are
appropriate ways of behaving and doing things. Examples may include table etiquette,
dressing rules, walking, talking, Conformity to folkways usually occurs automatically without
any national analysis and is based upon custom passed from generation to generation. They
are not enforced by law, but by informal social control. They are not held to be important or
obligatory as mores, or moral standards, and their violation is not as such severely
sanctioned. Although folkways are less binding, people have to behave according to accepted
standards. Some exceptional behaviors are regarded eccentric behaviors.

Folkways are distinguished from laws and mores in that they are designed, maintained and
enforced by public sentiment, or custom, whereas laws are institutionalized, designed,
maintained and enforced by the political authority of the society. Folkways in turn may be
divided into two sub types: fashion and custom.

Fashion:
Is a form of behavior, type of folkways that is socially approved at a given time but subject
to periodic change. Adherents combine both deviation and conformity to norm of a certain
group.

Custom:
Is a folkway or form of social behavior that, having persisted a long period of time, has
become traditional and well established in a society and has received some degree of formal
recognition. Custom is a pattern of action shared by most or all members of a society. Habit
is a personality trait, where as the custom is a group trait. Fashion and customs can be
differentiated in that while custom changes at slower rate, fashion changes at a faster rate.

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