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Culture

Culture can be defined in three main ways: as refinement in the arts, as patterns of human knowledge and behavior, or as shared attitudes within a group. Culture is learned and transmitted through both oral and written means, and consists of various elements such as beliefs, values, norms, folkways, mores, laws, and material objects and technology. Characteristics of culture include being learned, patterned, adaptive, compulsory, and essential for social life.

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109 views2 pages

Culture

Culture can be defined in three main ways: as refinement in the arts, as patterns of human knowledge and behavior, or as shared attitudes within a group. Culture is learned and transmitted through both oral and written means, and consists of various elements such as beliefs, values, norms, folkways, mores, laws, and material objects and technology. Characteristics of culture include being learned, patterned, adaptive, compulsory, and essential for social life.

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kuruchi
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate") is a term that has

different meanings. However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses:

 Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture
 An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the
capacity for symbolic thought and social learning
 The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution,
organization or group

The nature of culture:

When studying cultures throughout the world, you will analyze various cultures by
distinguishing between;

 Cultural traits – the smallest element in a culture, non material, such as beliefs,
traditions etc.
 Cultural items – A material culture trait which can be seen handled and used.

Characteristics of culture:

 Culture is learned.
 Culture is transmitted orally and by writing.
 Culture is shared.
 Culture is patterned and integrated
 Culture is adoptive and maladaptive.
 Culture is compulsory.
 Culture is essential for social life.

The elements of culture:

 Beliefs – represents man’s conviction about the reality of things and are shared ideas about
how the world operates.
 Values – indicates the moral imperatives and social conscience or social control, internalized
by the individual members of the society.
 Norms and sanctions – shared rules or patterns of behavior in a particular culture that
informs its members what they should or should not do.
 Folkways - are any informal mores characterized by being followed through imitation and
mild social pressure but not strictly enforced or put into law.
 Mores - known as customs, derive from the established practices of a society rather than its
written laws. They consist of shared understandings about the kinds of behavior likely to
evoke approval, disapproval, toleration or sanction, within particular contexts.
 Law - is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. Laws can shape or
reflect politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social
mediator of relations between people.
 Sanctions – conformity is attained through the use of sanctions.
 Material culture and technology – refers to the physical, tangible and concrete objects
produce by man.
 Language – the foundation upon which human cultures are built.

Some terms about culture:

 Cultural relativism – is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should
be understood in terms of his or her culture.
 Ethnocentrism – the view to regard one’s culture as right and normal with a superior
attitude.
 Culture shock - is the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty,
confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within a different and unknown culture such
as one may encounter in a foreign country. It grows out of the difficulties in assimilating the
new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not.

Some functions of culture:

 Integration – shared interpretations.


 Commitment – emotional reasons.
 Control – more complex

Reference;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture

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