BY

SUJATHA . J
 Culture
• Culture is the main concept of sociology to study.

• The term culture is derived form the Latin word, ‘colere’-

which means “to cultivate” or “to till the soil”.

• In the social science the word culture refers to the belief ,

values, and expressive symbols of any group or society.

• Culture is the unique quality of man which separates him

from lower animals.
 Culture
• Culture is a very broad term that includes all our walks of
life our modes of behaviour.

• Culture refers the knowledge, language, values, customs,

and material objects that are passed from person to
person and from one generation to the next in a human
group or society

• Culture is the entire social heritage which the individual

receives from the group.
 Mayan
culture
CULTURE
OF
KERALA
 Definition of culture
1. “culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, morals, laws, custom and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society.”- Edward B.Taylor

2. “Culture as an accumulation of thought values and objects; it is the

social heritage acquired by us form preceding generations through
learning, as distinguished form the biological heritage which is
passed on to us automatically through the genes.”-Graham Wallas

3. “culture is the expression of our nature in our modes of living and

our thinking, inter-course in our literature, in religion in recreation
and enjoyment.”- MacIver
 CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
1. Culture is learned; it is acquired through socialization process,
thinking and practice.

2. Culture is develops through social interaction like eating ,

dressing showing respect to the elders, nourishing children,
taking care of the elders, marriage system etc..

3. Culture gets distributed with others- it is the wealth of society.

All the members have a share in it.

4. Culture is ideational – it sets ideals to follow in every society.

5. Culture is pass on from one generation to the next.

 Contd…
6. Culture is continuous and cumulative – there is no end and eve
flowing life stream

7. Culture is consistent and integrated.

8. Culture is dynamic and adaptive – it is prone to change from

time to time, through slowly and not static.

9. Culture is different from one society to another society

10. Culture is gratifying – it helps in fulfilling different needs of

man like biological, social etc.,
 Classification/ concept of culture
♦ It consists of all man made objects tools,
furniture buildings, dams, roads etc.
♦ It also consist of all material things we
use like means of transport and
Material communication
Culture

According
to
Ogburn
♥ It relates to non-physical like practices, rules &
regulations , customs, attitude towards life etc.,
Non- ♥ It also consists of the words the people use or
Material the language they speak, the beliefs they hold,
Culture values and virtues (behaviour showing high moral
standards) they cherish (protect and care for
(someone) lovingly), habits they follow, rituals and
practices that they do.
 FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE
1. It is a repository of knowledge –man is able to place himself on
the progressive path.

2. It determines situations – proper training for their societal life

and guides an individual , what to eat, how to wear and when.

3. Values ,goals & attitudes are defined by culture.

4. It determines our future and career.

5. It sets model or pattern of behaviors

6. It greatly influences the process of development of an

individual’s personality
 CULTURE LAG
• The term was coined by Ogburn. The other
synonyms are: cultural clash, technological lag.
• The word LAG means “crippled (unable to walk or
move properly)movement”.
• Cultural lag means the flattering (full of praise and
compliments) of one aspect of culture behind
another.
A COMMUNITY is
a place where people:
 Work
Play
 Live
 What is community?
• The origin of “community” is from the Latin word …
• "The word "community" is derived from the Old French
communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (cum,
"with/together" + munus, "gift"), which means together, among
each other.

• So community literally means to give among each other." a

broad term for fellowship or organized society.”

• Acc. To Bogardus: community is a social group with some

degree of “WE” feeling and living in a given area.

• Acc. To Ogburn and Nimkoff: community us the total

organization of social life with a limited area.
 DEFINITION- COMMUNITY
• The definition given by WHO Expert committee on
community is as follows: “A community is a social
group determined by geographical boundaries
and/or common values and interests. Its members
know and interact with each other. It functions
within a particular social structure and exhibits and
creates certain norms and values, and social
institutions”.
 Three types of communities are:

 Urban- a large community with many people and

large buildings, a city

Suburb- a medium-sized community near a large city,

houses are close together, you may see parks and malls

Rural-a community where houses are far apart, there

are a smaller number of people, and you may see farms
and forests
 CHARACTERISTICS OFCOMMUNITY

GROUP OF
LEGAL STATUS DEPENDENCY
PEOPLE

PARTICULAR
LOCALITY LIKENESS
NAME

PERMAENCY WIDER ENDS

NATURALISM SENTIMENT
TYPES OF COMMUNITY

VILLAGE OR RURAL

CITY OR URBAN

NATION

WORLD
CHARACTERISTICS OF RURAL COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY CONSCIOUSNESS

ROLE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD

JOINT FAMILY

FAILTH IN RELIGIONS

SIMPLICITY
 CHARACTERISTICS OF URBAN COMMUNITY

Namelessness

Homelessness

Class Extremes – riches as well as poorest people will be found

Social heterogeneity – variety of groups. Each representing a typical

culture

Social distance – impersonal, segmented

Energy and Speed – people with ambition, work tremendous speed,

day & night

Secondary control – controlled by police, laws, courts etc.,

Social mobility – move from one place to other due works &
economics
 Contd…

Individuality

lack of community feeling

lack of unity in the family

Moral laxity

Unbalanced personality

Density of population
 Difference between Society and Community
SOCIETY COMMUNITY

Web or organization Group of people

Abstract Concrete

No definite Geographical area Definite Geographical area

No community sentiment or sense of unity in a community sentiment or sense of unity in a

society society
No common interest and objectives common interest and objectives

Variety of relationship: direct or indirect; Particular relationships with its members

organized or unorganized; conscious or directly
unconscious
No definite boundary Has its own & particular locality

More than one community in a society Cannot be more than one society in a
community
Uniformity and diversity of culture
• “Uniformity in diversity” is familiar slogan for
all Indian.
• Each group has its own cultural traits. The
group accepts a cultural traits, which is not
acceptable by another society.
• Though each and every group strictly adheres
with their own cultural practices while they
perform their roles and expectations of the
society, they are adjusting with others and
maintain the social equilibrium.
 Transcultural society
• The modern society consists of different
groups each group has its own cultural
practices and preference.
• In the present world every individual exposed
to different culture. They are free to adopt
those culture and transform to new kind of
culture exist with the fusion of multi culture.
This process of assimilation of culture is called
as TRANSCULTURE.
THANK YOU