Quick-revision summary of Chapter 4: Culture and Socialisation (Introducing Sociology, Class 11). For full explanations, read the complete notes.
1 Key definitions
Key definitions
Culture (Tylor 1871)That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society
Culture (Malinowski 1931)Inherited artifacts, goods, technical process, ideas, habits and values
Culture (Geertz 1973)The webs of significance man himself has spun; search for meaning, not causes
CognitionUnderstanding: how we make sense of information from our environment
LawFormal sanction defined by government; explicit; applies to whole society; violation punished
Culture lagNon-material dimensions unable to match the advances of technology
EthnocentrismJudging other cultures by one’s own cultural values, taken as superior
CosmopolitanismValuing other cultures for their difference
Cultural changeThe way societies change their patterns of culture
SocialisationProcess by which the helpless infant becomes a self-aware, knowledgeable person skilled in the ways of his/her culture
SubcultureGroup within a larger culture that borrows, distorts, exaggerates or inverts its symbols, values and beliefs to stand apart
Peer groupFriendship group of children of similar age; ‘peer’ means ‘equal’
2 What culture is
- Everyday use: the arts, refined taste, the ‘uncultured’ masses. Sociology: a way of life in which all members participate; every social organisation has a culture.
- Culture is like a map: a common understanding learnt through social interaction; gives a group its identity; dynamic, never a finished product.
- Drawing the same meaning from signs and symbols distinguishes humans; the Bangalore autodriver box: words and facial expressions convey meaning.
- Tsunami of 26 December 2004: Onges, Jarawas, Great Andamanese and Shompens saved themselves by experiential knowledge. Cultures cannot be ranked, only judged adequate or inadequate in coping with nature.
3 Definitions of culture
| Thinker | Key point |
|---|---|
| Edward Tylor (British, 1871) | Complex whole; all non-material except art; he was a museum curator |
| Bronislaw Malinowski (Poland, 1884-1942) | Adds inherited artifacts and goods; “functional school”; stranded in the Western Pacific in the First World War: field work |
| Clifford Geertz (1973) | Actions read like words in a book; interpretative, not causal |
| Leslie White | Culture adds meaning to objective reality: holy water |
| Kroeber and Kluckhohn (USA, 1952) | Survey of definitions; 8 samples; (d)-(f) shared and passed on; (g)-(h) directing behaviour |
4 Dimensions of culture
- Cognitive: giving meaning to what we see and hear (cell-phone ring, politician’s cartoon). Hardest to recognise. Oral tradition in non-literate societies. Walter Ong (Orality and Literacy): a 1971 study, only 78 of about 3,000 languages have a literature; oral material repeats words; oral audience more involved; written texts more elaborate.
- Normative: rules of conduct (others’ letters, death rituals): folkways, mores, customs, conventions, laws; all norms carry sanctions. Norms implicit, laws explicit. Bourdieu: return-gift not too quickly. Norms vary by status; dominant norms can discriminate (dalits, women).
- Material: tools, machines, buildings, transport (chatting, kolam; urban ATMs, computers; rural transistor radios, electric motor pumps).
- Cognitive + normative = non-material. Both must work together; rapid technological change makes values lag: culture lag.
5 Identity, ethnocentrism, change
- Identity is not inherited; roles need recognition through language (students’ code; women’s private space). Sub-cultures: style, taste, association; neighbourhood youth club builds identity.
- Ethnocentrism arises when cultures meet; colonial example: Macaulay’s Minute on Education (1835). Cosmopolitanism: English language, Hindi film music (bhangra, ghazal), Hinglish (pukka, time-pass, Bangalored).
- Cultural change: internal (farming) or external (conquest, colonisation); through environment, contact, adaptation; forest loss in North East and middle India. Revolutionary change: rapid, radical; French Revolution (1789) ended the estate system and monarchy; liberty, equality, fraternity.
6 Socialisation
- Without it, no human behaviour: wolf-children of Midnapore (Bengal, 1920).
- Life-long: primary (family, early years) and secondary (school, institutions, whole life). A birth socialises parents and grandparents too.
- Not cultural programming: even a newborn asserts its will.
- Kin-group (biradari, khaandaan, clan); multiple roles at once; norms vary by caste, region, class, religion, village or city.
| Agency | Key points |
|---|---|
| Family | Nuclear vs extended; family’s ‘location’ largely decides position in traditional societies; generation differences |
| Peer group | Similar age; age-grades; ‘peer’ = equal; give and take; rules tested |
| School | Formal curriculum + hidden curriculum (girls rather than boys sweep) |
| Mass media | Conduct-books (19th c.); democratic access; British study: TV = almost 100 school days a year; violence link debated; Nigeria, Afghanistan, Tashkent, London; Shaktimaan; internet |
| Work | Only industrial societies “go out to work” |
- Freedom: socialisation never fully produces conformity; agencies conflict; it is the origin of individuality and freedom.
- Gendered socialisation: Kumar 1986 (street); The Bell by Gita Krishnakutty (Thangam, Kelu Nair, ascribed status, punishment by silence and missing pappadams).
8 Glossary terms
- Cultural Evolutionism: culture evolves through variation and natural selection.
- Estates System: feudal Europe; nobility, clergy, third estate; peasants and labourers had no vote.
- Great Tradition: written, accepted by educated elites. Little Tradition: oral, village level.
- Self Image: image of a person as reflected in others’ eyes. Social Roles: rights and responsibilities of a status.
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