Sociology

Culture
Culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is constantly changing and may easily be
lost. Culture is a large and integral part of our everyday lives. It provides the context
(background) that people use to interact with one another. Culture refers to beliefs, values,
behaviours and physical objects that create a peoples way of life. People create culture and this
shapes their behaviour. Culture is the total way of life of individuals in a given society.
Linton (1945) defines culture as the way of life of a societys members; the collection of ideas
and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation. Culture is not
static; it reflects the acceptable or unacceptable forms of behaviour. These, however, may vary
and change overtime.
There are two types/parts to culture: the material and the non-material
Material culture is the part that is concrete and tangible, the material things that a society uses
for survival. These refer to physical and technological aspects for instance: musical instruments,
food items, clothing, raw materials and so on. These objects oftentimes have symbolic meanings.
Non-material culture refers to all intangible components; they can neither be seen nor touched.
This includes languages, norms, ideas, customs, religion, values and beliefs. Culture is both
concrete (objects and practices can be observed) and abstract (it is a way of thinking, feeling and
behaving).
Characteristics of culture

Culture is learnt members of society learn the culture through the process of
socialization. Cultural traits and beliefs are transmitted through generations
Culture is shared members of a society agree on meanings/relationships between a
word, behaviour, symbol and so on. These aspects are common to many in the society.
Culture is transmittable it is passed on from generation to generation and continues
beyond the individual lifespan. If it is not transmitted, it will eventually be lost.
Culture is adaptive- in order to survive, culture must adapt to changes in society. In
some instances, individuals go through a process of relearning a culture so that they can
fit into a new environment.
Culture is dynamic- culture changes and evolves; it is not static. The culture of your
grandparents is not identical to yours. When changes in a culture occur, members
oftentimes borrow from other cultures.
Cultures are symbolic- every society has symbols. These may be of little consequence to
people of a different culture.

Functions of culture

It enables us to communicate with others through language

It makes it possible to anticipate how others in our society are likely to respond to our
actions.
Culture gives us standards for distinguishing between things that are right and wrong
(norms), beautiful and unpleasant (values), reasonable and unreasonable
Culture provides methods for training children to behave in certain ways generally
considered appropriate in society (socialization).
Culture provides the knowledge and skills necessary for meeting sustenance needs.

Elements of culture
The components of culture fall into four main categories: symbols, language, values and norms.
Symbols may take the form of: structures, gestures, material possessions, food and clothing.
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Language - a set of symbols that express ideas and allow people to think and communicate with
each other. Language can be verbal and non-verbal. Creole language and dialect are associated
with the Caribbean, due to its complex history.
Values these provide us with a general understanding of what is desirable and worthwhile.
They establish standards in a given society and influence conduct.
Norms- these are the rules that govern social action. They determine behaviour that most persons
of the society consider to be proper. Norms ensure that behaviours are standardised. Types
include: folkways, mores, customs and laws.
Structural and Cultural Universals.
Structural universals refer to issues that must be addressed if a society is to survive and evolve.
They pertain to the basic problems of human existence. Cultural universals are values, norms and
such that are found everywhere. Regardless of the location, universal traits are shared, including:

Communicating with verbal language

Using age and gender to classify people
Raising children in some sort of family
Distinguishing between good and bad behaviour
Having division of labour

CULTURAL VARIATIONS
Persons of different cultures react in different ways to various cultural traditions
Dominant Culture this refers to the lifestyle of the elite or the most influential in society. The
cultural form held in the highest regard. It receives the most support from major institutions it
affects education, media and public policy.
Folk culture this refers to the culture of the ordinary people in society and it arises out of their
everyday life experiences. Common values, beliefs and customs are passed from generation to
generation. This can be seen in traditional folk dances, songs, stories, music and so on.
Ideal culture this refers to the values and standards of behaviour that people in society profess
to hold. Ideal culture speaks of perfect and desirable morals; however, it is not always achieved.
Example monogamy or the idea of till death do us part.
Real culture the actual values, beliefs and customs that members of society follow. While
there is an ideal standard, persons may fall short in various ways, for instance, people lie,
married spouses may choose to divorce. Real culture is what people actually practice.
Culture lag - this refers to strains that result when one aspect of culture progresses while another
does not. For example, in this technological age when technology should be incorporated into the
lesson, some teachers continue to only use chalk and talk method.
Ethnocentrism this occurs when a person uses their culture as a yardstick against which they
measure other peoples culture and in the process give a negative evaluation of that culture while
suggesting that their own culture is superior. Ethnocentrism involves three tendencies: to
evaluate other cultures from the perspectives of your own, to view your own culture as normally
correct while raising moral questions about practices and people in other cultures and to become
so deeply engrossed in your culture that other cultures become unimportant.
Cultural relativism this is an attempt to appreciate other ways of life. Cultural relativism
encourages the ability to see and interpret things from the view point of others and thus being
able to appreciate why they think and behave in certain ways.
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Pop culture - this refers to any cultural product appreciated by large numbers of ordinary
people, for example, T.V. programmes, music, clothing and so on.
Define these terms: subculture, countercultures, multiculturalism, acculturation, interculturation, assimilation, cultural integration and cultural erasure.
Theories
Functionalists Views on Culture
Emile Durkheim put forward the theory that, to ensure cooperation among workers (and to
prevent problems from arising), they needed to be bound together by a set of rules and
regulations. Further, the education system, through the teaching of history and a common
curriculum, exposes students to shared norms and values. Once the culture of society has been
internalised, cooperation will ensue.
Talcott Parsons maintained that culture is significant because people draw meanings from
cultural symbols and so on. He maintains that culture is learned through primary socialisation;
the family moulds ones identity. Having learned the culture, this is shared, resulting in value
consensus. Culture also serves as a means of social control. Persons are expected to conform to
prescribed behaviour; those who deviate are sanctioned. Change is slow and happens gradually.
Structural functional paradigm indicates that culture exists to fulfil a human need. Culture has
different functions to ensure that everyday life continues to exist. They maintain that norms,
values and beliefs give meaning to life and bind people together. One of the predominant
sociologists embracing this view is George Murdock. He maintains that all cultures share many
of the same traits. He believed that one example of a universal cultural trait was the family,
because it controls reproduction and child rearing.
Criticism of Durkheim and Parsons largely stem from their failure to recognise the possibility
that the culture learned could be a representation of the ideals of the elite, thereby brainwashing
the masses to behave in a particular way. Furthermore, critics maintain that too much focus is
placed on solidarity and not on fully explaining how change takes place.
Marxists Views on Culture
The social conflict paradigm indicates that culture is established in order to oppress members
of a society. Inequalities are perpetuated through culture. The ruling class establishes acceptable
behaviour, sanctions those who violate them and this is viewed as oppression. These ideas are
modelled after the ideas of Karl Marx. Further, the working class finds ways to resist the
dominant culture by coming up with their own culture (ideas, values and so on). Therefore the
bourgeoisie and the proletariat have different cultures; culture is dependent on your position in
society. The bourgeoisie own the agencies involved in cultural production i.e. newspaper,
museums, theatres and so on. Those agencies circulate the ideas of the ruling class resulting in
the spread of the culture of the elite. Marx and Engels maintained that the working class, if they
adopted this culture, would be living in a state of false class consciousness.
Criticisms
Critics maintain that the dominant culture is not as widely acceptable as Marxists have
indicated. Many persons of the working class have created their own cultural ideals.

Feminists Views on Culture

Feminist sociologists are concerned with how the culture of a society helps to shape the gender
identities of males and females. Feminists claim that being female or male is determined by the
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culture of a society. Margaret Mead (1935) wrote about the Arapesh, Mundugmor and
Tchambuli tribes that had different (than normal) cultural beliefs which shaped gender roles.
Ann Oakley showed that gender roles are culturally determined and challenged the view that
gender roles are biologically determined by providing examples of how gender roles are shared.
According to Sherry Ortner, societies place more emphasis on culture than nature. Woman are
linked with nature because they get pregnant, lactate and give birth and are seen as too emotional
Their value in society is undervalued while men are more appreciated because they take part in
cultural activities like politics, religion and entertainment and are seen as more objective.
Criticisms
In some societies, white women have more power than black men. In these cases, men are not
seen as superior. Other critics maintain that gender roles are genetically and biologically
determined and has little to do with culture.
Read and make notes on the Interactionists Views on culture. Focus on Charles Cooley,
George Herbert Mead. Identify criticisms. Page 95 96 of CAPE Sociology Chinapoo et al

Theories of Caribbean Culture

Find additional criticisms
Plantation society (George Beckford)
George Beckford wrote on how plantation societies were organised in terms of their economic
structure and also how this had an impact on social stratification. This model posits that modern
Caribbean society is still characterized by the plantation society and that although society has
transformed, fragments of the plantation society are still manifested in our cultural patterns.
Plantations were rigidly divided into masters and slaves; owners and non-owners; white and
black. Stratification also existed among the slaves, specifically in the social relations between
field slaves, skilled slaves, domestic slaves and mulattoes. Colour was a symbol of status, as
browns formed the middle stratum between whites and blacks. The plantation society consisted
of a cultural diverse population, a rigid pattern of stratification, loose local governments and a
mono-crop economy (largely agriculture based). Beckford believes that these features are still
reflected in modern Caribbean society.
Beckford further argued that race is still a major tool of stratification as whites remain at the top
while blacks are at the bottom; people only mix for economic reasons. However, other Caribbean
sociologists maintain that the plantation society model fails to take into consideration significant
changes such as the rise in manufacturing industries and service sector jobs, impact of access to
education and the strides made by blacks in various areas. Some are of the view that that modern
Caribbean society is really a modified version of the plantation society while others maintain that
its influence is limited because only certain aspects are still influenced. This theory was adopted
and modified by Kari Levitt and Lloyd Best.
The Plural Society Theory (M.G. Smith)
M. G. Smith is a significant contributor to Caribbean sociology, particularly through his theory
of a plural society which was initially introduced by J.S. Furnivalls work on plural societies of
the Dutch East Indies. According to Furnivall, a plural society is a society comprising of various
ethnic groups that mix yet does not combine. Each group has its own religion, culture, language
and values. Smith applied this theory to the social structure of Caribbean society, particularly
Grenada and Jamaica. He acknowledged cultural groups such as whites, blacks, East Indians and
Chinese. However, each group occupied a different social place in society and interacted in an
economic sense. Boundaries were put in place: there was a public sector of social life and
interaction training, education, exchange and justice and private aspect family, property,
religion and language.
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Smith further indicated that socialisation patterns differ, even norms and values that Durkheim
and Parsons believe are essential to a fully functional society were not shared. He identified three
types of society. The homogenous society where social and cultural institutions are shared, the
plural society where members do not share the same basic institutions and the heterogeneous
society where a set of basic institutions is shared but alternative institutions exists. Within these
societies the basic institutions are the family, religion and property. Cultural divisions were based
on cultural traits and not class. Population in the pre-independence period contributed to this as
there was little opportunity for people to develop a shared culture, therefore there is an absence
of nationalism as consensus and common will are absent. Sociologists critique this theory by
putting forward the view that common will exists within plural societies (Brathwaite). According
to Carl Stone, Caribbean societies particularly Jamaican society- are divided based on material
factors such as differences in income, occupation and access to resources and less so on culture.
Crealisation Theory (Edward Kamau Braithwaite)
Edward Kamau Braithwaite put forward the creolisation theory, based on his view that the
integration of new races into the New World and the creation of a plural society was the most
important factor in the development of Caribbean society. Creolisation is the cultural changes
that occur when people of two different backgrounds come together in a new environment and
are so affected by interactions with each other and the environment that a new culture is born.
Creolisation began with the seasoning process, which took place when African slaves were
captured, given new names and taught new languages. They eventually began to identify with
their work, accept their new life and participate in activities. The main components of
creolisation are acculturation which is the process by which contacts with different groups lead
to the acquisition of new cultural patterns and interculturation which is the unconscious and
somewhat conscious (but willing) absorption of aspects of anothers culture. These processes
required Caribbean people to imitate and add to the culture creating unique cultural traditions.
Both material and non-material aspects of the two major groups (European and African) were
voluntarily and involuntarily mixed. Sociologists such as Cecil Gutzmore critiqued this theory by
pointing out that the impact of other Caribbean communities such as Maroons, Jews and Asians
were excluded.

Notes taken from CAPE Sociology by C. Chinapoo et al and Sociology for Caribbean
Students by N Musstapha. Pleas purchase these books.