Culture and Socialisation – Sociology Chapter 4
Introduction
Culture, a multifaceted concept, encompasses the arts, the lifestyle of specific classes or countries, and the social contexts in which it exists. Sociologists and anthropologists delve into these contexts to unravel the intricate relationships between culture’s various aspects.
Culture serves as a guiding principle, shaping our behavior and interactions within society. It is the shared understanding and knowledge acquired through social interactions, distinguishing individuals within a group and giving it a unique identity.
However, cultures are not static entities but dynamic entities that constantly evolve. Elements are added, deleted, expanded, contracted, and rearranged, making cultures functional units.
The ability of individuals to develop a common understanding with others and derive the same meanings from signs and symbols sets humans apart from other animals. Creating meaning is a social virtue that we learn through the guidance of our families, groups, and communities. We acquire practical knowledge, including the use of tools and techniques, and non-material signs and symbols, through interactions with various social settings.
Much of this knowledge is systematically documented and conveyed through oral traditions or written texts, preparing us to fulfill our roles and responsibilities within society, guided by the cultural norms and values we have learned.
Diverse Setting, Different Cultures
Human beings inhabit diverse natural settings, from mountains to deserts, and live in various social structures, from villages to cities. In these environments, people adapt unique strategies to cope with nature and social conditions, leading to diverse ways of life or cultures.
The devastating tsunami of December 26, 2004, struck parts of India’s coasts and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On the mainland and islands, people had integrated into modern life, but the fisherfolk and service personnel in the islands were caught off guard and suffered significant devastation.
In contrast, primitive tribal communities in the islands, such as the Onge, Jarawas, Great Andamanese, or Shompens, who lacked modern science and technology, foresaw the impending calamity based on their experiential knowledge and escaped by seeking higher ground.
This demonstrates that modern cultures don’t necessarily make them superior to tribal cultures. Culture can be evaluated based on its effectiveness in addressing natural challenges.
Defining Culture
The term “culture” is often associated with refined interests in classical music, dance, and art. However, sociologists view culture as a way of life that all members of society participate in. Every social organization develops its unique culture.
As British scholar Edward Taylor defined it, “Culture or civilization, in its broad ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”
Bronislaw Malinowski, founder of functional anthropology, defined culture as inherited artifacts, goods, technical processes, ideas, habits, and values.
Clifford Geertz compared human actions to words in a book, suggesting they convey messages. He argued for an interpretative explanation, seeking meaning rather than a casual one.
Leslie White emphasized culture’s role in adding meaning to objective reality, using the example of people regarding a particular water source as holy.
Alfred Kroebor and Clyde Kluckhohn published a comprehensive survey of culture definitions in 1952 due to the multiple interpretations in anthropological studies.
A sample of the various definitions as given is presented below: Culture is
- a way of thinking, feeling, believing
- the total way of life of people
- an abstraction from behaviour
- learned behaviour
- a storehouse of pooled learning
- the social legacy the individual acquire from this group
- a set of standardised orientations to recurrent problems
- a mechanism for the normative regulation of behaviour
Dimensions of Culture
There are three dimensions of culture namely, cognitive, normative and material.
(i) Cognitive This refers to how we learn to process what we hear or see, so as to give it meaning e.g. identifying the ring of a cell phone as ours, recognising the cartoon of a politician, etc.
(ii) Normative This refers to rules of conduct e.g. not opening other peoples letter, performing rituals at death, etc.
(iii) Material This includes any activity made possible by means of materials. Materials also include tools or machine e.g. internet chatting, using rice-flour paste to design kolam (floor drawing) on floors,
Cognitive Aspects of Culture
The cognitive aspects of culture are harder to recognize than its tangible, visible, or audible aspects, and explicit norms. Cognition refers to understanding how we make sense of our environment.
In literate societies, ideas are written in books and preserved in libraries. In non-literate societies, ideas are in the form of legends and myths committed to memory and transmitted orally during rituals.
Walter Ong’s book ‘Orality and Literacy’ cites a study of 1971 that states only 78 of the 3000 existing languages have literature. He suggests that non-written material has specific characteristics.
In oral traditions, repetition is easy to remember, and the audience is more receptive than readers of unfamiliar written texts. Texts become elaborate when written. Literacy has been made available only to the privileged.
Sociological studies investigate how literacy can be relevant to those whose families have never gone to school, for example, a vegetable-seller who doesn’t see the need for the alphabet.
In the contemporary world, ideas are reflected in audio-visual media like advertisements and film. However, Indian classical music students are still discouraged from writing down their music and instead carry it in their memory.
Normative Aspects of Culture
The Normative dimension of culture includes social rules and social expectations, i.e. the norms and values of a society. It consists of folkways, mores customs, conventions and laws including values or rules that guide our social behaviour in different contexts.
We most often follow social norms because we are used to doing it, as a result of socialisation. All social norms are accompained by sanctions that promote conformity.
Understanding the Distinction between Laws and Norms
Norms are implicit rules that guide behavior, while laws are explicit rules with formal sanctions enforced by the government. Pierre Bourdieu emphasized recognizing implicit understandings in cross-cultural comprehension. Offering a return gift too quickly might be seen as repayment or unfriendliness.
Laws, defined by the government, apply to society and carry penalties for violations. For instance, a sundown law applies universally. Conversely, family norms are not universal. However, violating a universally accepted law like private property can lead to imprisonment.
Laws, derived from state authority, provide formal definitions of acceptable behavior for all who accept state authority. Norms, on the other hand, can vary based on social status. Dominant groups often impose discriminatory norms, like denying dalits access to water or restricting women’s public freedom.
