University of Duhok

College of Humanities
Department of Sociology
2nd Year/ 4th Semester
Cultural Anthropology

Chapter One
19/Jan/2022
The Concept of Culture in General
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Prepared By
Randi Jamal Sulaiman
B.Sc./ Sociology
M.Sc./ Social Work in Healthcare
Introduction

The concept of culture is central to anthropology. The capacity for making

culture differentiates mankind from nonhumans. The term culture is not used
with consistent meanings. It is used with various meanings in commonsense. It
makes the backbone of sociology and sociocultural anthropology and other
related disciplines such as cultural geography and social psychology.

As a scientific term, culture refers to all the features of a society's ways of life:
e.g. production, modes of dress, routine living habits, food preferences, the
architecture of houses and public building, the layout of fields and farms; and
systems of education, government, law, etc.

Here it may be useful to make few points regarding the difference between
“culture” and “society”. For beginning students it may be often difficult to
differentiate between culture and society. They may wonder how they can
distinguish between the two, as the sociocultural anthropological approach to
the concept of culture often is very broad and all-inclusive. It is also emphasized
that culture includes all things beyond nature and biology. This may imply that
culture includes society itself.

For this reason, a simple definition of society to differentiate it from society is

needed here. Society generally refers to the social world with all its structures,
institutions, organizations, etc. around us, and specifically to a group of people
who live within some type of bounded territory and who share a common way
of life. Whereas, culture is the common way of life shared by a group of people
is termed as culture.

Common Misusing the Concept of Culture

1- Many people in the western world use the term culture in the sense that some
people are more "cultured" than others. This basically emanates from the idea
associated with the root word of the term culture, “kulture” in German, which
refers to “civilization". Thus, when one is said to be “cultured”, he or she is said
to be civilized. For an anthropologist, as Kottak (2002: 272) argues, "culture
includes much more than refinement, taste, sophistication, education and
appreciation of the fine arts". Not only college graduates but also all people are
„cultured‟.

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2- A second commonly used misconception is that which equates “culture" with
things which are colorful, customs, cloths, foods, dancing, music, etc. As Kottak
argues, “… many [people] have come to think of culture in terms of colorful
customs, music, dancing and adornments clothing, jewelry and hairstyles….
Taken to an extreme, such images portray culture as recreational and ultimately
unserious rather than something that ordinary people live everyday of their lives
not just when they have festivals”.

3- A third misconception about what culture is and what it constitutes is similar

to the second one, but it differs from it in that most people think culture is that
which pertains to unique traditional material objects or non – material things of
the past. According to this view, the cultural may not include things (material or
non – material) which are modern, more ordinary, day-to-day, life aspects.
Here, the simple, ordinary social, economic and other activities, ideas and
affairs are regarded as not cultural or somewhat “less cultural" although not
clearly stated.

Coming back to the technical definition of culture, let us look one of the most
commonly cited definitions of the term. Edward B. Tylor (1832-1917) a
pioneering British anthropologist defined culture as:
“that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals,
customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of
society”.

General Definition of the Culture

Is a set of beliefs, practices, and symbols that are learned and shared. Together,
they form an all-encompassing, integrated whole that binds people together and
shapes their worldview and life ways.

Main Characteristics/Features of the Culture

1- Culture is all-encompassing: Culture encompasses all aspects, which affect

people in their everyday lives. Culture comprises countless material and non-
material aspects of human lives. Thus, when we talk about a particular people‟s
culture, we are referring to all of its man- made objects, ideas, activities whether
those of traditional, old time things of the past or those created lately.

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Culture is the sum total of human creation: intellectual, technical, artistic,
physical, and moral; it is the complex pattern of living that directs human social
life, the things each new generation must learn and to which they eventually
add.

2- Culture is general and specific: Generally, all human societies of the world
have a culture. It distinguishes them from other nonhuman beings. Specifically,
there are as specific cultures as there are diverse peoples in the world. Humanity
shares a capacity for culture (general), but people live in particular cultures
where they are encultured.

3- Culture is socially learned: Culture is a natural outgrowth of the social

interactions that constitute human groups whether in societies or organizations.
Whenever and wherever people come to gather over time, culture develops. The
essence of culture is that it is learned, shared, interrelated, and adaptive Culture
is learned through social interaction. And the learned behavior is communicated
in the group through forms of socialization such as observation, instruction,
reward, punishment and experience.

Three different ways of learning should be noted here:

 Individual situation learning: this means an individual animal or person

learns something by himself as specific situations lead him.
 Social situational learning: this involves learning from other members of a
group, through imitation. Even animals can learn this way.
 Cultural learning: this is uniquely human. It is possible only through the
utilization of intelligence and the ability to communicate through attaching
meanings to words, objects or things. This is called symbolic
communication. People learn culture directly and through observation and
social interaction.

4- Culture is symbolic: Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and

to culture. Symbolic thought is the human ability to give a thing or event an
arbitrary meaning and grasp and appreciate that meaning, symbols are the
central components of culture. They refer to anything to which people attach
meaning and which they use to communicate with others. More specifically,
symbols are words, objects, gestures, behaviors, sounds or images that represent
something else rather than themselves. There is no obvious natural or necessary
connection between a symbol and what it symbolizes. Things, actions,
behaviors, etc. always stand for something else than merely, the thing itself.

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5- Culture seizes nature: Culture imposes itself on nature. It suppresses the
natural, biological instincts in us and expresses it in particular ways. For
example, we as biological beings feel the desire for food; but what type of food
to eat, how many times per day to eat, with whom to eat, how much to eat, how
fast or slow to eat, etc. are all determined by the cultural values and norms of a
particular group of people. Or, we feel the desire to urinate, but one cannot do
that anytime and anywhere, unless one is an animal, an immature child or a
mentally sick person.

6- Culture is shared: It is a possession of individuals as members of a social

group; observing, listening, talking and interacting with other people learn it.
Culturally distinct ways of thinking, behaving, feeling, and responding become
habitual very early in life through sharing. Behavior and ways of thinking or
interacting must be shared within a group of people in order to be considered
part of culture. Some cultural patterns are shared by nearly all people in some
culture; and shared culture gives people common experiences. However, we
should note that not all things shared among a group of people are cultural.
There are many biological and psychological characteristics are shared among a
group of people.

7- Culture is patterned: Cultures are not haphazard collection of customs and

beliefs, but are integrated, patterned systems. The parts are interrelated. Culture
is an integrated whole, that is the parts of culture are interrelated to one another.
No one single cultural trait has its meaning outside of its integrated context.

8- People use culture creatively: There is difference between ideal culture and
real culture. What culture-rules say and what people do may be different;
cultural rules tell us what to do and how to do it, but we don't always do what
the rules dictate. We use culture creatively.

9- Culture is adaptive and maladaptive: People adapt themselves to the

environment using culture. The ability to adapt themselves to practically any
ecological condition, unlike other animals, makes humans unique. This ability is
attributed to human‟s capacity for creating and using culture. Culture has also
maladaptive dimensions. That is, the very cultural creations and achievements
of peoples may turn out to threaten their survival. When we see the
contemporary problems of the environments (the pollution), the side effects of
rapid growth and in science and technology, etc. we see that culture is also
maladaptive.
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10- Culture is stable and yet it changes: Culture is stable and yet changing:
Culture is stable when we consider what people hold valuable and are handing
over to the next generation in order to maintain their norms and values.
However, when culture comes into contact with other cultures, it can change.
That is, cultural diffusion, the spread of cultural traits from one are to the other,
may cause cultural change However, culture changes not only because of direct
or indirect contact between cultures, but also through innovation and adaptation
to new circumstances. That is, the forces of culture change are not only external,
but they are also internal.

Cultural diversity

The term “culturally diverse” is often used interchangeably with the concept of
“multiculturalism.” Multiculturalism is defined as: " a system of beliefs and
behaviors that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an
organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural
differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an
inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or
society".

Socialization/ Enculturation

Most human actions are social, either in their causes or in their consequences.
Even solitary actions such as crying or brushing our teeth are ultimately social.
We cry because someone has hurt us. Social environment probably has a
greater effect than heredity on the way we develop and the way we act. Through
Interactive process(socialization)individuals learn the basic skills, values,
beliefs and behavior patterns of a society.

Babies are not born with the social or emotional tools needed to contribute to
society as properly functioning social actors. They have to learn all the nuances
of proper behavior, how to meet expectations for what is expected of them, and
everything else needed to become members of society. As newborns interact
with family and friends they learn the expectations of their society (family,
community, state, and nation).

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Socialization: It is the lifelong process in which an individual accepts a given
set of cultural norms and becomes a member of a given society. Through the
social interaction individuals acquire a self-identity, physical, mental, and social
skills transforming himself from a natural being into a socialized human.

One of Tylor‟s most important contributions is that he was able to establish the
differences between biological determined chrematistics and those attributes
which are socially learned. The phrase “acquired by man as a member of
society" in his definition of the culture is very important.

It is not any habit or capability of man as a biological being, but man as a

member of a social group. The definition focuses on beliefs and behavior that
people acquire not through biological heredity but by growing up in a particular
society and social group where they are exposed to a specific cultural tradition.
It is through the socialization process that a person acquires a cultural
knowledge. In anthropology, this process is called enculturation. Enculturation
is specifically defined as the process by which an individual learns the rules and
values of one‟s culture.

Elements of Culture

 Values: What is considered as good, proper and desirable, or bad, improper

or undesirable, in a culture can be called as values.
 Norms: Norms refers to a standard pattern of behavior that is accepted by a
society. Norms may differ from society to society.
 Sanctions: Sanctions consist of both rewards and penalties. It includes
rewards for conducting the norms of the society as prescribed or penalties for
defying the concerned social norms.

Types of Norms

 Formal Norms: Norms that are written down and violation of which can
lead to punishment is referred to as formal norms.
 Informal Norms: Informal norms are generally understood and followed by
a society though not recorded in black and white.

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 Agents (Agencies) of Socialization

 Family: The child‟s first world is that of his family. It is a world in itself, in
which the child learns to live, to move and to have his being. Within it, not only
the biological tasks of birth, protection and feeding take place, but also develop
those first and intimate associations with persons of different ages and sexes
which form the basis of the child‟s personality development. The family is the
primary agency of socialization.

It is here that the child develops an initial sense of self and habit-training eating,
sleeping etc. To a very large extent, the indoctrination of the child, whether in
primitive or modem complex society, occurs within the circle of the primary
family group.

The child‟s first human relationships are with the immediate members of his
family mother or nurse, siblings, father and other close relatives. Here, he
experiences love, cooperation, authority, direction and protection. Language (a
particular dialect) is also learnt from family in childhood. People‟s perceptions
of behavior appropriate of their sex are the result of socialization and major part
of this is learnt in the family.

As the primary agents of childhood socialization, parents play a critical role in

guiding children into their gender roles deemed appropriate in a society. They
continue to teach gender role behavior either consciously or unconsciously,
throughout childhood. Families also teach children values they will hold
throughout life. They frequently adopt their parents‟ attitudes not only about
work but also about the importance of education, patriotism and religion.

 School: After family the educational institutions take over the charge of
socialization. In some societies (simple non-literate societies), socialization
takes place almost entirely within the family but in highly complex societies
children are also socialized by the educational system. Schools not only teach
reading, writing and other basic skills, they also teach students to develop
themselves, to discipline themselves, to cooperate with others, to obey rules and
to test their achievements through competition.

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 Schools teach sets of expectations about the work, profession or occupations
they will follow when they mature. Schools have the formal responsibility of
imparting knowledge in those disciplines which are most central to adult
functioning in our society. It has been said that learning at home is on a
personal, emotional level, whereas learning at school is basically intellectual.

 Peer Group: Besides the world of family and school fellows, the peer group
(the people of their own age and similar social status) and playmates highly
influence the process of socialization. In the peer group, the young child learns
to confirm to the accepted ways of a group and to appreciate the fact that social
life is based on rules.
Peer group socialization has been increasing day by day these days. Young
people today spend considerable time with one another outside home and
family. Young people living in cities or suburbs and who have access to
automobiles spend a great deal of time together away from their families.
Studies show that they create their own unique sub-cultures the college campus
culture, the drug culture, motorcycle cults, athletic group culture etc. Peer
groups serve a valuable function by assisting the transition to adult
responsibilities.

 Mass Media: From early forms of print technology to electronic

communication (radio, TV, etc.), the media is playing a central role in shaping
the personality of the individuals. Since the last century, technological
innovations such as radio, motion pictures, recorded music and television have
become important agents of socialization.

Television, in particular, is a critical force in the socialization of children almost

all over the new world. According to a study conducted in America, the average
young person (between the ages of 6 and 18) spends more time watching the
„tube‟ (15,000 to 16,000 hours) than studying in school. Apart from sleeping,
watching television is the most time-consuming activity of young people.

Relative to other agents of socialization discussed above, such as family, peer

group and school, TV has certain distinctive characteristics. It permits imitation
and role playing but does not encourage more complex forms of learning.
Watching TV is a passive experience. Psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner (1970)
has expressed concern about the „insidious influence‟ of TV in encouraging
children to forsake human interaction for passive viewing.

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 Workplace: A fundamental aspect of human socialization involves learning
to behave appropriately within an occupation. Occupational socialization
cannot be separated from the socialization experience that occurs during
childhood and adolescence. We are mostly exposed to occupational roles
through observing the work of our parents, of people whom we meet while
they are performing their duties, and of people portrayed in the media.

 Religion: While some religions are informal institutions, here we focus on

practices followed by formal institutions. Religion is an important avenue of
socialization for many people. The United States is full of synagogues,
temples, churches, mosques, and similar religious communities where people
gather to worship and learn. Like other institutions, these places teach
participants how to interact with the religion‟s material culture (like a
mezuzah, a prayer rug, or a communion wafer).

For some people, important ceremonies related to family structure like

marriage and birth are connected to religious celebrations. Many religious
institutions also uphold gender norms and contribute to their enforcement
through socialization. From ceremonial rites of passage that reinforce the
family unit to power dynamics that reinforce gender roles, organized religion
fosters a shared set of socialized values that are passed on through society.

 The State: Social scientists have increasingly recognized the importance of

the state as an agent of socialization because of its growing impact on the life
cycle. The protective functions, which were previously performed by family
members, have steadily been taken over by outside agencies such as
hospitals, health clinics and insurance companies. Thus, the state has become
a provider of child care, which gives it a new and direct role in the
socialization of infants and young children.

Not only is this, as a citizen, the life of a person greatly influenced by

national interests. For example, labor unions and political parties serve as
intermediaries between the individual and the state. By regulating the life
cycle to some degree, the state shapes the station process by influencing our
views of appropriate behavior at particular ages.

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Some Related Terms in the concept of Culture

Enculturation: is specifically defined as the process by which an individual

learns the rules and values of one‟s culture.

Acculturation: Acculturation comprehends those phenomena which result

when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first
hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original cultural patterns of either
or both groups.

Culture Shock: is the psychological and social maladjustment at micro or

macro level that is experienced for the first time when people encounter new
cultural elements such as new things, new ideas, new concepts, seemingly
strange beliefs and practices.

No person is protected from culture shock. However, individuals vary in their

capacity to adapt and overcome the influence of culture shock. Highly
ethnocentric people are exposed widely to culture shock. On the other hand,
cultural relativists may find it easy to adapt to new situations and overcome
culture shock.

Ethnocentrism: the attitude that one's own culture and one's own way of life is
the center of the world and the best of all. This arises from ignorance about
other ethnic groups and their ways of lives.

All of us often tend to judge the behavior of other people in other groups by the
standards of our own culture. Because of ethnocentrism, we often operate on the
premise that our own society‟s ways are the correct, normal, better ways, for
acting, thinking, feeling and behaving. Our own group is the center or axis of
everything, and we scale and rate all others with reference to it. Ethnocentrism
leads us to minimize our indebtedness to other people.

Cultural Relativism: The view that each society‟s culture should be

understood in its own context; one‟s cultural lens should not be applied in
judging other cultural values.

We cannot grasp the behavior of other people if we interpret what they say and
do in the light of our values, beliefs, and motives. Instead we need to examine
their behavior as insiders, seeing it within the framework of their values.

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Chauvinism: is the excessive and unreasonable love and loyalty to one's own
culture, country, gender and etc. Or the belief that one's own culture or ethnic
group is superior on others.

Xenophobia: is fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is

strange or foreign. It's Attitudes, prejudices and behavior that reject, exclude
and often vilify persons, based on the perception that they are outsiders or
foreigners to the community, society or national identity.

Subculture: denotes the variability of culture within a certain society; it is a

distinctive culture that is shared by a group within a society or a larger culture.

Third Culture: is a concept used to describe a child whose parents belong to

different culture and are living in a third culture in which a child is raised up.

Conclusion

The commonsense meaning of culture, as we use it in our ordinary

conversations, is often too much limited in scope; it does not capture the
complex aspects of culture. However, culture is defined as being equivalent to
the entire learned and shared behaviors, beliefs, practices, institutions, of a
society or a group of people; all the material and non-material objects created
and used by the group is culture.

Socialization provides an understanding in respect of society and culture in

which the individual lives and also helps to form his personality. The
institutions that make the individuals familiarize to the society are known as
agents of socialization. Amongst them the primary socialization is done by
family influences the formation of individual's personality.

All human beings are cultured; there is no cultural superiority or inferiority

among societies. However, all people to some extent tend to regard their own
cultural values and norms as better and somewhat normal or natural; this
tendency is called ethnocentrism; on the other hand we need to realize that
every cultural trait need to be understood in its own context; this necessitate
cultural relativism. Cultural relativism taken to its extreme however, pauses
danger and controversies.

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References

Brown N., McIlwraith T. (2020). An Open Introduction To Cultural

Anthropology. Second Edition. American Anthropological Association, 2300
Clarendon Blvd, Suite 1301 Arlington, VA 22201

Gordon R., William A. (2000). Anthropology. 9th Edition. Orlando: Harcourt.

Kumari A. (N.A.). Agencies of Socialization. MMC, P.U,(Department of

Sociology).

Kottak, Conrad P. (1994). Anthropology, the Exploration of Human Diversity.

New York: McGraw- Hill.

Internet Websites:

https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/human-services/what-is-cultural-diversity/

file:///C:/Users/Dell/Downloads/Socialization%20details.pdf

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