CULTURE consists of patterns, explicit and

implicit, of and for behaviour acquired and

transmitted by symbols, constituting the
distinctive achievement of human groups,
including their embodiment in artifacts; the
essential core of culture consist of traditional
(i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas
and especially their attached values; culture
systems may on the one hand, be considered
as products of action, on the other as
conditioning elements of further action.
Different approaches to the
study of culture
Evolutionary concept of
Culture

Evolutionism is the notion that

there exists one dominant line
of evolution or stages for the
development of culture. In
other words, societies pass
through the same specified
stages.
 “Cultural evolution” is the idea that human
cultural change––that is, changes in socially
transmitted beliefs, knowledge, customs, skills,
attitudes, languages, and so on––can be described
as a Darwinian evolutionary process that is similar
in key respects (but not identical) to
biological/genetic evolution.
 Human culture encompasses ideas, behaviors, and artifacts
that can be learned and transmitted between individuals
and can change over time

In most cases, the more common a cultural trait is in

the population, the more likely it is for an individual to
have the opportunity to acquire it through social
learning.
 If children are likely to reject a cultural trait that both of their
parents possess, the frequency of that trait in the population
may fluctuate between generations. In addition, if two
biological parents have different forms of a cultural trait, their
child is not necessarily equally likely to acquire the mother’s or
father’s form of that trait. Further, a child can acquire cultural
traits not only from its parents (vertical transmission) but also
from nonparental adults (oblique) and peers (horizontal); thus,
the frequency of a cultural trait in the population is relevant
beyond just the probability that an individual’s parents had that
trait
DOES CULTURE CHANGE
OVERTIME?
Functionalist Analysis of
Culture

Functionalism defines culture as a

whole that provides an overarching
system of meanings to what people
do. Functionalism focuses on the
social roles that cultural items play
within the social system as a whole.
 Structural-functional theory. This approach views
society as a complex, interconnected system. Think of
the human body as an example, where all of our limbs,
organs and other parts all have their own individual
functions but also work together to create a fully
functioning system.
Structural-functional theory proposes that culture
functions as the structure in society that exists to meet
human needs.
 For example, our culture gives our lives meaning
and direction, giving us cues for what to do and
how to live. It encourages us to work together to
find resources to help us survive and to make
connections with other people who provide care
and comfort.
Additionally, even though all cultures are unique,
structural-functional theory proposes that certain
cultural universals exist.

For example, all cultures have behavioral norms,

customs and even rituals that are unique. Yet,
funeral rituals - although practiced differently - also
exist universally to help the people in every culture
to cope with death.
 Functionalism interprets each part of society in
terms of how it contributes to the stability of the
whole society. Society is more than the sum of its
parts; rather, each part of society is functional for
the stability of the whole.
 Cultural materialism makes a distinction
between behavioral events and ideas, values, and
other mental events.
It also makes the distinction between 
emic and etic operations. Emic operations,
within cultural materialism, are ones in which
the descriptions and analyses are acceptable by
the native as real, meaningful, and appropriate.
Etic operations are ones in which the categories
and concepts used are those of the observer and
are able to generate scientific theories. The
research strategy prioritizes etic behavior
phenomena.
 Etic and behavioral Infrastructure, comprising a society's
relations to the environment, which includes their ethics
and behavioral modes of production and reproduction
(material relations).
Etic and behavioral Structure, the ethics and behavioral
domestic and political economies of a society (social
relations).
Etic and behavioral Superstructure, the ethics and
behavioral symbolic and ideational aspects of a society, e.g.
the arts, rituals, sports and games, and science (symbolic
and ideational relations).
Emic and mental Superstructure, including "conscious and
unconscious cognitive goals, categories, rules, plans,
values, philosophies, and beliefs" (Harris 1979:54)
(meaningful or ideological relations).
Structuralist analysis of
Culture

Define culture as a set of

narrative or linguistic system
that has underlying structures
or codes.
 Structuralism is the methodology that
implies elements of human culture must be
understood by way of their relationship to a
larger, overarching system or structure. It
works to uncover the structures that underlie
all the things that humans

Levi-Strauss contended
that one of the first and
most important
distinctions a human
makes is between self
and others.
Feminist View of
culture

They rgued that traditional

roles or stereotypes about
women are not given but are
products of cultural
upbringing.
 Cultural feminism is the view that there is a "female nature"
or "female essence" or related attempts to revalidate
attributes ascribed to femaleness. It is also used to describe
theories that commend innate differences between women
and men.
Cultural feminism originally evolved from radical feminism.
Radical feminism points out that our society is based on an
understanding of the world through the eyes of men and not
women. Radical feminism believes that the oppression of women
goes so deep, that it will take a significant overhaul of existing
society to make the world more fair to women.
 Cultural feminists advocate for:
equal valuing of "female" occupations including parenting
respecting child care in the home
paying wages/salaries so that staying home is economically
viable;
respecting "female" values of care and nurturing
working to balance a culture that overvalues "male" values of
aggression and undervalues “female” values of kindness and
gentleness
creating rape crisis centers and women’s shelters, often in
cooperation with other kinds of feminists
emphasis on the shared values of women from white, African
American, and other cultures, more than on the differences of
women in different groups
a female sexuality that is based on an equality of power, based
on mutuality rather than control, based on nonpolarized roles,
and refuses to recreate sexual hierarchies.
 Black Widow (Scarlett
Johansson)
Film: Marvel Cinematic
Universe

The Bride (Uma

Thurman)
Wonder woman Film: “Kill Bill Vol. 1 &
2”

Katniss Everdeen
Eowyn (Miranda Otto)
Alice (Milla Jovovich) (Jennifer Lawrence)
Film: “The Lord of the
Film: “Resident Evil” Film: “The Hunger
Rings: The Return of the
Games”
King”
Marxist Analysis of culture

Marxist analysis
emphasize the
role of economic
class and
economic life of
society.
Postmodern and Postcolonial Theories of Culture

The postmodern view of culture

challenges the notion that there is a
single definition of culture. Postmodern
analysis of culture show that culture is
like a narrative story. It can have multiple
meanings and it can exist independently
of the people who created them.
 Cultural relativism is the belief that all
cultures as equally complex. There is no
such thing as superior or inferior culture.

Ethnocentrism is the technical name for

this view of things in which one’s own
group is the center of everything.