Module 2

Culture
Meaning and Definition
Meaning:
- The word ‘culture’ comes from the Latin word ‘colere’, which means ‘to
cultivate, to till the soil.
- In medieval time, ‘culture’ came to refer to the progressive refinement of
crops-hence the term ‘agriculture’ was associated with the art of farming.
- In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, ‘culture’ referred to the
refinement of people as well, when a person was refined and well read, the
person was considered ‘cultured’.
- ‘Culture’ is referred to the aristocratic classes for their attainment of high
levels of life and civilization. Contd……
Definition
• Edward Tylor: Culture is the complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of the society.
• Malinowski: Culture is the handiwork of man and the medium
through which he achieves his ends.
• Arnold Green: Culture is the socially transmitted system of idealized
way in knowledge, practice, and belief, along with the artifacts and
knowledge and practice produce and maintain as they change in time.
Contd…….
Elements of Culture
• Culture is learned and an acquired behaviour and not hereditary or
innate
• Culture derives from the biological, environmental, psychological,
and historical components of human experience
• Culture is structured-it consists of organized patterns of thinking,
feeling and behaving
• Culture is dynamic
• Culture is an instrument whereby the individual adjusts to social
setting
• Culture persists through tradition
Salient Features of Indian Traditional Culture
1. A cosmic vision: Indian culture places human beings within a
conception of the universe as a divine creation.
2. Sense of harmony: Indian culture tries to achieve an innate
harmony and order by assuming that the national cosmic order
inherent in nature is the foundation of moral and social order.
3. Tolerance: Indian culture accepts the manifoldedness of reality and
assimilates plurality of viewpoints, behaviours, customs and
institutions.
4. Emphasis on duty: Indian culture emphasizes ‘dharma’ or moral
duty-perform own duty Contd…….
5. Sacrifice and Altruism: Indian culture respects those who sacrifice their
personal interests for the well-being of the society.
6. Change within continuity: Indian culture has always favored gradual
change within continuity.
7. The ideal of joint family: The joint family is the defining feature of Indian
culture.
8. Theory of Karma: Indian culture imbibed the idea or belief that destiny
of individuals is linked with past ‘karma’ and one cannot escape one’s
‘karma’. One has to bear the fruit of one’s action.
9. Diversity and plurality: Indian culture accepted the diversity and plurality
as the natural way of life in language, dress, dwelling, food, customs,
worship, thought etc
10. Respect towards elders and learned: Indian culture paid their respects
and honours to priests, monks, scholars, elders of the group etc Contd..
11. Patronization of art etc: Indian culture consisted of art, architecture, painting,
music, dance, theater etc Indian culture provided honourable place to the persons
who perform cultural activities.

Major components of Culture

1. Knowledge; 2. Beliefs; 3. Values and Norms; 4. Signs and Symbols

# Knowledge: It continuously flows through the society and it is a progressive

process
# Beliefs: They are major component of culture and generally the basis of religion
related to the culture
# Values and Norms: Value system is important part of culture and is a guide to
human behaviour-norms sets limit on behaviour of social members
Contd…….
# Signs and Symbols: Many cultures use signs and symbols to express special
events, emotions or message. These may be related to faith and god also ie;
religious symbols, flags, road signs, clothes etc.

Classification of Culture: W. F. Ogburn

Culture is classified into two categories:
# Material Culture: It consists of man-made objects such as tools, furniture,
buildings, utensils, dams, roads, machines etc-the physical substance which has
been changed and used by man-material equipments
# Non-Material Culture: It consists of the words the people use or the language
they speak, the beliefs they hold, values and virtues they cherish, habits they
follow, rituals and practices, ceremonies they observe. It also includes our
customs and tastes, attitudes and outlook, in brief our ways of acting, feeling
and thinking. Contd…….
 Importance of Culture
# For Group
- It is culture that kept social relationships intact.
- Culture has given a new vision to the society by providing a set of rules
or the co-operation of the individuals.
- Socially, culture provides the standard of valuation of group life.
- Culture creates new needs and new drives, for example, thirst for
knowledge and also culture provides knowledge to arrange
organizations for their satisfaction as a group. In this way groups owe
much to culture.
- Culture links the past with present and gives to each generation a better
position in the struggle of life. Contd……
For Individuals
- It regulates individuals conduct and prepares him for group life
- It provides man with set of social behaviour even for complicated situations.
- Through culture, man gets traditional interpretations for many situations
according to which he determines his behaviour. These traditional
interpretations are different from culture to culture.
- Culture provides conditions in which human personality can find full
expression and opportunities for wholesome growth.
- It is the culture that keeps the inner depth of every human being attracted to
savage life in chains and keeps the man within the bounds of society.
Contd………
Culture and Society
# Society and culture are interrelated-there exists no society without
culture, similarly, without culture no society can be
# Cultures are the products of human societies
# Each distinctive society has it's own distinctive culture
# Culture and society are in fact so interwoven that they cannot be
treated separately
# A certain minimal degree of integration of cultural traits is necessary
for the maintenance of society
Contd………
Cultural Change-Cultural Progress or Growth
or Development
• Norms and values of culture undergo change over time
• Certain external conditions in the contemporary society have given
impetus to this change
• These conditions are industrialization, urbanization, global network of
television and computer, all of which have expanded enormously in the
last few decades
• Values related to interpersonal relationship in the family have changed
and consequently modes of behaviour of people have also changed.
• Change in culture is a slow but a continuous process Contd…..
• The process of change is accelerated by two conditions:
1. When a group of people comes in contact with other cultures, it borrows
culture traits from them; and
2. Spreading of culture traits

# Cultural progress or growth or development is a result of the accumulation,

diffusion, accommodation, cross-fertilization, acculturation, assimilation and of
their unification.

# Accumulation: An individual makes experiments and adopts successful ones and

discards those which have proved fruitless.
- The experiences gained are accumulated and passed on by one generation to its
successor as the social heritage.
Contd…….
- The development of language has been of tremendous value in this accumulation.
- Both the material and non-material aspects of culture progress through such
accumulation which continues uninterrupted through evolution.

# Diffusion: The transfer of cultural elements from one sphere to another or from
one part of culture to another is called diffusion.
- Cultural diffusion is the most important cause of social development.
- Graebner, Ankermann and Schmidt, the German scholars presented a theory of
ddiffusion-their theory consists of a belief that various culture complexes develop
at various times in different parts of the world- later on diffuse over corresponding
portions of the earth-Such diffusion is a continuous process-and layers of diffused
in culture traits may be identified into sum up.
- All the great cultures developed as a result of mutual contact of various cultures.
Contd……..
- In much the same way, the modern cultures are diffused from one another
ie; aryan invasion and varna system

# Accommodation: It means adoption or adjustment of one thing to another-

The new ideas which have been acquired through diffusion have to be
adopted or adjusted with the other features of the culture ie; accommodation
to western culture by Indians

# Cross-fertilization: The process of mutual give and take is called cross

fertilization. The conjugation of two cultures is beneficial to both cultures
since it does not happen that one should borrow from the other exclusively.
Due to this, culture retains its vitality and life.
Contd……..
# Acculturation: It is defined as “learning, consciously or unconsciously, of a
culture through contact with it ie; immigrants acquiring the value and life
styles of the host country”.
- The cultural process which explores the cultural changes occurring in two
different cultures when they establish close and intimate relationships is
called acculturation.

# Assimilation: In the process of cultural conjugation when one culture

becomes so intimate with another as to lose its individuality, it is called
‘assimilation’.
Contd…….
Cultural Lag Theory
# The term ‘cultural lag’ was coined by W. F. Ogburn in his treatise entitled ‘Social
Change’.
# According to Ogburn, culture has two aspects-one is material ie; concrete objects
like dwellings, tools, utensils, articles of clothing, paintings etc – and other non-
material ie; the abstract creations of man such as language, literature, art, law,
religion etc
# As compared with the non-material, the material aspect is inclined to progress
rapidly. The non-material part of culture lags behind. It is this gap which is termed
‘cultural lag’
# Cultures are invariably progressive-the process of cultural growth is not simple,
but complex-Hence Ogburn’s theory of cultural lag is very much helpful in the
understanding of the cultural process or change.