Module 1: Understanding Culture
Learning Outcome
At the end of the lesson the students are expected to;
To make sense of culture through the understanding of related concepts.
Identify the characteristics of culture in the lens of popular culture.
Culture in General
Social sciences like anthropology and sociology are interested in people’s behaviour.
Society and culture are among the most dominant forces that shape how people behave and act in
given situations. Although one might use the term interchangeably, society and culture are two
different but interrelated concepts.
The word "culture" derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin
"colere," which means “cultivated land, cultivation, nurture” which shows how humans’ ability
to till the land – to engage in agriculture to produce food-forms part of the foundation of what we
now call as culture. Culture’s etymology gives details on the deep relationship between culture
and society.
Culture is typically defined as “the complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices,
values, attitudes, laws norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns
and shares as a member of society.” (Edward Burnett Tylor 1920 [1871]).
Culture is a system of symbolic and expressive structures that a particular group of
people developed and utilized to enhanced solidarity, understanding, and transmission of
knowledge (Danesi, 2019).
Generally, culture is understood as being consisted of both material and non-material
aspects.
Material Culture – are object or belongings of a group of people such as metro
passes, bus tokens, automobiles, stores, and the physical structures where people
worship.
Non-material Culture – consist of ideas, attitudes, and beliefs of a society.
Characteristics of Culture
Tylor’s writing provides anthropological perspectives on culture as learned, symbolic,
integrated, shared, and all-encompassing.
Culture is learned – because we acquire cultural understanding through experience and
observation through the process of enculturation – the means in which individuals obtain
and transmit aspects of their society’s culture.
Culture is symbolic – as it provides meanings to every human expression be it in words
or deeds, with both verbal and non-verbal symbols whose meaning are formed and
accepted by societies through their own processes.
Culture is shared – because it is rooted in and is transmitted in/by/through
groups/society. Indeed, culture is commonly known as the shared ideas, beliefs, values,
concepts, memories, understanding, etc. which prevail in a society.
Culture is dynamic, flexible, and adaptive – because it lends itself to change or
transformations. Any given culture may borrow or adopt positive elements from other
culture, and it can also change or transform as time change or more precisely, to adapt to
changing times.
Culture is integrated – because it relies on social patters or systems that are embedded
in societies. It is also all-encompassing as it includes all aspects of one society’s way of
life. Hence, in many occasions, culture is also expressed in terms of core values or values
that most people in a society accepts, appreciates, and cultivates as their own.
Culture and Related Terms
https://
[Link]/
watch? v=gzpH8pXYQZM
Folk Culture
High Culture
Popular Culture
