Society and Culture

Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

The Concept Society

The largest group to which one belongs is called society. Different ways in which the term is used: 1. Society is a collection of people living in the same geographical area over time. 2. Society is also used to describe the lifestyles of the wealthy. 3. Society is a guide to behaviour.
Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

Characteristics
A shared common purpose A defined territorial space Continuity over time and space Citizenship within a space

Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

Popular Meaning of Society

Information society - a society within which maximum use is made of ICTs. The way information is managed, stored and communicated influence people in ways that change relationships. (techno- immigrant vs. technonative). Learning society a society in which emphasis is placed on continuous learning from ones experiences. Civil society where society is seen as the place where citizens abide by the law and laws are applied evenly to all.

Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

The Framework of Society

1. Social institutions (intangible) the largest possible groups in society (examples the economy, education, politics, religion and family). Sociologists regard them as groups of cherished ideas and beliefs and how we want our lives organized.
Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

2. Social Organizations (tangible) groups formed in society because of ideas and beliefs held about different aspects of social life. (examples extended family, types of schools, churches, political systems). Does society influence behaviour?
Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

The Concept Culture

The different senses of culture: 1. Popular culture refers to music, art and craft, festivals, literature, design, film etc. promoted mainly by the mass media 2. Culture as learned behaviour where members have shared meaning about something, such as, language. 3. Culture as a way of life of a people, for example, celebrating. 4. Sub-culture refers to a set of values and attitudes shared by a specific group within a larger group. Definition Culture is the accumulated store of symbols, ideas and materials products associated with a social system, whether it be an entire society or a family (Johnson, 1995). .

Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

Divisions of Culture
1. Material culture Products such as: artefacts, artistic expression culinary skills, processes architecture, technologies family rearing practices economic organization
Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

2. Non-material culture Represents cherished ideas, beliefs values and norms that are expressed in behaviour and material objects. How is society related to culture?

Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

Values, Norms and Behaviour

Cultural values are ideas shared by the society about how something is ranked in terms of its relative social worth or goodness. Norms are standards of behaviour that are culturally accepted and which emerge from the set of cultural values people share. Norms invoke a range of sanctions and rewards that are conferred on members of society according to their behaviour. The behaviours of people demonstrate whether or not they have accepted the values and norms.
Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

Caribbean Culture
Norms Cultural Value dropping in by friends and family without prior informality notice cooking more than is needed just in case hospitality someone drops by Having relatives come to family as a support stay for extended system periods
Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

Norms of behaviour 1. Children being brought up by grandparents when parents migrate 2. A feeling of being apart and different from other Caribbean territories

Cultural values Kinship/strong family ties and responsibilities. Uniqueness/superiority/ insularity

3. Children living with their parents Kinship/strong family ties and well past their 20s responsibilities. 4. Keeping elderly at home for as Kinship/strong family ties and long as possible to be cared for by responsibilities. relatives
Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

Factors Shaping Caribbean Society and Culture

The near genocide of aboriginal peoples Common experiences of slavery, indentureship and the plantation system Cultural diversity, social stratification and hybridization Colonial rule, and the legacy of a colonial mentality Problems of definition the label Caribbean is applied to some countries without a Caribbean coastline The archipelagic nature of the Caribean Dependent economies A culture of migration to metropolitan countries and positive feelings for things foreign Syncretism of Caribbean cultural practices with those of other countries

Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

QUESTION: How do people learn values?

Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

Cultural Erasure, Retention and Renewal The Role of Values

The erasure of cultural practices is often a gradual process and usually stems from an on-going conflict between traditional ways of doing things in the society and newer methods Cultural retention results from a deliberate desire to keep traditions alive so that some groups would be able to preserve their sense of identity. Cultural renewal refers to efforts to salvage parts of the past by fashioning new practices based on the old. They stem from a feeling that there is much of value in what has been neglected, that could have been almost erased.
Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies

 Changes in the underlying values of a society over time influences changes in material culture. Hence, valuing a modern way of life based on a western model of consumer items and an urban lifestyle effectively changes Caribbean culture. Some practices may be erased, some retained and some renewed in this process.
Mrs. Gooding - Caribbean Studies