Transcript Socialisation and Culture - Socsci talk

SOCIALIZATION AND CULTURE
• What is Socialization?
•What is Culture?
• Types of Culture
• Types of Socialization
• Theories on Culture
•Cultural Terms
•Culture in T&T
Prepared by:
Sara Chookolingo
WHAT IS SOCIALIZATION?
Socialization is the process by which individuals
learn the culture of their society.
 They learn about behaviours that are acceptable
and those that are not.
 Socialization occurs from the moment a person is
born and continues throughout their adult life.
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WHAT IS SOCIALIZATION?

The agents or institutions that are responsible
for the socialization process are:
 Family
 Peers
 School
 Religious Institutions
 Mass Media
WHAT IS SOCIALIZATION?

There are two forms of socialization:
 Primary Socialization –:
▪ FAMILY
 Secondary Socialization –:
▪ School
▪ Peers
▪ Religious Institutions (church, temple,
mosque, etc.)
▪ Mass Media (TV, social media, etc)
WHAT IS CULTURE?
WHAT IS CULTURE?
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Man is the only animal which does not have
instincts.
According to Ralph Linton (1945), the culture of
society is the “way of life” of its members. It is the
collection of ideas & habits which they learn, share
and transmit from generation to generation.
Since humans do not have instincts, their behaviour
is based on guidelines they learn.
Without a shared culture, members of society
would be unable to communicate & co-operate, and
confusion & disorder would result.
WHAT IS CULTURE?
 Culture has several qualities:
 Learnt
 Shared
 Transmittable
 Adaptive
 Dynamic
 Symbolic
WHAT IS CULTURE?
There are two types of culture:
1. Material – concrete, tangible

For example: food, clothes, musical instruments,
housing, paintings, books
WHAT IS CULTURE?
There are two types of culture:
2. Non-material – intangible

For example: language, norms, values, religion,
customs
WHAT IS CULTURE?

Although culture is a very broad topic, for
the purpose of this course, we shall look at a
few definitions:
 High Culture
 Folk Culture
 Mass Culture
 Subculture
HIGH CULTURE:
 Usually
refers to cultural creations
with ‘high’ status. For example
Opera, Theatre and Literature. For
those who use the term, it is seen as
“superior” to lesser forms of culture.
FOLK CULTURE::
 Refers
to the culture of ordinary people,
particularly those living in preindustrialized societies. Examples include
traditional folk songs and stories that
have been handed down from one
generation to another.
MASS CULTURE:
 This
is seen as less worthy than high or folk
culture. It is a product of the mass media and
includes popular feature films, TV soap operas,
reality TV shows and pop music. Critics see it as
debasing for individuals and destructive for the
fabric of society.
SUB-CULTURE:
 Refers
to cultural patterns that set
apart a group of people from the rest of
society. These people are often
marginalized from mainstream society.
SUB-CULTURES EXAMPLES:
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE
 Durkheim
believed that a shared
culture is necessary if a society is to run
smoothly.
 Culture is passed on from generation to
generation and exists over and above
the wishes and choices of individuals.
 Without culture, people would not be
able to conform and society would
result in chaos.
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE
 Parsons
noted that culture allows
people to communicate and work
towards shared goals.
 Parsons argues that culture is passed on
through
socialization,
particularly
through primary socialization in the
family; but it is also transmitted
through various other ways – religion,
school, festivals, etc.
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE
Parsons
and Durkheim: Argued
that culture is slow to change
but they also recognized that
major changes do occur as
societies evolve.
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
Marx
claimed that in class
stratified societies, culture can be
seen as the ruling class ideology.
He sees the working class as
suffering
from
false-class
consciousness; its beliefs and
culture are shaped by the ruling
class and they have adopted it as
their own.
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
In
other words, Marx examines
how the culture (which is
transmitted through the superstructure) is shaped by the
economic-based infrastructure.
He believes that mass and popular
culture is the culture of the upper
or ruling class (Bourgeoisie).
SOME CULTURAL TERMS:
CULTURE SHOCK:
 The
physical and/or psychological reactions
people may have when encountering cultural
traditions that differ (radically) from their
own. Sometimes it can be experienced in one’s
own culture.
ETHNOCENTRISM:
 Making
judgments about another culture
using one’s own customs and value system.

(What is the difference between being racist and ethnocentric?)
CULTURAL RELATIVISM:

The recognition that social groups and cultures must
be studied and understood on their own terms before
valid comparisons can be made. Cultural Relativism is
used in studies to avoid ethnocentrism in research, i.e.
behaviors must be judged within the context in which
they occur.
CULTURAL UNIVERSALS:
 Forms
or patterns for resolving the common
basic human problems that are found in all
cultures. Cultural universals include the division
of labor, the incest taboo, marriage, funerals,
the family, rites of passage and ideology.
NORMS:
 The
rules of behavior that are agreed
upon and shared within a culture and
prescribe limits of acceptable behavior.
What is “normal” in your culture?
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO CULTURE
 OUR
CULTURE WAS INFLUENCED MAINLY
BY THE FOLLOWING GROUPS:
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TAINOS & KALINAGOES
EUROPEANS
AFRICANS
SYRIANS & LEBANESE
EAST INDIANS
CHINESE
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Native Amerindians (Tainos & Kalinagoes) were
living in the Caribbean and their culture included –
hammocks, pepperpot, manioc (cassava).
Christopher Columbus came to the Caribbean
Region in the name of Spain and decimated the
Native Indian population through war, disease and
famine. Many aspects of their culture were erased.
Other European colonizers invaded the region –
Portuguese, French, English, Dutch, Danish.
Significant impact on the culture – Carnival,
liming, language (Creole/Patois), dress, sports
(cricket/football).
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AFRICANS – After the genocide of the
Amerindians, the Europeans brought the Africans
to the Caribbean. The Africans were forced not to
practice their culture openly. Through “syncretism”
the Africans were able to retain some aspects of
their culture, for example, they secretly applied
African deities to Catholic saints.
The Africans, therefore, went through a process of
acculturation (also called cultural assimilation)
which involved the forced imposition of one
culture upon another, usually by a powerful group
(Europeans) upon a weaker one (Africans).
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Following the Abolition and Emancipation of
the Africans, the Asians were brought to the
Caribbean as the new labour source during
Indentureship.
EAST INDIANS & CHINESE – these Indentured
labourers were allowed to keep their culture
and many new aspects were brought to the
Caribbean including food, clothing, religious
practices, gambling, etc.
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Interculturation is the mutual exchange of
cultural traits between groups being in close
contact over a long period of time.
Although some of the cultural exchanges may
have been forced, over the years, through
constant interaction, cultures have been
compelled to mix and interact with each other.
This would have had implications for the
‘purity’ of these cultures and the unique blend
we have in the region.
PLANTATION SOCIETY THEORY
The most prominent feature of the traditional Caribbean society was
the plantation society.
 George Beckford (1983), like many others, perceived the plantation
as a total economic institution.
 Features of the Plantation society include:
 the prevalence of monocrop agriculture;
 marginalization of the peasantry;
 dependence on foreign capital and enterprise as the main
investors;
 dependence on foreign markets for our crops;
 forced labour systems;
 a taste for foreign products;
 lack of democratic tradition because of the long existence of
slavery;
 social stratification based on the gradations of colour and race.
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PLURAL SOCIETY THESIS –
M.G. SMITH
The Plural Society Theory, first conceptualised by J.S.
Furnivall (1944) and further promulgated by M.G. Smith
(1960), posits that societies with many cultures and
ethnicities, such as those in the Caribbean, co-exist but
only do so in the marketplace.
 Ethnic groups keep their own distinct cultural practices
and belief systems with little or no inter-mixing and the
sole interaction among the groups is the economic aspect
or the marketplace.
 Diverse groups share the same physical space, but there
is little or no consensus among the groups and they keep
a social distance or are kept at a social distance by laws,
customs or social pressure in interpersonal relations.
 Societies were therefore maintained only by the superior
force of the European colonial power.
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CREOLE SOCIETY THEORY –
EDWARD KAMAU BRAITHWAITE
Edward K. Braithwaite adds a different perspective on
the composition of Caribbean societies.
 Whereas the Plural Society Thesis argues that the
groups live separate and apart from each other (except
in the marketplace), Braithwaite posits that the cultures
of the major groups (mainly the Europeans and Africans)
are mixed or combined creating a unique ‘Creole’
culture.
 Creolisation is a process of change and adaptation that
occurs over time.
 In the Caribbean, many aspects of our culture, such as
music, art, languages, religious rituals, cuisine and
people, is represented by this notion of Creolisation.
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TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S
CULTURE TODAY
In contemporary society, our ‘traditional’ culture
has drastically evolved.
 Many feel that our culture today mimics those of
the modern, industrialized societies such as the
USA.
 This is called Cultural Diffusion which is the
spreading of ideas from one culture to another.
This is facilitated through globalization.
 We live in a technological age where it is easy to
transmit cultures from one country to the next.
This ‘new age’ will have implications for our
conventional cultures.
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