Lecture 3

The Culture Concept

I. Culture

What is it?

Who has Culture?

Why does it exist?

Why do we study culture?

How do we study it?

II. Characteristics of culture

A. Culture is shared

1. Society

2. Subcultures

3. Pluralistic societies

B. Culture is learned

1. enculturation

C. Culture is based on symbols

1. What is a symbol?

D. Culture is integrated

III. Studying Culture

A. What people say the rules are for behavior.

B. How people believe they actually do behave.

C. Observing what people actually do.

IV. Bronislaw Malinowski, Functionalism and Culture

A. All institutions in a culture provide a function.

B. Three fundamental levels of needs of all Cultures.

1. Food & Sex

2. Law and Education

3. Religion and Art

C. He believed that the study of these needs could lead to deducing the origin of cultural traits.