1. THE ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

2. WHAT IS CULTURE ?
It is a system of living ,with many parts working together to achieve the goal of survival.
It is learned - you are not born with it!
It is passed on from generation to generation.

3. Culture has TWO main divisions
Material Culture - physical objects and things created and used by a culture.
Non Material Culture - Ideas, Beliefs, Customs, Values, Attitudes, Folkways etc.

4. Culture Has Seven Elements
Social Organization
Customs and Traditions
Language
Arts and Literature
Religion
Government
Economic Systems

5. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Purpose: To create social structure by organizing culture into smaller units.
Also to help people work together to meet their basic needs.

6. Parts of Social Organization
Family : Most important unit of Social Organization - provides security and training of the young.
Nuclear Family - Most basic unit, composed of husband, wife, their children.
Extended Family - Composed of several generations living in one household,(several nuclear families and relatives).

7. Other Forms of Social Organization
Social Class - The ranking of people in terms of Status.
Status is the importance/standing of an individual in his/her society.
Status can be based upon - money-occupation -education -ancestry etc.
The movement between social classes is called Social Mobility.

8. Customs and Traditions
Purpose : To provide a culture with rules of behavior.
Also: to provide for the enforcement of rules through Social Pressure and Laws.
Usually found as Folkways - common customs, rules, special behavior that belong to, and identify a specific culture.

9. Language
Purpose : To provide communication of thoughts, feelings, and knowledge.
Also : Is the main way culture is transmitted to new generations.
Countries with many languages often choose one language for business/education/government.(lingua franka)
Language often reflects a cultures identity .

10. Arts and Literature
Purpose: To please, entertain, and teach about the values and beliefs of a culture.
Examples :
Folktales - help pass on a cultures’ beliefs/values.(“Tortoise and the Hare”)
Art, music, literature - create sense of belonging and identity.

11. Religion
Purpose: To answer basic questions about the meaning and purpose of life.
Also : To support the values and beliefs a society considers important for moral living.(right&wrong)
Note: - Many world conflicts involve religious differences.

12. Government
Purpose: To provide for common needs of keeping order in a society.
Also : Provides protection from outside threats.
Largest form of government is the Nation,it has many diverse peoples following a common set of rules.

13. Economic Systems
Purpose : To use limited resources to satisfy wants and needs.
Also : to answer the three basic economic questions - What to Produce, How to produce, For Whom to produce.
Major types of Economies: Traditional, Market, Command, and Mixed.