Moazzam Faisal

7687286

Word Count: 1395

This essay will discuss the association between culture and society and will also

look into the relationship between culture, society and technology. Also, this essay will

argue the influence of technology on culture and society. The sole purpose of this essay is to

briefly discuss the roles and identities of people that shape up the society. Additionally, it

will also critically analyze the influence of technology in the development of culture and

society. Anthropology is defined as the study of human beings and their ancestors

through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and

social relations, and culture. (Merriam-webster.com, 2016). It is clear from the definition

in order to study culture we need to study the behaviour of human beings that shape up the

culture hence forming a society.

1.1 Difference between culture and society:

Bates defines culture as; Culture is a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours

and artifacts that the members of a society use to cope with their world and with one another that

are transmitted from generation to generation through learning. (Bates, 2005, p5). It can be seen

from Bates definition that culture is a system that is passed from one generation to next generation

through a learning process. Another way to look into culture as define by Miller is a peoples

learned and shared behaviors and beliefs. (Miller, 2012, p14). Looking at these 2 definitions we

can refer culture as peoples shared behaviour and beliefs that are passed on from one generation to

another. As culture is based on shared values, beliefs and means for a culture to exist, so the people

related to that culture should attain or heritage common values and traditions. The history of culture
goes back to evolution of mankind. The cultural evolution model, formed in 19 th Century,

developed by Sir Edward Tylor, Sir James Frazer and Lewis Henry Morgan believed that culture

evolves from lower to higher forms over time. They divided culture into 2 group; Non-Western

people as primitive culture and Euro-American (Western) as civilized culture. They assumed

that non-Western culture would need to catch up the level of Western culture or else they will be

non-existent. (Miller, 2005). Today, the cultural fight between civilizations still exist where less

developed countries tries to meet up with the criteria of developed countries.

In the article Culture and People: Some Basic Concept, Keesing refers society as a

sociocultural system which is based on the pattern of residence, resource exploitation and

characteristics of people (Keesing, 1998). To explain this theory, Keesing uses the example of

Bulgarian hostess and an Asian student. Bulgarian hostess serving 2 nd and 3rd serving of food was

not part of the Bulgarian culture whereas refusing food was considered as an insult in the Asian

culture. This shows the complexity of human society when different cultures interact. But, in a

social structure different cultures interact with each other with specific roles and responsibilities.

Therefore, this kind of cross-cultural setup follows a certain pattern of residence and characteristics

of people that helps in forming a society. In another definition, Keesing defines society as

communities that are connected politically and economically can be taken as comprising a

society. For instance, Manus and Bulgarian are not connected geographically but they are

interacting in a system of social capacity, making them part of a society. Moreover, society

comprises of a social system in which people share a cultural tradition and language. People within

a society share different roles, occupations and identities including identity relationships. For

example, the relationship between a physician and patient, and between physician and nurse

comprise identity relationships. (Keesing, 1998). The role among them is predefined and focuses on
the capacities of the individual. Hence, we can say that in a social structure each individual is given

a certain responsibility that gives them a certain place in a society.

1.2 Relationship between Culture and Society:

To understand the relationship between culture and society, we have to study a very

important field of anthropology called Cultural Anthropology. Cultural Anthropology, looks in

detail, the interaction of human being with their environment (culture) and society. From our

discussion we can say, a culture is socially accepted life style of a group of people. It consist of a

patterned repetitive ways of thinking, feeling and acting that are characteristics of members of a

particular society or segment of society. (Miller, 2005, p12). Whereas, we look culture as a shared

behavior and learned beliefs, we look at society as a group of individuals sharing those beliefs and

behaviour. We start learning our culture the moment we are born. We learn somethings from our

home and rest we learn from society. To conclude, Society plays an important part for the existence

of culture.

2.1 How Technology Influences Culture and Society

In modern era, the technology has influenced our lives a lot. The ultimate goal and belief of

the advancement in technology is that human civilization and society must move forward. This

advancement is not mere something. We are not marching blindly into a future. Rather we are

advancing towards what we envision as a utopia of the Earth. (Slack and Wise, 2005). From Stone

Age to industrial age, technology has always taken central stage in upgrading human civilization

and culture. From hunting and gathering to landing on the surface of the moon, technology has

changed our lifestyle.

Pfaffenberger states, A sociotechnical society is one of the chief means by which humans

produce their social world (Pfaffenberger, 1992, p500). Our social world is dependent on
technology. However, technology does oppose some of the norms and rituals of society and culture.

For example, In Vietnam, agriculture is a matter of material culture and manual labour but on the

other side, ritual is a key component of agriculture work. (Pfaffenberge, 1992). In the past, human

interaction was more strong and original but with the invention of cell phones, it has provoked a

social change, which has distant human interaction and communication. In the end, Pfaffenberge

states the fact about successful technological innovation, he writes A successful technological

innovation occurs only when all the element of the system, the social as well as the technological,

have been modified so that they work together effectively. (Pfaffenberge, 1992, p502).

2.1.1 How culture and Society Influences Technology

So far we have discussed how technology has an impact on culture and society now we will

discuss the adverse effect. According to Pursell, technology is both a cultural practice and cultural

production. (Pursell, 2010, p717). Which means technology is derived from cultural practice. In a

conservative society, cultural is highly influenced by religion and it hinders the progress of

technology. As compare to a Western society, which is based on individualistic ideology therefore

technology is advancing and progressing. For example, in Chinese culture they burn paper

representations of their household during a funeral so that they can offer blessing to their ancestors.

After the industrial revolution, technology was considered a core part of the society. Pussell

addresses the relationship between technology and culture by saying, Technology is not simply

embedded in our culture, it is a distinctive part of it (Pursell, 2010, p504). As both are integral part

of the society, so he suggests that technology and culture cant part ways. Technology does have an

impact on our ecosystem that is directly related to our society. With all the industrialization in the

modern era, our ecosystem is coming under an extreme pressure to retain itself hence trembling the

environment of our society.

 In conclusion, culture is a system of shared beliefs and behaviours that are passed on from

one generation to another, where a society is a collective social system and group of individuals

share a common language and traditions. This essay also discussed the relationship of culture and

society and how cultural anthropology helps us to understand human behavior and their connection

to the social environment. Culture can be complex and simple in a society where every individual

have its own role and identity. In the last part of the essay, the relationship between technology and

culture was discussed. Technology has both positive and negative influence in a sociotechnical

society. On the contrary, culture and society are considered as an essential part of technology. For a

technological invention to be successful, it is very important that culture and society play a positive

role in the progress of technology.

 Reference

Pfaffenberge, B. (1992). Social Anthropology of Technology. Annual Review of

Anthropology,491516.

Miller, Barbara. 2012 Cultural Anthropology in a Global World. (7th. Edition), Toronto: Pearson

Education Canada Inc (Chapter 1).

Keesing, Roger and Andrew J. Strathern. 1998. Culture and People: Some Basic Concepts. In

Cultural Anthropology: A contemporary Perspectives. R.M. Kessing and A.J. Strathern, eds.

Orlando: Harcourt, Brace and Co.: 14- 25

Pursell, Carroll W. 2010. Technologies as Cultural Practice and Production. Technology and

Culture, Vol. 51, No. 3 (July 2010), pp. 715-722

Bates, D. G. (2005). Human Addaptive Strategies: Ecology, Culture and Politics (3rd ed.). Toronto:

Pearson .

Definition of ANTHROPOLOGY. (2017). Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 3 March 2017, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anthropology

Slack, J. & Wise, J. (2007). Culture + technology (1st ed.). New York, N.Y.: Lang.