Compare two cultures using two sociological...

Joseph Burrows: 17/10/2014 Compare culture and social organisation in any two societies, making reference to at least two different sociological theories and key concepts associated with them. Within every society, and every community or settlement across the globe, there is undoubtedly one thing that they have in common; we identify this as ‘culture’. â€Å"Culture is a design for living† (Clyde Kluckhohn, cited in Halambros et al, 2013: 5), it describes the norms, values, beliefs, and practises of a people. The economic base and division of labour, political structure, religion, and strata of the Nama Tribe†¦show more content†¦In contrast, England is an individualist society promoting self-reliance and independence and was referred to by Edmund Adamus as a; ‘selfish and hedonistic wasteland’ (Telegraph, 2014). This relates to the theory of social mobility, and is again intertwined in capitalism. The political structure is a representative democracy, which in contrast to the Nama communities involves the option for the population voting for a party who’ll make decisions on their behalf; the majority vote will determine who is awarded power for a period of four years. Often the party in power will make decisions that, due to the nature of representative democracy, have not been made on a formed consensus, these decisions can be made in favour of the upper classes or the wealthy, neglecting the needs of the poor, this ties in with Marx’ theory of class struggle and could be seen as Oligarchy. In England social stratification is more complex than that of the Nama, and can be identified by a class system. In the epoch of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) - the times of the industrial revolution and The Communist Manifesto - England was believed to have a ‘functionalist’ (Durkheim) class system operating very much like that of a beehive, where all had their role. The class system arguably still resides, and is simplified to Upper, Middle, and Working class. This social stratum is generally identified by income. The Nama are a homogenous, mono cultural people. Although they have, overShow MoreRelatedBody Ritual Among the Nacirema948 Words   |  4 Pagessatire in his article â€Å"Body Ritual among the Nacirema.† to the culture of the American people. Several ways in which â€Å"Body Ritual among the Nacirema† relate to the core concepts of sociology are through the use of sociological imagination, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. The American culture is described by Minor in a very unique and humorous way. The author uses satire to examine the rituals that are every day in American culture. 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For him, common sense and the obvious would not suffice; he wanted to build scientific theories basedRead MoreCompare and Contrast Functionalist and Marxist Theories of Stratification.1537 Words   |  7 PagesCompare and Contrast Functionalist and Marxist Theories of Stratification Stratification is the separation of society into layers which are distinguished by unequal rewards and life chances and many systems of stratification have been based on slavery, caste and feudalism. Slavery, being the oldest and most extreme form of stratification, involves the enslavement or ownership of others. This ownership came about as a result of conquest, trade, kidnapping, hereditary status or the repayment ofRead MoreSociological Perspectives Of Functionalism, Conflict Theory, And Symbolic Interactionism900 Words   |  4 PagesExplain the three major sociological perspectives of functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Identify which perspectives use a macro level or a micro level of analysis. Apply each perspective to socialization. Functionalism – Macro Level – This means that each person has a specific function and that each society works together to achieve what is best. For example, my 2 boys attend a public school. The school is funded by taxes I pay as well as neighbors who do not have any childrenRead MoreThe Sociological Approach And The Second Being The Non Psychoanalytical Approach1908 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction to sociology There are two approaches to studying human behaviour; one is the sociological approach and the second being the non-sociological approach. An example of a non-sociological approach would be to state that all Muslims are terrorists. This approach simply uses common sense and stereotypical assumptions/generalisations which have not been tested to be true and most of the time when tested these turn out to be false. On the other hand there’s a sociological approach which is quite the