Society and Culture – The Concepts

In Society and Culture (from now on abbreviated SAC) there are 5 Major concepts through which students use in order to interpret and discuss personal experiences from their micro worlds and through observation of their macro world (Micro and Macro worlds to be covered in my next blog post). These concepts (Society, Culture, Persons, Environment and Time) all make up the backbone of the society and culture course and are used in order to gain an understanding of the world, societies and cultures. In addition to the 5 major concepts, there is also 4 secondary concepts (Technology, Power, Authority and Gender) which are often also referred to and used when performing a depth study and throughout the course.

The following is an attempt to make a very brief summary of the fundamental ideas behind the concepts, although, this should not be taken as gospel as these concepts are broad and open to interpretation.

Society

The concept of society refers to the links which connect people together as a group. The connections within a society can be as large scale as the media or as small scale as a sporting group. A society is bacically a collaboration of these groups, to form a network of people. The SAC syllabus defines society as "human relationships from small groups to large systems".

Culture

The concept of Culture refers to the shared ideas, knowledge and beliefs of a society. Values, arts, technology and laws are all examples of the culture of a society, and different cultures may have differing views on these areas. The SAC syllabus defines culture as "Knowledge shared by members of these groups and systems and reflected in their customs, values, laws, arts, technology and artifacts; their way of life.

Persons

The concept of Persons refers to the individuals within a society. Although each person has their own individual values, opinions and connections which differ from those of other people, each person of a society for the most part maintains the beliefs and ideas of their culture. The SAC syllabus defines persons as "The individual human; their relationships with other persons and with society, culture and the environment over time".

Environment

The concept of environment refers to both the physical and meta-physical settings in which a person is situated. The Social environment of a society and psychological environment of a culture are examples of the metaphysical environments. The SAC syllabus defines environment as "Settings where people live and work, the interaction between people and their environment, their perceptions of the environment and their actions to improve their environment"

Time

The concept of time refers to the constant advances through society, and is measured as "past, present and future". The main points of discussion of time in regards to SAC involve the changes that have occurred within a society from the past and perceptions of what the future will be like. The SAC syllabus defines time as "the conscious passage of existence; perceptions of the past, present and future".