Topic Society

According to sociologists, a society is a group of people with common territory, interaction, and culture. Social groups consist of two or more people who interact and identify with one another.

• Territory: Most countries have formal boundaries and territory that the world recognizes as theirs. However, a society’s boundaries don’t have to be geopolitical borders, such as the one between the United States and Canada. Instead, members of a society, as well as nonmembers, must recognize particular land as belonging to that society.

  Example: The society of the Yanomamo has fluid but definable land boundaries. Located in a South American rain forest, Yanamamo territory extends along the border of Brazil and Venezuela. While outsiders would have a hard time determining where Yanomamo land begins and ends, the Yanomamo and their neighbors have no trouble discerning which land is theirs and which is not.

• Interaction: Members of a society must come in contact with one another. If a group of people within a country has no regular contact with another group, those groups cannot be considered part of the same society. Geographic distance and language barriers can separate societies within a country.

  Example: Although Islam was practiced in both parts of the country, the residents of East Pakistan spoke Bengali, while the residents of West Pakistan spoke Urdu. Geographic distance, language differences, and other factors proved insurmountable. In 1971, the nation split into two countries, with West Pakistan assuming the name Pakistan and East Pakistan becoming Bangladesh. Within each newly formed society, people had a common culture, history, and language, and distance was no longer a factor.

• Culture: People of the same society share aspects of their culture, such as language or beliefs. Culture refers to the language, values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that constitute a people’s way of life. It is a defining element of society.

  Example: Some features of American culture are the English language, a democratic system of government, cuisine (such as hamburgers and corn on the cob), and a belief in individualism and freedom.

Pluralism

The United States is a society composed of many groups of people, some of whom originally belonged to other societies. Sociologists consider the United States a pluralistic society, meaning it is built of many groups. As societies modernize, they attract people from countries where there may be economic hardship, political unrest, or religious persecution. Since the industrialized countries of the West were the first to modernize, these countries tend to be more pluralistic than countries in other parts of the world.

Many people came to the United States between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. Fleeing poverty and religious persecution, these immigrants arrived in waves from Europe and Asia and helped create the pluralism that makes the United States unique.

Assimilation

Some practices that are common in other societies will inevitably offend or contradict the values and beliefs of the new society. Groups seeking to become part of a pluralistic society often have to give up many of their original traditions in order to fit in—a process known as assimilation.

Example: When people arrive in the United States from other countries, they most likely speak a foreign language. As they live here, they generally learn at least some English, and many become fluent. Their children are most likely bilingual, speaking English as well as the language of their parents. By the third generation, the language originally spoken by their grandparents is often lost.

In pluralistic societies, groups do not have to give up all of their former beliefs and practices. Many groups within a pluralistic society retain their ethnic traditions.

Example: Although Chinese immigrants started arriving in the United States 150 years ago, Chinese-American communities still follow some traditions, such as celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Equality

In a truly pluralistic society, no one group is officially considered more influential than another. In keeping with this belief, the United States does not, for example, put a legal quota on how many Italian Americans can vote in national elections, how many African Americans may run for public office, or how many Vietnamese Americans can live on a certain street. However, powerful informal mechanisms, such as prejudice and discrimination, work to keep many groups out of the political process or out of certain neighborhoods.

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsocietyso‧ci‧e‧ty /səˈsaɪəti/ ●●● S1 W1 noun (plural societies)    1 people in general [uncountable]SOCIETY people in general, considered in relation to the laws, organizations etc that make it possible for them to live together  technology and its effects on modern society  Children are the most vulnerable members of society.2 a particular group [countable, uncountable]SSSOCIETY a particular large group of people who share laws, organizations, customs etc  Britain is now a multiracial society.  the capitalist societies of the West  the conservative segment of American society3 club [countable]SSO an organization or club with members who share similar interests, aims etc  the university film society  the American Cancer Societysociety of  the Society of Black Lawyers► see thesaurus at organization 4 upper class [uncountable]CLASS IN SOCIETY the fashionable group of people who are rich and powerful  a society weddinghigh society (=the richest, most fashionable etc people) 5 being with people [uncountable] formalSOCIALIZE when you are together with other peoplesociety of  Holidays are a time to enjoy the society of your family.6 → polite society → building society, friendly societyCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: a particular large group of people who share laws, organizations, customs etcadjectivesa free societyCensorship has no place in a free society.a civilized societyA civilized society should treat its elderly members well.a civil society (=a society based on laws that everyone accepts)The protection of human rights is essential for a civil society.a multicultural/multiracial societyWe live in a multicultural society.a democratic societyEducation is important in a democratic society.an advanced/modern societyThe Greeks formed the first advanced societies in the West.This kind of hatred and violence have no place in a modern society like ours.an industrial societyIn complex industrial societies, different groups specialize in particular activities.a primitive societyIn almost all primitive societies, volcanoes have been regarded with fear.a just societyWe are making progress towards a just society.a classless society (=one in which people are not divided into different social classes)the prime minister’s vision of a classless societya capitalist societyAs consumers in a capitalist society, we can press companies to behave responsibly.the larger/wider society (=used when comparing a small group of people to society as a whole)The poor are part of the larger society, and programs must be there to help them. Examples from the Corpussociety• We live in a society that values hard work.• recent changes in American society• Having already displayed a contempt for civilized society, he or she can not be considered a part of it.• He joined the university film society as a way of making friends.• the president of the American Historical Society• Nevertheless we are committed to a meritocratic society.• the National Society of Public Accountants• We want our students to become useful and responsible members of society.• Children are the most vulnerable members of society.• His death has triggered questions over whether a larger section of society than initially thought may be vulnerable to the disease.• Prisons are meant to protect society from criminals.• In Protestant society such conflicts certainly exist, but they take place in private.• the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds• We will soon be unable to enjoy the society of our dearest friends.• They will continue to promote the integration of migrant workers in the societies in which they are lawfully residing.• The judge described Smith as 'a danger to society'.• Give him an unknown society, any society, and he wanted in. members of society• Few attempts to change public perceptions are achieved easily, nor can they be performed by all members of society.• Classes did not exist since all members of society shared the same relationship to the means of production.• This means that relationships between members of society are organized in terms of rules.• It blinds members of society to the contradictions and conflicts of interest which are built into their relationships.• But women were commonly considered not full members of society.• The norms of domestic life it set forth drew a clear ideological boundary between rational members of society and the feckless.• The evidence also showed that the Amish have an excellent record as law-abiding and generally self-sufficient members of society...• Consequently these questions have rarely been put to younger members of society.segment of ... society• There is no free lunch for any segment of society.• Those who were the clones of the more conservative segment of our society seemed to have an advantage.• To make advanced computing and communications information infrastructure available to-and usable by-a larger segment of the society.• It is this convergence of class, gender, and race that makes a sweeping attack on one segment of society possible.• It allows us to more easily justify restrictions on this segment of society now branded with an anti-social label.high society• There was no doubt that he could write well about high society, but the market for that sort of thing was dwindling.• He reckoned he'd fit much better into Hollywood and high society.• Torn between high society and the life of the workers on the estate, she makes many mistakes before seeing the truth.• And the few people he mixed with in high society turned their backs on him.• My first venture into high society.• Before long, Brighton was a centre of high society second only to London.• The brothers intend to show that they will not conform to the practices and hypocrisies of high society.• Although personally modest, Astaire pushed off from a world of high society.