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Compare two cultures using two sociological concepts/perspectives

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Compare two cultures using two sociological concepts/perspectives
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’. “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 are very different to that of modern English society. Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx established theories relating to different aspects of society and the way in which it operated, e.g. mechanical and organic solidarity (Durkheim, 1893), these can offer a platform for a new perspective on The Nama people and modern English society.
The Nama tribe, descendants of the KhoiKhoi family inhabit parts of South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. Their numbers have decreased a large amount - by 80% between 1904 and 1907 - as a result of mass genocide carried out by German colonialists during the diamond rush of the twentieth century. The Nama people are traditionally pastoral nomadic tribespeople, whose community moves around in order to find land to raise livestock. According to Durkheim, the Nama would operate in accordance with ‘Mechanical solidarity’. This describes shared customs, values, and beliefs, and agrees with Marxism. All take part in the farming of land and the raising of livestock, and there is social cohesiveness. The Nama people are a small, less technologically advanced society; traditionally living with no electricity, using basic tools and weapons and living in huts without running water. In comparison, England is situated



Bibliography: Kluckhon, C, 2013. Introduction: Sociological perspectives. In: Sociology themes & perspectives. 8th ed. London: Collins. Capitalism: definition of capitalism in Oxford dictionary (British & World English). 2014. capitalism: definition of capitalism in Oxford dictionary (British & World English). [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/capitalism. [Accessed 19 October 2014]. Haralambos, M et al. 2013. Sociology themes & perspectives. 8th ed. London: Collins. THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE NAMA HOTTENTOTS OF SOUTHWEST AFRICA1 - HOERNLÉ - 2009 - American Anthropologist - Wiley Online Library. 2014. THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE NAMA HOTTENTOTS OF SOUTHWEST AFRICA1 - HOERNLÉ - 2009 – Page 21 - American Anthropologist - Wiley Online Library. [ONLINE] Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/aa.1925.27.1.02a00020/pdf. [Accessed 19 October 2014]. THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE NAMA HOTTENTOTS OF SOUTHWEST AFRICA1 - HOERNLÉ - 2009 - American Anthropologist - Wiley Online Library. 2014. THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE NAMA HOTTENTOTS OF SOUTHWEST AFRICA1 - HOERNLÉ - 2009 – page – 9 - American Anthropologist - Wiley Online Library. [ONLINE] Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/aa.1925.27.1.02a00020/pdf. [Accessed 19 October 2014]. England Population 2014 - World Population Review. 2014. England Population 2014 - World Population Review. [ONLINE] Available at: http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/england-population/. [Accessed 20 October 2014].

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