Discuss the extent to which you think that goals are determined by the overarching culture of a society as opposed to smaller social groups or subcultures

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Pascal Cisangani 23023554 / 23345853 Danai Muswazi

Discuss the extent to which you think that goals are determined by the overarching culture of a society as opposed to smaller social groups or subcultures

Definition of key termers

Culture and subculture

A culture is made up of beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics that members of a specific group or society have in common. Through this, individuals and groups define themselves, conform to society's shared values, and contribute to society. Hence, culture does contains many social characteristics, among them are language, customs, values, norms, rules, tools, technologies, products, organizations, and institutions (Finnemore, 1996:326). However some common institutions include but not limited to family, education, religion, work, and health care

A subculture can be defined as a group of people holding a particular culture (that could be visible or hidden) which differentiates them from the larger culture from which they do belong.

For instance, in case where a subculture is characterized by some element of opposition to the main or governing culture, it may be described as counterculture (Finnemore, 1996:326).

Society

Society can be defined a group of people who interact in such a way as to share the same culture (Isajiw, 2006:265).

Goals

A goal can be defined as a result or an achievement toward which efforts were focused. People have certain goals that they may want to achieve in life. These goals might include but not limited to getting married, Education, employment, a house, means of transportation and so on (Settergren, 2003). The question is to know where these goals come from. Do individuals set them up? If so, based on which criteria's? How do people know what is best for them? Or are people obliged to attain certain goals?

Structural functionalism

Structural functionalism is a method of viewing society...