CBPC1305 Understanding society: culture and institutions

What is society? What characterizes it, and what distinguishes it from animal society? What, furthermore, distinguishes human society from the society of early homo sapiens? For they must have engaged in rudimentary forms of being together before developing what we call culture and recognizable institutions.? These questions about the nature and possibility of human society, are fundamental to the social sciences. In answering these questions, this course focuses institutions. And since any consideration of institutions must consider also norms, values and beliefs, it also looks at culture.