Portal:Society
Introduction
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions; a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its constituent of members. In the social sciences, a larger society often exhibits stratification or dominance patterns in subgroups.
Insofar as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would not otherwise be possible on an individual basis; both individual and social (common) benefits can thus be distinguished, or in many cases found to overlap. A society can also consist of like-minded people governed by their own norms and values within a dominant, larger society. This is sometimes referred to as a subculture, a term used extensively within criminology.
Selected general articles
Did you know...
- ... that the perpetrator of the 2018 Tallahassee shooting identified with the involuntary celibate community and denounced interracial dating?
- ... that Denver community activist Arlene Hirschfeld lives in Shangri-La?
- ... that Meghalaya has one of the largest surviving matrilineal societies?
- ... that despite preparing for a variety of situations, many U.S. government leaders remain vulnerable to BOOBs?
- ... that U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed to revoke government funding using the rescission process, which was successfully used 461 times prior to 2000 but has never been attempted since?
- ... that after six decades subscribing to left-wing ideology, German-Israeli novelist Naomi Frankel adopted right-wing ideology and moved to the West Bank?
- ... that the Golden Ball pub in Bishophill is owned by a local community cooperative?
- ... that the Trans-Universal Zombie Church of the Blissful Ringing is the fifth largest religious community in Slovenia?
- ... that Zahida Khatun Sherwani wrote poetry in Urdu under the pseudonyms "Zay Khay Sheen" and "Nuzhat", as the then-Muslim society did not permit women to write poetry or further women's causes?
- ... that Jewish community leader Tibor Kováč negotiated with and bribed a former classmate who was organizing the deportation of Jews from Slovakia during the Holocaust?
- ... that in 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the first woman elected as a non-hereditary head of government in modern history?
- ... that Cicely Corbett Fisher co-founded a society for women's suffrage when she was fifteen years old?
- ... that the inter-governmental Working Definition of Antisemitism has generated controversy over its inclusion of examples of criticism of Israel?
- ... that Herbert L. Packer proposed two models for the U.S. criminal justice system, crime control and due process, which became influential in criminal policy debates?
- ... that the British government's Transforming Infrastructure Performance report aims to save the construction industry £15 billion per year?
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In the news
- 15 February 2019 – Ethnic issues in Japan
- The government of Japan approves a bill which officially acknowledges the Ainu as an indigenous people, following a non-binding resolution that was passed in 2008. (The Japan Times)
- 15 February 2019 –
- Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez calls for a snap general election on 28 April and will dissolve the Cortes Generales on 5 May after failing to approve a government budget. (The New York Times) (CNN)
- 14 February 2019 – Special Counsel investigation
- Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe confirms he ordered the probe on U.S. President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice, citing concerns that arose from the dismissal of James Comey. (CBS News)
- 11 February 2019 – Libyan Crisis (2011–present)
- The Libyan Tobruk-based government has full control of the El Sharara oil field, the largest oilfield in Libya, after it was captured by the Libyan National Army. The oilfield, which was formerly under the control of Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, was taken over by local tribesmen in December 2018. (Reuters)
- 10 February 2019 – Demographics of Hungary, Opposition to immigration
- Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announces new tax and loan benefits for families as part of his government’s efforts to increase the birth rate in Hungary. The new measures include the expansion of a loan program for families with at least two children and waiving personal income tax for women raising at least four children. Orbán is one of the most outspoken critics of immigration to Europe from the Middle East and Asia. (France 24) (Reuters)
- 9 February 2019 – 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
- Venezuelan authorities claim that a U.S.-owned air freight company delivered a crate of weapons to the international airport in Valencia to be used in "terrorist actions" against the Maduro government. The air charter business involved, 21 Air, denies the charges. (Chicago Tribune)
Subcategories
Subtopics
- Main articles: Social sciences and Society See also Science and Scientific method
Social sciences – Anthropology • Archaeology • Cognitive science • Communication studies • Critical theory • Cultural studies • Development studies • Economics (Unsolved problems in economics) • Education • Geography • History • Linguistics (Unsolved problems in linguistics) • Law • Political science • Psychology • Social policy • Sociology
Society – Ethnic groups • Group • Infrastructure • People
- Community – Structure and agency • Socialization • Sense of community • Communitarianism • Social capital • Community development
- Social development – Decadence • Social progress • Technological evolution
- Sociocultural evolution: Accelerating change → Hunter-gatherer bands → Social rank → Tribes → Social stratification → Chiefdoms → Neolithic Revolution → Civilization → Agrarian society → Pre-industrial society → Agrarian villages → Towns → Cities → City-states → Nation-states → Industrial Revolution → (Modern) Industrial society → (Postmodern) Post-industrial society → Informational Revolution → Information society → Digital Revolution → Globalization → World government? → Space colonization? → Technological singularity?
- Social institutions – Organization
- Family – Daughter • Extended family • Father • Grandparent • Home • Human bonding • Mother • Nuclear family • Parent • Son
- Religion – (see Religion and belief systems above)
- Infrastructure
- Public infrastructure – Highways • Streets • Roads • Bridges • Mass transit • Airports and Airways • Rail transport • Water supply and Water resources • Wastewater management • Solid-waste treatment and disposal • Electric power
- Private infrastructure – Automobiles • Homes • Personal computers • Personal property • Real estate
- Economy and Business – Finance • Management • Marketing • Franchising
- Education – Academia • Academic misconduct • Homework • Learning • Pedagogy • School • Student • Study skills • Teacher
- Civil society
- Government and Politics – Politics by country • International relations • Public affairs
- Law – Criminal justice
- Social network – Communication • Journalism • Social capital
Recognized content
Featured articles
Featured lists
Good articles
- Timeline of the Egyptian revolution of 2011
- Acting white
- African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska
- Agnosticism
- Agriculture
- Algorithmic bias
- America's 60 Families
- Anarchism
- Anarchism in Cuba
- Anonymous (group)
- Anti-nuclear movement in Australia
- Archaeoastronomy
- Average Joe
- Balangoda Man
- Before the Dawn (book)
- Birth control
- Black Lives Matter
- Boerehaat
- The Bog People
- Bomis
- A Community of Witches
- Compulsory Miseducation
- Cult film
- Potential cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact
- Culture of the Song dynasty
- Cutting the Mustard
- Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Diaphoneme
- Diver communications
- Double burden
- Dreamtime (book)
- Émile Durkheim
- EST and The Forum in popular culture
- Ely and Littleport riots of 1816
- Family in advertising
- Family structure in the United States
- Feminism
- Feminist economics
- The finger
- First World
- First interracial kiss on television
- Forensic anthropology
- Free Expression Policy Project
- Fucking Machines
- God's Choice
- Erving Goffman
- History of agriculture
- Hitachi Magic Wand
- Hooray Henry
- Human interactions with insects
- I Ching
- Globalization and women in China
- Ivatan people
- Java Man
- Joint custody (United States)
- Kirkbride Plan
- Language
- Ralph Larkin
- Lesbian
- LGBT
- Long hair
- Magic, Witchcraft and the Otherworld
- The Man-Eating Myth
- March for Our Lives Portland
- March for Science Portland
- March of loyalty to martyrs
- Karl Marx
- Josef Mengele
- A More Perfect Union: Advancing New American Rights
- Mork Goes Erk
- Muslim women in sport
- Native American mascot controversy
- New World Order (conspiracy theory)
- No Lifeguard on Duty
- Nonviolent Communication
- Not My Presidents Day
- Not in Front of the Children
- On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog
- Otaku
- Ovulatory shift hypothesis
- Polyethnicity
- Child prostitution
- Protests against the Sri Lankan Civil War in Canada
- Proto-globalization
- Racial wage gap in the United States
- A Rape on Campus
- Reborn doll
- The Road to Total Freedom
- Romania in the Early Middle Ages
- Rose Street Club
- Royal intermarriage
- Edward Said
- Sex, Sin, and Blasphemy
- Sheng nu
- Silver
- Social identity theory
- Sociology of leisure
- Sociology
- Stay-at-home dad
- Stratford Dialectical and Radical Club
- Sustainability
- Team effectiveness
- Think of the children
- Truce term
- Max Weber
- Weiquan movement
- Who We Are and How We Got Here
- Benjamin Lee Whorf
- Florian Znaniecki