Portal:Society

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Portal topics
Activities
Culture
Geography
Health
History
Mathematics
Nature
People
Philosophy
Religion
Society
Technology
Random portal
edit 

The Society Portal

Cleric, knight and Peasant; an example of feudal societies
Cleric, knight and Peasant; example of feudal societies

A society (/səˈsaɪəti/) is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial 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 members.

Human social structures are complex and highly cooperative, featuring the specialization of labor via social roles. Societies construct roles and other patterns of behavior by deeming certain actions or concepts acceptable or unacceptable—these expectations around behavior within a given society are known as societal norms. So far as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would otherwise be difficult on an individual basis.

Societies vary based on level of technology and type of economic activity. Larger societies with larger food surpluses often exhibit stratification or dominance patterns. Societies can have many different forms of government, various ways of understanding kinship, and different gender roles. Human behavior varies immensely between different societies; humans shape society, but society in turn shapes human beings. (Full article...)

edit 

Selected article

Young Toraja girls at a wedding ceremony
The Toraja are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 650,000, of which 450,000 still live in the regency of Tana Toraja. Most of the population is Christian, and others are Muslim or have local animist beliefs known as aluk ("the way"). Torajans are renowned for their elaborate funeral rites, burial sites carved into rocky cliffs, massive peaked-roof traditional houses known as tongkonan, and colorful wood carvings. Toraja funeral rites are important social events, usually attended by hundreds of people and lasting for several days. Before the twentieth century, Torajans lived in autonomous villages, where they practised animism and were relatively untouched by the outside world. In the early 1900s, Dutch missionaries first worked to convert Torajan highlanders to Christianity. When the Tana Toraja regency was further opened to the outside world in the 1970s, it became an icon of tourism in Indonesia: it was exploited by tourism developers and studied by anthropologists. By the 1990s, when tourism peaked, Toraja society had evolved significantly, from its agricultural beginnings into a largely Christian society.
edit 

Featured picture

Battle of MalakoffCredit: William Simpson; Restoration: Adam Cuerden

The Battle of Malakoff, during the Crimean War, was fought between the Russian and the allied French-British armies on 7 September 1855. In one of the war's defining moments, a French zouave installed the French flag on the top of the Russian redoubt, as depicted here. The battle brought about the capture of Sevastopol after an 11-month siege.

edit 

Did you know...

An emaciated child and adult

  • ... that emaciation (pictured) is referred to as "shosha roga" in India, where more than 200 million people are affected by malnutrition?
  • ... that the Prison Officers Association threatened a job action when it was announced that both Birmingham and Oakwood Prisons were to be contracted to security company G4S?
  • ... that Albanian philosopher and poet Arshi Pipa was imprisoned for ten years because he antagonized the communist regime in Albania with his recitation of a verse by Goethe?
edit 

Anniversaries this month

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

edit 

Selected quote

Bill Moyers
edit 

Selected biography

Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest. As the result of a widely covered series of trials, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years hard labour after being convicted of "gross indecency" with other men. After Wilde was released from prison he set sail for Dieppe by the night ferry. He never returned to Ireland or Britain. Wilde wrote almost all of his major and minor works in the last decade of his life, including his fairy tales and short stories for children. He published three volumes of these, The Happy Prince and Other Tales, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories and A House of Pomegranates. (Full article...)
edit 

Featured audio

1921 – "Explanation of the Objects of the Universal Negro Improvement Association"
Complete 1921 speech by Marcus Garvey
edit 

Categories

Society categories
Society categories
Society
edit 

Related portals

edit 

Recognized content

Featured articles

Featured lists

Good articles

Featured pictures

  • 20151030 Syrians and Iraq refugees arrive at Skala Sykamias Lesvos Greece 2
    20151030 Syrians and Iraq refugees arrive at Skala Sykamias Lesvos Greece 2
  • Bertillon, Alphonse, fiche anthropométrique recto-verso
    Bertillon, Alphonse, fiche anthropométrique recto-verso
  • Cicatrices de flagellation sur un esclave
    Cicatrices de flagellation sur un esclave
  • Daisy (1964)
  • DurbanSign1989
    DurbanSign1989
  • Frances Benjamin Johnston, Self-Portrait (as "New Woman"), 1896
    Frances Benjamin Johnston, Self-Portrait (as "New Woman"), 1896
  • Jane Addams - Bain News Service
    Jane Addams - Bain News Service
  • Marine da nang
    Marine da nang
  • Nanook of the North
  • SantaCruz-CuevaManos-P2210651b
    SantaCruz-CuevaManos-P2210651b
  • United States President Barack Obama bends down to allow the son of a White House staff member to touch his head
    United States President Barack Obama bends down to allow the son of a White House staff member to touch his head
  • W.E.B. Du Bois by James E. Purdy, 1907
    W.E.B. Du Bois by James E. Purdy, 1907
  • Xiahe mandible
    Xiahe mandible
edit 

Things you can do
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
edit 

WikiProjects

Related projects

WikiProjects

What are WikiProjects?
edit 

Web resources

edit 

Associated Wikimedia

Society on Wikibooks  Society on Wikimedia Commons Society on Wikinews  Society on Wikiquote  Society on Wikisource  Society on Wikiversity  Society on Wiktionary 
Manuals and books Images and media News Quotations Texts Learning resources Definitions
Discover Wikipedia using portals
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portal:Society&oldid=1147915925"