Portal:Society

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The Society Portal

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...)

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Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, first emerging as prehistoric Vinča in 4800 BC. It was settled in the 3rd century BC by the Celts, before becoming the Roman settlement of Singidunum. It first became the capital of Serbia in 1403, and was the capital of various South Slav states from 1918 until 2003, as well as Serbia and Montenegro from 2003 until 2006. The city lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers in north central Serbia, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkan Peninsula. The population of Belgrade, according to the Serbian census of 2002, is 1,576,124. Belgrade has the status of a separate territorial unit in Serbia, with its own autonomous city government. Its territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each of which has its own local council. It is the central economic hub of Serbia, and the capital of Serbian culture, education and science.

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Credit: Northwestern Litho. Co.; Restoration: NativeForeigner

A campaign poster from the 1900 United States presidential election for the incumbent William McKinley, who would eventually win. The poster shows McKinley standing on a gold coin, representing the gold standard, with support from soldiers, businessmen, farmers and professionals, claiming to restore prosperity at home and victory abroad. The election was a repeat of the 1896 election, pitting McKinley against William Jennings Bryan.

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Did you know...

... that the figure of Abbé Morio in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace was modeled on Scipione Piattoli, one of the drafters of the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791?
... that the Buryat people (pictured) use the alcoholic beverage tarasun in their religious ceremonies?
... that Jambo OpenOffice was the first office suite in Swahili, a language spoken by about a hundred million people?

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Anniversaries this month

1 May 1776 - Foundation of the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society
1 May 1869 - New York Genealogical and Biographical Society elects its first woman member
7 May 1964 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson (pictured) first makes reference to the Great Society
10 May 1793 - Society of Revolutionary Republican Women officially registered at the Paris Commune

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“

No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.

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— Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (1776)

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Harriet Arbuthnot

Harriet Arbuthnot was an early 19th-century English diarist, social observer and political hostess on behalf of the Tory party. During the 1820s she was the "closest woman friend" of the hero of Waterloo and British Prime Minister, the 1st Duke of Wellington. She maintained a long correspondence and association with the Duke, all of which she recorded in her diaries, which are consequently extensively used in all authoritative biographies of the Duke of Wellington. Born into the periphery of the British aristocracy and married to a politician and member of the establishment, she was perfectly placed to meet all the key figures of the Regency and late Napoleonic eras. Recording meetings and conversations often verbatim, she has today become the "Mrs Arbuthnot" quoted in many biographies and histories of the era. Her observations and memories of life within the British establishment are not confined to individuals but document politics, great events and daily life with an equal attention to detail, providing historians with a clear picture of the events described. Her diaries were themselves finally published in 1950 as The Journal of Mrs Arbuthnot. (Full article...)

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Marcha Real

La marcha real (The Royal March), the National Anthem of Spain, performed by the United States Navy Band. It is one of the oldest national anthems in the world as it was adopted in 1770, though, due to its age, the composer is unknown. It is also one of the few national anthems without words.

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List of awards and nominations received by Penn & Teller: Bullshit!

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Frances Benjamin Johnston, Self-Portrait (as "New Woman"), 1896
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Web resources

Definition of Society from the OED.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Industrial Revolution
"The Day the World Took Off" Six part video series from the University of Cambridge tracing the question "Why did the Industrial Revolution begin when and where it did."
BBC History Home Page – Industrial Revolution
National Museum of Science and Industry website – machines and personalities
Industrial Revolution and the Standard of Living by Clark Nardinelli - the debate over whether standards of living rose or fell.

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