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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Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field between games of the twi-night doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Many had come to see the explosion rather than the games and rushed onto the field after the detonation. The playing field was so damaged by the explosion and by the rioters that the White Sox were required to forfeit the second game to the Tigers.
White Sox officials had hoped for a crowd of 20,000, about 5,000 more than usual. Instead, at least 50,000—including tens of thousands of Dahl's listeners—packed the stadium, and thousands more continued to sneak in after capacity was reached and gates were closed. Many of the records were not collected by staff and were thrown like flying discs from the stands. After Dahl blew up the collected records, thousands of fans stormed the field and remained there until dispersed by riot police.
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The cover to the June 1914 issue of Vanity Fair, an American magazine published from 1913 to 1936 by Condé Montrose Nast, the first of many published by his company Condé Nast Publications. Nast purchased a men's fashion magazine titled Dress in 1913 and renamed it Dress, and Vanity Fair. In 1914, the title was shortened to Vanity Fair. During its run, it competed with The New Yorker as the American establishment's top culture chronicle and featured writing by Thomas Wolfe, T. S. Eliot, P. G. Wodehouse, and Dorothy Parker. However, it became a casualty of the Great Depression and declining advertising revenues, and it was folded into Vogue in 1936. In 1983, Condé Nast revived the title as a new publication.
Did you know...
- ... that prolific Brighton architects Clayton & Black's works include churches, mansion flats, banks, cinemas and their "chef d'œuvre"—a pink granite insurance office (pictured)?
- ... that the Society for Development and Change supports eastern Saudi Arabians campaigning to create an elected legislature?
- ... that Norwegian newspaper editor Christian Friele was an honorary member of the Conservative Press Association, despite not attending any of its meetings?
Anniversaries this month
- 1 and 2 November - Day of the Dead tradition (pictured) among Mexican people
- 15 November 1982 - Chinese Society Halls on Maui placed on the National Register of Historic Places
- 17 November 1989 - IEEE Computational Intelligence Society was formed as the IEEE Neural Networks Council
- 26 November 1825 - Foundation of the Kappa Alpha Society, the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America
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20151030 Syrians and Iraq refugees arrive at Skala Sykamias Lesvos Greece 2
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Bertillon, Alphonse, fiche anthropométrique recto-verso
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Daisy (1964)
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Dewey Defeats Truman
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DurbanSign1989
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Frances Benjamin Johnston, Self-Portrait (as "New Woman"), 1896
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Jane Addams - Bain News Service
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Marine da nang
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Nanook of the North
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SantaCruz-CuevaManos-P2210651b
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Scourged back by McPherson & Oliver, 1863, retouched
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United States President Barack Obama bends down to allow the son of a White House staff member to touch his head
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W.E.B. Du Bois by James E. Purdy, 1907
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Xiahe mandible
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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.