Culture

Culture What is Culture? • Culture – a shared way of life o The ways of thinking, the ways of acting, and the material objects that together form a people’s shared way of life • Society vs Culture o Society refers to a geographic region and the people within in o A society has a culture. Subculture • Subculture o Cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society’s population o Some are stronger than others as far as how people identify with them o The Amish o Runners o Yankee’s fans o Hispanic-Americans o Muslims o Hipsters Not meant to denote “less than” Contested Culture • Counterculture o Cultural patterns that strongly oppose or reject those widely accepted within a society o Actively defy larger society by having radically different symbols, values, language, & norms • Hippies • The Amish Reminds us that not everyone blindly follows cultural dictates (robots) People use their culture actively and creatively (agency) What is Culture? • Though our culture can feel “natural”, no way of life is “natural” to humanity • As humans we learn about culture over our lifetimes • “People need to eat, but culture teaches us what, when, and how” • Sometimes we learn this through formal paths, but we also learn culture through informal ways. Explicitly – “Say thank you” or unconsciously, we internalize the culture Cultural Universals • Customs and practices found in every culture, to varying degrees, worldwide. • The only difference is that each culture expresses each custom or practice quite differently • George Murdock (Cultural Anthropologist) made a list of 67 (1945) –see next slide The Elements of Culture • Though cultures vary greatly, they have common elements o Symbols o Language o Values o Norms • Sharing any or all of these is a sign of cultural unity – or a shared reality Symbols • Symbols o Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture o Gestures, signs, objects, signals, and words • Red = Stop • Thumbs up = Good job • Scarlet Letter “A” = Adultery, Sin • American flag = United States, patriotism, freedom, etc… Thumbs up vs up yours Okay symbol vs. Japan=money and Greece = insulting anal expression Arbitrary Entering an unfamiliar culture reminds us of the power of symbols • Culture Shock • Personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life • Culture shock is really the inability to “read” meaning in unfamiliar surroundings • Perhaps these symbols are harder to read since they • originate outside of the U.S. Ankh- Egyptian “life”; Celtic (Irish) Claddagh – token of love, friendship & Loyalty, Anchor means sailor traversed the Atlantic ocean, “hamsa” used by muslims and Jews as a defense against the evil eye; Greek flag – greek orthodoxy, stripes represent freedom; flag of the soviet union/communist flag – hammer (working class) and sickle (agricultural workers) Language • A system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another • “Heart of the symbolic system” • Key to Cultural Transmission o The process by which one generation passes culture to the next Values and Beliefs • Values o Culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful and that serve as broad guidelines for social living • Hard work &Achievement • Progress • Equality • Freedom • Truthfulness • Material comfort Norms • Norms : Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members o Mores (“more-ayz”) or taboos • Norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance • Usually tied to deep-seated values o Folkways • Norms for routine or casual interaction Rules for conduct, anything against this is seen as negative or deviant. • People respond to each other with sanctions o Rewards or punishments that encourage conformity to cultural norms o Violation of norms can lead to punishment o Conforming to cultural norms can lead to rewards Deviation from the norm, usually brings strong reactions. Threatens the social fabric. Ethnocentrism • Ethnocentrism o The practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture o “Cultural Imperialism” o Often takes the form of “my way is better” Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism • Cultural Relativism o The practice of judging a culture by its own standards o Requires openness to unfamiliar values and norms o Means that you attempt to understand another culture Eating insects is common in many countries, e.g. Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Mexico, China, Brazil, Ghana, Thailand Ever Changing Culture • Innovation comes in many ways… o Discoveries – Learning about something that’s been there o Inventions – Creating a new item o Diffusion – When cultures spreads beyond the borders of its original culture as a result of Globalization