Culture and Civilization

UCAM

UNIT 1. Understanding culture. Culture its birth and

evolution.

1.1.

SOME DEFINITIONS GETTING THE FEELING FOR IT.

Culture: an understanding and definition of the term.

Warm up activity:
What does culture mean for you? Why? You can give an answer by writing a list, a
semantic map, clustering
Come together into pairs or small groups of 3-4 and compare your writings. What do
you agree about? What do you disagree about? Why do you think that you disagree
about these ideas?

Activity 1: To enlarge our understanding of culture

In pairs discuss the meaning of only one of the following:
Turkish culture, youth culture, European culture, American culture, African
culture, Italian culture, primitive culture Arab culture, Thai culture, Consumer
culture, internet culture, punk culture, urban culture, rural culture, island
culture, food culture, indie culture, feminist culture.
Each pair makes a list of at least 5 things, ideas, words that they associate with their
category. Pairs then split, and two large groups are formed; these people then present
their culture and its associations to their larger group. The other members must add at
least 3 more ideas/words to the list.
How, now, has your understanding of culture changed, compared to when you first
thought of it? What does culture include that you didnt think of before? Why?

In reality, cultural studies is a little bit like that. Lets see. If we start at the beginning
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http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cu
lture

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/culture

culture [kuhl-cher] noun, verb,

cultured, culturing.

NOUN

noun
1. the quality in a person or society that
arises from a concern for what is regarded
as excellent in arts, letters, manners,
scholarly pursuits, etc.
2. that which is excellent in the arts,
manners, etc.
3. a particular form or stage of
civilization, as that of a certain nation or
period: Greek culture.
4. development or improvement of the
mind by education or training.
5. the behaviors and beliefs characteristic
of a particular social, ethnic, or age
group: the youth culture; the drug
culture.

culture - definition
/klt(r)/

singular culture
plural

1[UNCOUNTABLE] activities involving music, literature, and other arts

cultures

Related dictionary

If you're looking for culture, then Paris is the place for you.

definitions

Britain's literary culture

2 [COUNTABLE/UNCOUNTABLE] a set of ideas, beliefs, and ways of behaving of a particular
organization or group of people

culture VERB
culture shock NOUN

The two firms have very different corporate cultures.

youth culture NOUN

Some organizations encourage a culture of secrecy.

canteen culture NOUN

[COUNTABLE] a society that has its own set of ideas, beliefs, and ways of behaving

culture medium NOUN

people from different cultures

culture vulture NOUN

ancient cultures
[COUNTABLE/UNCOUNTABLE] a set of ideas, beliefs, and ways of behaving of a particular
society

popular culture NOUN

enterprise culture
NOUN

societies that share the same language and culture

compensation culture

exposure to Western culture through films and music

See also canteen culture, youth culture
3 [COUNTABLE] BIOLOGY a group of bacteria or other cells that have been grown in a scientific
experiment

NOUN

a collection of animal cell cultures

a. [UNCOUNTABLE] BIOLOGY the process by which a group of bacteria or other cells is
grown in a scientific experiment
tissue culture
4 [UNCOUNTABLE] in agriculture, the process of growing crops or breeding animals
the culture of genetically modified crops
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Learning objectives:
To understand the birth of culture within a specific socio-historical moment, its
role in society and its evolution.
To understand the meaning of culture and what cultural studies do nowadays,
from the perspective of cultural studies as developed in the UK.
To develop critical thinking and to express personal opinions.
Rip it up1
http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=tpeLSMKNFO4
Have you seen this film?
What happens here?

The teacher believes poetry cannot be measured according to a metric system, he

believes poetry must be felt; we should judge it according to what it makes us feel.
Well, what I want to do in this unit is to do something similar with your idea of culture,
if you have a traditional idea of culture that is.
CULTURE IN A FEW WORDS:
The idea of Culture appeared in the 19th century as a reaction towards to socio-historiceconomic situation in Britain. The industrialization of society brought about many
positive changes: the spread of the written word and with it more people became
literate, the improvement of transport, economic boom, etc. However, the working
classes saw their life impoverish, they died soon and had no time for anything other
than working.
Arnold reacted to this situation and saw Culture as a means by which to change
peoples life, to help them improve, to be able to judge better... Although he didnt
necessarily think it was the role of the higher classes to maintain culture alive.
The Leavises followed Arnolds idea and wrote the guides on how to judge what a good
example of culture is, this way people could learn to discriminate what to read and
what not to read. T.S. Eliot also believed in the role of the elite classes as the ones in
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Arrncalo.

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charge of preserving culture. Popular or mass culture was seen as a force which
nullified people and made them passive consumers of whatever they were fed. Therefore
the role of high culture was to resist this overwhelming force.
The new generations of critics understood culture as a whole way of life, everything is a
possible object of study. For them popular culture appears as a reaction to a social
situation in which certain cultures appear as a rebellion against the dominant culture.
The material that follows is the presentation and contextualization of this evolution.
The meaning of the term culture has changed over time, especially in the period of the
transition from traditional social formations to modernity.
The first and earliest meaning of culture can be found in writing in the fifteenth
century when the word was used to refer to the tending of crops (cultivation) or looking
after animals. This meaning is retained in modern English in words such as agriculture
and horticulture.
By the eighteenth century, culture had acquired distinct class overtones. Only the
wealthy classes of Europe could aspire to such a high level of refinement. The modern
meaning of culture, which associates it with the arts, is also closely related to this
definition
Lets start at the beginning.
1.2.

WRESTLING AGAINST MASS CULTURE, OR CULTURE WITH A

CAPITAL C.
The industrial revolution took place in the 19th century. Which effects did the industrial
revolution have on society? think mainly about the workers...
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:
The towns offered a better chance of work and higher wages than the
countryside, where many families were trapped in dire poverty and
seasonal employment. On the other hand, the countryside was
healthier. A baby born in a large town with a population of more than
100,000 in the 1820s might expect to live to 35 - in the 1830s, life
expectancy was down to a miserable 29. In 1851, a boy born in inner
Liverpool had a life expectancy of only 26 years, compared with a boy
born in the small market town of Okehampton, who could expect to
live to 57.
In 1854, the commissioners appointed to enquire into the cholera
outbreak in Newcastle-upon-Tyne found that about 50 per cent of
families had only a single room. Most houses did not have an
independent water supply or privy, and what was shared was often
the responsibility of no one. The low life-expectancy of babies born
into such conditions is easily explained.

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Now we have a setting and an idea of what was going on in society.

1.2.1. Matthew Arnold

(1822-1888) British poet and cultural critic.
-

Culture is a study of perfection. It moves by the force [] of the moral and

social passion for doing good (Arnold in Walton 2008:15)
So. What does this mean? Culture has an important ethical purpose and thus
it is meant to bring about positive change.
Culture selects the best of everything and helps in its preservation. It helps us to
be able to judge better, to discover ourselves through observing, reading and
thinking. It helps us to better ourselves by bringing us closer to perfection.

Which effects do you think it had on this argument? The industrial revolution
dehumanized people and thats why Arnold was so concerned about the nurturing of the
soul/intellect. He believed this was very much needed in a society obsessed with
materialism, unrestricted competition, making a lot of money, a time with huge dissent
in religion and politics. Culture is needed in order to educate people, not only the upper
classes but the working classes too.
Arnold didnt believe it was in the hand of the upper classes to bring about culture, for
him this was classless and it could only come from a disinterested search and pursuit of
knowledge. This was a necessary condition to make the best that has been thought and
known in the world current everywhere (Arnold in Walton 2008:20)

1.2.2. The Leavises.

We are in Cambridge in the 1930s now and our protagonists are the Leavisites: F.R. and
Queenie Leavis.
They saw culture as divided into two main categories. On the one hand there were the
intellectual and creative works, or what we might call high literary culture, and on
the other, the pursuits and habits of what they referred to as the ordinary or common
people (Walton 2008: 31) the latter is also subdivided within two further categories:
those which are the products of organic folk communities and the ones which were the
unfortunate consequence of urban, mass industrial society these were considered to be
the most undesirable ones. (Walton 2008: 32)
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The Leavises portrayed a very specific image of British history, talking about
Shakespeares times as better, more pure and fuller, where the Industrial Revolution had
not yet spoiled and shattered the unity of a healthy organic, common culture.

ACTIVITY 1. The Globe Theatre and Elizabethan

times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgnInT4x8kA
&feature=related

PRE-LISTENING ACTIVITY:

Link the expressions with their definition:

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

To frown upon
To bait
Bawdy
Outlawed
In the clink
Slang

g)
h)
i)
j)
k)

Rowdy
To make a profit
Cobbled street
Brewery
Backstage

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

A company that makes beer.

To look disapprovingly upon.
Road covered with round stones.
Noisy and causing trouble.
To put food in a trap to attract animals/ to deliberately try to make someone angry.
Something that is illegal.
To be in prison.
When you earn money from selling something.
Referring to sex in a humorous way.
Words or expressions that are very informal and are not considered suitable for
more formal situations.
11. The area behind the stage in a theatre, including the rooms where the actors get
dressed.
AFTER LISTENING.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

What happened to the Globe in 1611?

What did the Puritans do?
What happened in the late twentieth century?
What happened in 1666?
Why is the Globe so special in London nowadays?
What are the different parts of the globe called?

7. Why did the bishop make a profit of the Winchester palace in Southwark?

Lets go back to the Leavises.

LEAVISES. Question 1. After having watched this video, what kind of society do
they portray? In your opinion, is it a high society which looks better than
industrial times, as the Leavises argued? Bear in mind that Elizabeth ruled from 1558
to 1603.

The Leavisite approach to culture:

Literary high or
minority culture

Vs.

The pursuits and habits of the

ordinary/common people.

POSITIVE
Organic, vital,
common folk
culture

NEGATIVE
Products of
urban mass,
industrial
society.

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LEAVISES. Question 2. Considering Arnolds and the Leavises point of view on

culture, how do you think it relates to social class? What kind of implications do
you think it entails?
LEAVISES. Question 3. How would the following character Vicky Pollard fit
into this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxif
myYcOws&list=LP_xtfJcRSnP8&index
=1&feature=plcp
This is inspired in a real TV programme
called The Trisha Show, it is a chat
show where people go and talk about
their personal life. Can you think of an
equivalent in Spanish?

LEAVISES. Question 4. Which impression do you get after watching this video?
Do you recognise her as part of your society?
LEAVISES. Question 5. Which social class do you indentify her in?
LEAVISES. Question 6. How do you feel about her? Do you feel sorry for her or
do you just laugh at her? Reflect on your answer and on the implications of your
feelings
According to the Leavises, in order to avoid barbarism from taking over society, it was
necessary:
1st To learn how to discriminate which cultural objects are worthy of study. Who
do you think, would according to the Leavises be the right people to do so?
Yes, you are correct, the educated few.
2nd For this to happen, we need to establish a cannon, in order to be able to
discern the good from the bad. It is necessary to train peoples critical awareness. Which
they obviously did in The Great Tradition (1948), Culture and Environment (1933)2 and
Revaluation (1936)

The Leavises also talk about the danger of the Americanization of society. LEAVISES.
Question 7. What do you think about it? Do you see it as a threat or as something
positive?
2

This book was written by F.R. Leavis and Denys Thomson.

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This defence of high society against the barbaric forces of industrialization carries with
it the idea of RESISTANCE.
Cultured minorities
They cultivate minds through high arts
and provide ways of discriminating
between great and inferior forms of
culture.
They are involved in consciousnessraising projects.
They provide training to counterbalance
the worst effects of industrial machine
culture and set up resistance against the
devaluation of emotions and the quality of
life.

The masses
Enjoy mass culture in a passive or
uncritical way with no sense of taste.

They engage in unthinking consumption.

They are lost in the cheap sentimental
appeals of popular novels, press, TV and
films, etc. and are subjected to the
dehumanizing forces of industry and
commerce.
(Walton 2008: 37)

Thomson and Leavis saw mass culture as a means by which to manipulate. LEAVISES.
Question 8. What do you think? Do you agree? Can you give examples of real life
where you think this happens?
Therefore the study of culture requires interpretation, but with a specific end, to make
people aware of the invisible forces around them in order to improve society.

1.2.3. T. S. ELIOT.

He continued with the idea of cultured elites whose main role was to uphold
civilization.
He emphasized the importance and relation of culture as a way of life. This
culture can be visible in the social system, the arts, customs, habits and religion.
He asserted that cultures affect each other.

(For further information on this stance also see Theodor Adorno and the Frankfurt
School)

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THE ORIGINS OF CULTURE. Question 9. After considering Arnolds, the

Leavises and T.S. Eliots views on culture, how can we explain and understand
culture as inexorably related to power? (see scanned material pg 44)

1.3.

The new generation.

1.3.1. Richard Hoggart.

Richard Hoggart was the founding director of the Birmingham Centre
for Contemporary Cultural Studies (1964). His most renowned book is
The Uses of Literacy (1957)
Main contributions:

He offered close readings of popular culture without being negative, he didnt

necessarily condemn them. He came from the working classes.
He showed how different aspects of life were interconnected, in a way that pubs,
an interest in sports and magazines could be understood as contributing to a way
of life, and were thus worthy of study.

1.3.2. Raymond Williams.

He could be said to be the hero of contemporary cultural critics. He
stressed the idea of culture as a whole way of life.

Main works:

10

Culture and Society (1958). He understands culture as our reaction towards

changes around us, in our everyday life. RAYMOND WILLIAMS. Question
10. So, what implications does this have as far as the study of culture is
concerned?

The Long Revolution (1961). Culture is not a fixed category; it changes

according to the socio-historical context, given that peoples reactions to the
moment theyre living change too. For him, political institutions and
conventions, whether they are in the field of artistic institutions or mass
entertainment, are of the same order. Thus, when studying a societys culture we
need to look at every single aspect of life. Mass produced popular newspapers
are not something to be dismissed as impoverishing, but they are seen as the
product of complex cultural processes.
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Culture is...

a particular way of life, which expresses certain meanings and values not only
in art and learning but also in institutions and ordinary behaviour. The analysis
of culture, from such a definition, is the clarification of the meaning and values
implicit in a particular way of life, a particular culture... the characteristic forms
through which members of the society communicate (Williams 2001:57)
John Storey describes how for Williams culture is a realised signifying system Storey
(2010: 4). What do you think he means? For example, look at this:

Storey explains that culture is a system by which meanings are created and shared.
While a Japanese person may be paying you complements, he/she actually means the
opposite. If you were to be a little honest... you would most definitely offend them.

This is a further example of how different cultures create meaning.

Raymond Williams explains that culture is ordinary What do you think he means by
this?

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What he means is that culture is not specific to a social group, but it is in fact
everyones. Meaning-making is not something that belongs to a privileged few but to
everybody. However, we are not all involved in the process of making meaning to the
same degree, and that is when Gramscis theory will come into play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b
S1ePEZZCDY

RAYMOND WILLIAMS. Question 11. According to Williams definition and

understanding of culture, we can now analyse this video without anybody sniggering at
us. So, how could you use this in you English lesson? Which aspects of English
culture would you explore here? Which language aspects would you relate this
video to?

So far we have spoken about society and changes in society.... there is something very
important in society which has a very important role in our life and we have not
discussed yet, in fact it has to do with the medium I have created this material with, and
I am using to present this to you... Yes, thats right, new technologies.
New Technologies and their effect in our society and on culture.
What do you think?
Raymond Williams: The medium by which culture is transmitted is important, but it
does not supersede the object, that is, technologies have undeniably changed the way we
communicate but they do not modify what we say. For example, text messages on the
mobile phone modified the way we started to write, twitter has helped us economise
words... technologies have changed the way we may communicate, perhaps even the
amount of exchanges we have with others, but they have not changed our reactions to
the world around us.
However....
McLuhan claims that Print technology created the public and that in turn electric
technology created the mass (McLuhan in Walton 2008:129) RAYMOND

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WILLIAMS. Question 12. What do you think about this? Who do you agree or
disagree with? Justify your answer.
Television has been around for a long time. RAYMOND WILLIAMS. Question 13.
How do you think the internet has changed the way television programmes are
produced? Which factors do you think have had an influence on this?

1.3.3. Stuart Hall.

He became the director of the Centre of Contemporary Cultural
Studies at Birmingham University in 1969.
The Popular Arts (1964). Hall wrote this book in collaboration
with Paddy Whannel. Popular culture is to be studied with as much
enthusiasm and rigour as samples of high culture. It is necessary to
look at cultural products from a critical standpoint. This will not be a
judgemental criticism in which we describe something as negative of
useless. We will choose a topic which is of our concern and analyse every single
aspect of it, i.e.: when was it created? Which is the historical and social moment
where it appeared? What was it created for? (as in: is it a rebellion against
something, or a conformist view of society?)

Finally another meaning of the word culture has emerged, which has had a considerable
impact on all the social sciences. It differs in emphasis from the other definitions,
however, by concentrating more on the symbolic dimension, and on what culture does
rather than on what culture is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxif
myYcOws&list=LP_xtfJcRSnP8&index
=1&feature=plcp
Lets have another look at Vicky
Pollard... now, from a cultural studies
stance...
STUART HALL. Question 14. Which
implications would you identify in this
video now? How would you deal with
this video in your classroom if you were to use it?

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1.4. Antonio Gramsci and the role of hegemony within cultural studies. Only
scratching the surface
Before going on any further it is important to clarify the term hegemony. What is
hegemony?
According to The Free Dicitonary hegemony is defined
as the dominance or leadership of one social group or
nation over others

You may wonder what this has to do with culture. Well, it has a lot to do with it. Do you
remember what we said in relation to Raymond Williams and the understanding of
culture as a realised signifying system? If you remember, we said that although every
single one of us is involved in the processes of the creation and sharing of meaning we
said that not all of us play the same role. According to Gramsci, the making of meaning,
like any other social activity, is inexorably involved with relations of power.
Specific forms of popular culture appear at specific moments in time and within a
specific social situation. Certain groups have appeared as a rebellion against the
dominant culture at the time... as a revolution. However, sometimes this rebellion has
become part of the dominant culture after a while. Can you think of an example?

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For example Reggae appeared as a rebellious movement against the dominant culture but... do
you think that nowadays it has the same protest objective as it did before? Do you listen to
Reggae music?

Popular or mass culture was described by the Leavises as something negative that numbed its
consumers, whereas nowadays popular culture is described as that which is widely favoured or
well liked by many people (Storey, 1993:7)
Now have a look at the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbr7
SWWgenU

But hold on, before you watch this video

there is some vocabulary we need to
make sure we understand.

Try to link these words with their meanings; you will need to understand them in order to better
understand this video.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

1.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
15

Review
This works!
Clunky
Blend
Faux

f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

Vaudeville
Revue
Tap-dance
Drill
Swinging

k.
l.
m.
n.
o.

Reviled
Sweetheart
To label
To get rid of something
Speak out

A type of popular entertainment of the late 19th and early 20th century, a kind of light
entertainment, where there could be a mixture of different types of art.
To state your opinion firmly and publicly about something.
To use a word or a phrase to describe someone or something.
A method of military training that involves practising things such as marching or holding
weapons.
Hated and criticized very much.
Large, solid, and heavy in a way that is not attractive.
Used for talking to someone who you love.
It functions properly.
Artificial.
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10
11
12
13
14
15

A combination of different tastes, styles, qualities etc.

The process of studying or examining a situation, policy, or idea in order to decide
whether it is suitable or satisfactory.
A type of performance with songs, dances and humour.
A type of dancing in which you move your feet very quickly and make sounds with the
special shoes you wear.
Exciting and fashionable.
To throw away, give away or make something disappear.

This video was put up on the web in 2008, so it is not that far away in time. As you can see it is
an American creation. Actually, the fact that it is American is more important than you may
think. In the USA the terms high and low culture are still being used, whereas in the UK
experts in the field of cultural studies talk about dominant and popular culture.

In this course we will be looking at both dominant and popular culture, but always from the
perspective of cultural studies as they have developed in the UK.

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Further reading: Walton, D (2008) How to Dominate the Masses without Resorting to the
Inquisition: Antonio Gramsci and Hegemony Theory in Introducing Cultural Studies. Learning
through practice. London: Sage.

Bibliography:
Storey, J. (1993) An Introductory Guide to Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. Hemel
Hempstead: Harvester Weatsheaf.
____. (2010) Culture and Power in Cultural studies. The politics if Signification. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press.
Walton, D. (2008) Introducing Cultural Studies. Learning through practice. London: Sage.
Williams, R. (2001) The Long Revolution. Hertfordshire: Encore Editions.
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/

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