Concept of Culture

Review
y Anthropology = the systematic study of humankind

everywhere to understand uniqueness and diversity

y 5 Subfields y CA = Focus on the customs and beliefs of a

human group, through participant observations

From Gary Weaver in Culture, Communication and Conflict: Readings in Intercultural Relations

Viewing Culture as Successive Levels of Understanding

Diagram by Lloyd Kwast

y What are the key elements of culture? y What makes up culture? y How do cultures differ? y How are they the same? y Define culture

Culture is what makes you a stranger when you are away from home Learned patterns of behaviour What makes us us and them them Complex, integrated coping mechanism

The Pa Dong Village of Nai Soi, Thailand

Definitions
y There are over 160 different definitions of

culture

Tylor: that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society popular entertainment, from everyday behavior to the development of sophisticated technology. It contains the plans, rules, techniques, design, and policies for living

All aspects of human activity, from the fine arts to

More Definitions
Shared way of life that includes values, beliefs, and

norms transmitted within a particular society from generation to generation through symbolic learning and language knowledge that is shared by a society

Culture is the historical accumulation of symbolic Culture is based on shared meanings that are beyond

the mind of any individual; culture is also within the mind of individuals

Tattooing comb, The plate of the comb is made of bone and turtle shell (Samoan Islands, 19th century)

Operational Definition
y The ideals, values, and beliefs members of a

society share to interpret experience and generate behaviour and that are reflected by that behaviour

Portrait of a Maori chief, New Zealand, 19th century

Tattooed chief at Taiohae, Nukuhiva drawing, 19th century

Culture is LEARNED
y Enculturation = process by which a society's

culture is transmitted from one generation to another y Learn correct value systems and appropriate modes of behavior y Social learning (observation) parents, teachers, friends, TV y Situational learning (trial-and-error/ conscious and unconscious) y Direct instruction y E.g. contact vs. no contact

Culture is SHARED
y People from one culture share the same

meanings for symbols

y There can be variability
y Age (may determine what you can/can t do) y Gender (e.g. women as imams) y Subcultures (e.g. Amish)

A woman with pierced ears and stretched lobes, Borneo, 1988

Culture is SYMBOLIC
y The human ability to use symbols is the basis of

culture
y Symbol = something verbal or nonverbal within a culture that comes to stand for something else (e.g., a flag, wedding rings, crucifix) y Language is most important symbol y primary means by which culture is transmitted from one generation to another

Culture is INTEGRATED
y All aspects function as an inter-related whole y If one part changes it tends to affect another part
y E.g.: Women in work-force

Woman with face painting Papua, New Guinea, 1982 Decorated for an annual festival

Culture is ADAPTIVE
y Ever-changing, non-static y Different from what they were years ago y E.g. Human relation to the sun y Change can come from outside (= domination of other culture) or inside (economic changes) y Adaptation has resulted in exploitation of marginal environments; use of weaponry; pollution y Not all cultural behaviors are adaptive

Additionally,
y SUBCULTURES = smaller groups with distinct pattern of

learned and shared behavior and thinking found within larger cultures
y These groups generally strive to preserve

their cultural identity within the larger group

y Diversity through race, ethnicity, religion,

gender
Ndebele woman, S. Africa

Finally,
y Ideal Culture
y Normative descriptions of a culture given by it s

natives y i.e. what people say they do

y Real Culture
y Actual behavior as observed by anthropologists y i.e. what people actually do

Cultural Universality
y = Features that are found in every culture y Biological universals = e.g. long period of infant

dependency, year-round sexuality, complex brain that enables us to use symbols, languages, and tools
y Psychological universals = common ways in which humans

think, feel, and process information

y Social universals = incest taboos, life in groups, families,

food sharing

70 Cultural Universals
age-grading athletic sports bodily adornment calendar cleanliness training community organization cooking co-operative labor cosmology courtship dancing decorative art divination division of labor dream interpretation education eschatology ethics ethno-botany etiquette faith healing family feasting fire-making folklore food taboos funeral rites games gestures gift-giving government greetings hair styles hospitality

by George Murdoch
housing hygiene incest taboos inheritance rules joking kin groups kinship nomenclature language law luck / superstitions magic marriage mealtimes medicine obstetrics penal sanctions personal names population policy postnatal care pregnancy usages property rights propitiation of supernatural beings puberty customs religious ritual residence rules sexual restrictions soul concepts status differentiation surgery tool-making trade visiting weather control weaving

NINE CULTURAL UNIVERSALS

1. Place and Time 2. Family Life 3. Economics 4. Food, clothing, shelter and transportation 5. Communication 6. Government 7. Arts and Recreation 8. Education 9. Quest for the Supernatural

Cultural Generality
y Features that are common to several, but not all,

human groups
y E.g. nuclear family since it is present in most, but not

all, societies
y Other examples?

Cultural Particularity
y Features that are unique to certain cultural traditions y That these particulars may be of fundamental

importance to the population is indicative of the need to study the sources of cultural diversity
E.g. FGM, finger mutilation,

foot binding

Gestures?
y A-ok? y Presenting food/gift with right hand y Shaking hands y Eating with hands y Thumbs up y Showing someone the finger y Sticking tongue out y Palm out y Eye contact y Kissing shoulder y Men kissing men on the cheek (greeting)

Gestures - Examples
y In Asian culture: y both hands used to show appreciation of a gift/object y Don t place hand on the head - the crown of the head is the residence of the soul in Buddhism
y Don t slap on the back - considered aggressive and

invasive y In Hmong culture (a mountain group from Laos), if a woman taps the top of a man's foot with her foot, she is indicating that she is available for sex

Diffusion
y Spread of culture traits through borrowing from one

culture to another
y Has been a source of culture change throughout

human history
y Direct or indirect y Forced or unforced

Acculturation
y Exchange of features that results when groups come

into continuous firsthand contact

y May occur in any or all groups engaged in such

contact