Download The Concept of Culture

Chapter 2
The Concept of Culture
Learning Objectives
After reading and studying Chapter 2, your students should be able to:
1.
Give a clear definition of the anthropological concept of culture and recognize what is included in
this concept.
2.
Explain the significance of the shared nature of culture.
3.
Define culture shock and explain when it is likely to be experienced.
4.
Understand how the three basic components of culture are interrelated
5.
Explain the importance of learning for culture acquisition.
6.
Give several examples of how humans do things because of what they have learned from their
culture.
7.
Understand the symbolic nature of culture.
Be able to distinguish between a culture and a subculture.
8.
Explain how culture can affect our physical bodies and biological processes.
9.
Understand that cultures are constantly changing and give examples of cultural innovation and
diffusion.
10.
Understand why anthropologists are interested in the similarities as well as the differences among
human cultures.
11.
Understand what cultural universals are and be able to give several examples of such universals.
12.
Describe how, for all human societies, culture is an important form of adaptation to environment.
13.
Explain what it means to say culture is integrated and what that implies about the process of
culture change.
14.
Understand the difference between ideal and real behavior.
15.
Be able to distinguish between the concepts of culture and race.
16.
Be able to differentiate between the concepts of culture and civilization.
17.
Understand how certain biological or social disorders can have their roots in a specific culture.
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CHAPTER 2 // THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE
Chapter Outline
I.
II.
III
IV.
V
VI.
VII.
THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE
A.
Culture is most precisely and thoroughly defined by the discipline of anthropology
CULTURE DEFINED
A.
Culture is everything that people have, think, and do as members of a society
B.
Components of culture
1.
All cultures are comprised of material objects; ideas, values and attitudes; and
patterned ways of behaving
CULTURE IS SHARED
A.
Behavior and thought in a society are predictable because of shared culture
B.
There is always some deviation from cultural norms
1.
Due to biological reasons
2.
Due to personal history
3.
Due to differentiation based on class or ethnicity
4.
Because societal rules are never adhered to strictly
C.
Subculture - subsets of the wider mainstream that retain a certain level of cultural
uniqueness that sets them apart
D.
Pluralistic Societies - composed of a number of subcultural groups
CULTURE IS LEARNED
A.
Culture is acquired through the process of interacting with one’s cultural environment
B.
Enculturation is the process of acquiring culture
C.
Learning Versus Instincts
1. Humans are born with relatively little predetermined behavior
2. Culture is not transmitted genetically
Humans must learn most of their coping skills from others in their culture
D.
Learning Different Content
1.
Although there is a range of variation in cultural behavior throughout the world,
all people acquire their culture by the same process
2.
People in different cultures learn different culture content
3.
People learn (with relatively equal efficiency) what they need to know in order to
best adapt to their environments
4.
No other animal has greater capacity for learning than humans
5.
Because human behavior is learned, it can be changed
6.
Formal etiquette training is becoming common in the U.S.
CULTURE IS TAKEN FOR GRANTED
CULTURE INFLUENCES BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES
A.
As animals, we have biological needs, but it is culture that determines how we satisfy
those needs
1.
How, when, and where we satisfy needs is determined by culture
2.
Ideas, values, and norms can have a physical effect on the body
3.
Even our body stature is related to our cultural ideas
4.
Extreme Makeovers
CULTURE CHANGES
A.
Despite the wide variation in the speed by which cultures change, one thing is certain: No
cultures remain completely static year after year
B.
The Processes of Change
1.
Internal changes, innovations
a.
Innovations can occur independently in different times and places
b.
Not all innovations lead to a change in the culture
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c.
VIII.
IX.
X.
Innovations depend upon the recombination of already existing elements
in a culture
d.
Internal changes possible in any given culture are usually limited to what
already exists in a culture
e.
Innovations occur more frequently in technologically complex societies
than in less developed ones
2.
External changes, cultural diffusion
a.
Cultural elements commonly spread from one culture to another
b.
Cultural diffusion is responsible for the greatest amount of change that
occurs in a society
3.
Causes of Cultural Change
a.
No agreement on primary causes of cultural change
b.
Some argue it is technology and economies
c.
Others argue the prime mover is ideology
d.
Still others suggest that cultures change in response to changes in the
physical and social environment.
CULTURAL UNIVERSALS
A.
Anthropology has been more effective at documenting cultural differences than
similarities
B.
Result, in part, of wanting to move away from the premature generalizing about “human
nature” prevalent at the end of the 1800s
C.
Each culture has developed its own set of solutions to the universal human problems
facing all societies
D.
The significant number of cultural differences illustrates how flexible and adaptable
humans are
E.
Basic Needs
1.
Physiological needs must be met
2.
Despite many differences in details, all cultures share a number of common
features related to meeting the basic physiological needs of members of society
including:
a.
economic system
b.
system of marriage and family
c.
educational system
d.
social control system
e.
system of supernatural beliefs (religion, witchcraft, magic, sorcery)
f.
system of communication (verbal, nonverbal)
CULTURE IS ADAPTIVE OR MALADAPTIVE
A.
Humans rely more heavily upon cultural than biological adaptations
1.
It is possible for some features of a culture to be maladaptive or dysfunctional
2.
Features adaptive in some cultures are maladaptive or neutral in others
3.
The adaptability of a cultural item varies over time within any culture
CULTURES ARE GENERALLY INTEGRATED
A.
Cultural components are interconnected with one another
1.
The organic analogy means that culture is systemic in a way similar to a living
body made up of a number of systems that function together to maintain life
2.
A cultural anthropologist’s task is to describe the various parts of a culture, show
how they function, and how they are interconnected
3.
Cultures are logical and coherent systems
4.
Because the parts of a culture are interrelated, a change in one part influences
other parts
5.
Not all parts of a culture are interrelated
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CHAPTER 2 // THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE
XI.
XII.
“PRIMITIVE” CULTURES
A.
Anthropologists are interested in the entire range of human societies
1.
“Primitive” is a term no longer used in cultural anthropology because of its
connotation of inferiority
B.
“Small-scale” describes a society:
1.
Relatively small population
2.
Technologically simple
3.
Usually pre-literate
4.
Little labor specialization
5.
Unstratified
CULTURE AND THE INDIVIDUAL
A.
Lives of individuals are less complicated because they have learned their culture and
know, within broad limits, what to expect from one another
1.
Lives of individuals are constrained or influenced by their culture
2.
Deviance from the cultural norms is found in all societies
3.
All people have the option of doing things different from what is culturally
expected
4.
Cultural anthropologists distinguish between ideal behavior (what people are
expected to do) and real behavior (what people actually do)
Key Terms
These are the anthropological terms introduced in Chapter 2. You may want to ask your students to write
definitions of one or more of these terms during class to see how well they understood the reading. Even
if you choose not to grade the assignment, the students will take it more seriously if you collect their
answers.
adaptive nature of culture
civilization
cultural diffusion
cultural universals
culture shock
enculturation
innovations
monochronic culture
organic analogy
pluralistic society
polychronic culture
small-scale society
subculture
symbol
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Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Some anthropologists define culture as “learned and shared ways of thinking.” How would using
this definition, rather than Ferraro’s, change how you would study people’s behavior and their
material culture?
2.
What does it mean to say that “culture is shared” for a society like the United States with its
regional differences, or the former Yugoslavia with its ethnic conflict?
3.
When does a culture begin to influence the learning process? At birth? Before birth? Discuss
whether a culture has more influence on a child’s learning process through the influence of his or
her parents or peers.
4.
Does cultural learning have greater or less influence on our biological processes as societies
become more complex technologically?
5.
In what parts of our culture does change occur most rapidly, most slowly? Do ideas about food
and clothing change rapidly or slowly?
6.
Describe some extreme environments where people live and tell how culture has made human
habitation possible there.
7.
What are some of the drawbacks of the organic analogy? How is culture a different type of
system from a living body?
8.
How would the use of the term “primitive” be ethnocentric?
Class Activities
1.
Have small groups of students work together to develop a list describing the culture of the United
States to someone in another country. Then ask questions such as: What is typical American
food? (religion?, politics?, education?). This will indicate whether students understand the part
culture plays in determining their responses.
2.
Ask students to make a list of three aspects of American culture that are innovations unique to
this society, and three aspects that are the result of diffusion from another culture. How many
students cite examples of technology? How many cite ideology (knowledge)? Do disagreements
develop over what is an innovation and what is imported?
Internet Exercises
1.
The concept of culture has been defined in a number of different ways over the years.
Washington State University has a web site devoted to exploring some of the ways by which
scholars have defined the concept. Using one of the major search engines, search the web for a
site called “What is culture?” You may do a subject search using the name of the site or you can
use the URL:
http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/topics/culture/culture-index.html
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CHAPTER 2 // THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE
a.
Once there, click on “a baseline definition of culture.” According to the authors what is
the “essential feature” of culture?
b.
Read over the brief definitions of culture presented by Matthew Arnold, Raymond
Williams, and Clifford Geertz. In a single paragraph, how do these three definitions differ
from each other?
2. Have students go to web sites of universities in other countries and gather information that allows
them to discuss the culture/s of American universities and contrast them with foreign universities.
Doing a preliminary search and providing a few sites in advance may help the students’ search.
3. Have students conduct a search of website which offer etiquette training for children and
teenagers. What topics are featured in the courses?
Infotrac Exercises
1.
Students will need to access InfoTrac at http://infotrac.thomsonlearning.com/index.html to
answer the following questions. Once logged on, type “Culture” in the Search field. Next click
on “Periodicals.” Once the results appear, use the Limit Search function to find the article “Two
or Three Things That I Know About Culture.” Read the selection and answer the following:
a. How does British anthropology differ from American anthropology?
b. Based on this overview of different theoretical perspectives, can there be an agreed upon
definition of culture?
Suggested Films
The Nature of Culture, in the Faces of Culture series, (PSU), 30 min. - Shows that human beings are
dependent upon cultural customs and pattern not only for survival but for order and tranquility.
The Hutterites. (PSU), 28 min. - Anabaptist religious communitarian society in Alberta is portrayed.
Covering the history of sect, resistance of outside influences, and communal ideology, this film is an
excellent example of a subculture within a larger, more complex society.
Stoney Knows How. Ethnoscope, P.O. Box 92353, Rochester, N.Y. 14692. Tel: 716-442-5274. 29 min. This video interviews and watches Stoney St. Clair, disabled by arthritis since the age of four, as he goes
about his art of tattooing.
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