ANTH 205 Lecture 3
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Culture
We talked about culture on Wednesday, but we never defined what it is.
There are literally hundreds of definitions
Colloquial: "The trained and defined state of knowledge, manners, and tastes"- "Look at how 'cultured' he is"
- implies that culture is something someone may not have, which is FALSE
- "That complex whole which include knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits aquired by man as a member of society." (cannot be without culture; contrary to prof's beliefs, this is not sexist)
- "The software of the mind" (Geert Hofstede)
- "those things that are learned, shared, and transmitted over time.
Not unique to humans
Things anthropologists agree about culture:
- Learned from others when growing up in society (process called "enculturation")
- Learned consciously or unconsciously, actively taught or learned through observation
- 3 types of learning:
- simple: new behavior due to experience (don't touch that hot stove again)
- displacement and self-recognition: communicating about something not immediately present (few mammals)
- Meta-mind: think about thinking and communicate it to others
- Widely shared by members of society or group
- Responsible for most differences in ways of thinking and behaving between human societies and groups
- Essential to psychological and social development
When we talk about a culture, we emphasize the most unique or distinct aspects of a people's customs or beliefs. NOT a value judgement
3 Main components:
- Material: physical results of learned behavior and shared knowledge (funny hats, etc.)
- Social behovior: Behavior, greetings, ritual acts, motions of work, etc.
- Mental: attitudes and values, systems, of knowledge, etc.
7 main attributes...
Extra-Organic
- Not genetically determined (phylogenetic)
- There is a biological component (ability to learn)
- Influences and is influenced by biology
- We all need to eat, but means by which this is carried out is not biologic
Continuous
Crosses generations and time boundaries
Accumulative
Grows in size and complexity (incorporates more and more characteristics)
EX: Catholic Church (WHOOP!)
Symbolic
Much of culture is arbitrary or artificial:
McDonald's logo means nothing by itself, but it's our creation
Languages have many words to describe the same thing: Chien, Hund, hond, perro, mbwa, dog
...
Interchangeable
Can be learned and forgotten
Integrated
Cultural systems interact and can shift
Has Two Dimensions
Normative (ideal; what people say they believe) vs. Behavioral (real; what people really do)
Overt Culture (people are aware of possession) vs. Covert Culture (people are unaware of possession)
Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are ceated equal, that they are endowed by their Createor with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
(Almost all signors owned slaves)
Measuring Culture
culture is composed of traits that we can track and monitor
Traits can move to other cultures in what is called diffusion (and often change along the way)
Levels of Organization
- national
- Beliefs, learned patterns of behavior, values, and institutions shared by members of the same nation.
- national anthem, flag, etc.
- American football
- international
- Cultural traditions that extend beyond and across national boundaries
- language, the real football
- subculture
- zoom in really tight
- We are Aggies!
cultural levels are defined by emphasis on core values
Conclusion
- culture
- The human capacity to create and share meanings, values, and patterned ways of behaving
- a culture
- set of meanings, knowledge, values, and norms shared by a specific group of people