The Concept of Culture
Think of 10 ways in which we use the word culture
or cultural.
Eg. Culture shock, Canadian culture, multicultural
The Concept of Culture
C. Construction
C. Shock
Agriculture
Global C.
C. Exchange
Cross-C
C. Diversity
Multicultural
To be C.
High C.
Enculturation
C. Phenomenon
Intercultural
Counter C.
C. Genocide
C. Awareness
Underground C.
Pop C.
C. Identity
C. Perspective
Elite C.
C. Sustainability
Canadian C.
C. Imperialism
C. Hegemony
C. Evolution
uncultured
Consumer C
Safety C
Corporate C.
Deviant C.
Rural C.
Youth C.
gay/lesbian C
C. Assimilation
Dead C
Café C.
C. event
C. survival
drug C.
Subculture
World C.
Bacterial C.
Public C..
C. Relativism
Non-anthropological/sociological
Agriculture Bacterial C. Horticulture, Aquaculture
Refinement of mind, tastes, and manners
High C.
Elite C
To be C.
uncultured
A continuum
Global C.
World C.
C. Evolution
Public C.
A Way of Life
Rural C.
Corporate C.
Canadian C.
Youth C.
Café C.
Island C.
A set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices
Counter C. Safety C.
drug C.
Subculture
Consumer C C. Perspective gay/lesbian C
A celebration of difference
C. Diversity C. Awareness
Multicultural C. Relativism
Intercultural Cross-C
C. Exchange
A disparagement of difference
C. Shock
Deviant C. Pop C.
Subculture C. Assimilation
Underground C.
An object (of manipulation)
C. Sustainability
C. Genocide Dead C
C. survival
C. Hegemony C. Imperialism C. event C. Heritage
A sense of agency
C. Construction
Enculturation
A sense of identity and otherness
C. Identity Canadian C
Edward Burnett Tylor
1832-1917
Culture or civilization,
taken in its wide
ethnographic sense, is
that complex whole
which includes
knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law, custom, and
any other capabilities
and habits acquired my
man as a member of
society. E. B. Tylor 1871
`The sum total of knowledge,
attitudes and habitual behaviour
patterns shared and transmitted by
the members of a particular society'
Ralph Linton (1940).
The pattern of life within a
community, the regularly recurring
activities and material and social
arrangements characteristic of a
particular group'. Ward Goodenough (1957):
“Culture is the framework of beliefs, expressive symbols, and
values in terms of which individuals define their feelings and
make their judgements” (Geertz 1957 American Anthropologist
59:32-54).
`an historically transmitted pattern of meaning embodied in
symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic
form by means which men communicate' (Geertz 1973: 89).
“Cultures are traditions and customs, transmitted through
learning, that form and guide the beliefs and behaviour of the
people exposed to them.... Cultural traditions include customs
and opinions developed over the generations about proper and
improper behaviour” (Kottak 2008)
Culture is a way of life
Material
Objects
Ideas
Attitudes
Values
Behavior
Patterns
“Everything that people have, think, and do as members of
a society” (Ferraro, 2008)
Culture is Relative
What is Canadian Culture?
I am Canadian 1
I am Canadian 2
I A M C A N A D I A N !!!
I am not a lumberjack or a fur trader,
And I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dogsled,
And I don't know Jimmy, Sally, or Susie from Canada,
Although I am certain they are really, really nice.
I have a Prime Minister, not a President.
I speak English and French, not American.
And I pronounce it "about" ... not "a-boot".
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack.
I believe in peacekeeping not policing;
Diversity not assimilation;
And that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal!
A tuque is hat; a chesterfield is a couch.
And it is pronounced ZED not ZEE, ZED!
Canada is the second largest landmass,
The first nation of hockey,
And the best part of North America!
Culture reified
Dimensions of Culture
 Values
 Norms
 Ideas/Beliefs
Attitudes/Worldviews
 Roles
 Symbols
 Traditions
 Artifacts
Characteristics of Culture
 Culture is learned
 Culture is unconscious
 Culture is shared
 Culture is integrated
 Culture is Symbolic
 Culture is a way of life
 Culture is Dynamic
 Culture is Relative
Culture is learned
How do we learn our culture?
Enculteration
Culture is unconscious
Culture is shared
Should everyone use
a deodorant?
USA
89%
French Canada
81%
English Canada
77%
United Kingdom
71%
Italy
69%
France
59%
Australia
25%
Culture is Relative
Such findings signal that Canadian values, ideas, and attitudes
should not be relied upon when planning marketing forays into
foreign consumer markets
Culture is Integrated
Economics
Kinship
law
Religion
Medicine
Winston Blackmore has 26 wives and
more than 100 children
A wink or a twitch
Culture is Symbolic
Culture is Dynamic
1896
1964
1918
1970
1924
1935
1986
1995
1955
2008
Why do humans have Culture?
What is its function?
 To communicate - makes the actions of individuals
intelligible to others
 A tool
 gives meaning to differences
Identity
Adaptive
Can culture be maladaptive?
Is Culture Public
or Private?
Ishi ?-1916
What is society?
Society
`A distinct and relatively autonomous community
whose members' mutual social relations are
embedded in and expressed through the medium of
culture'.
`Any portion of a community regarded as a unit
distinguishable by particular aims or standards of
living or conduct'. i.e. culture
`A group of people who occupy a specific locality and
who share the same cultural traditions or culture.'
Summary: Concept of Culture
1. Tylor’s definition and changes in concept
2. Culture as a way of life: Have, do, think
3. Characteristics of Culture: learned, relative, symbolic etc.
4. Functions of culture
5. Public vs. private issue
6. Concept of society