What is the Nature of Culture? Culture: shared ideals, values and beliefs that people use to interpret experience and generate behavior and that are reflected in their behavior Culture makes actions of individuals understandable to other members of their society and gives meaning to their lives When people have culture in common, they are able to predict how others are probably going to behave in a given circumstance and they will react in a way others can also anticipate

What are the characteristics of culture? Culture is Learned Enculturation: Learning one’s culture by growing up with it; the process by which culture is transmitted from one generation to the next. During the enculturation process, one learns the socially appropriate way of satisfying one’s biological needs; no two individuals experience the enculturation process in the same way = potential for change Culture is based on symbols: **language, art, religion, money, clothing, etc. Language allows culture to be passed from one generation to the next, cumulative & shared experiences

Characteristics of Culture Culture is Shared - Different perceptions within a culture Gender - culturally constructed, every culture assigns different meanings to biological differences Age - different ages have different roles and responsibilities Subgroups: occupational, social classes, ethnic groups Subcultures: distinctive set of standards and behavior patterns by which a group within a larger society operates. It does not mean that a culture has a lesser status than another culture.

SOCIETY A group of people who depend on each other for survival and share a common culture How might people depend upon each other?

Characteristics of Culture Culture is Shared cont’d PLURALIST SOCIETIES Have number of different cultures, few standards are held in common = MULTICULTURAL Only existed when politically centralized states arose 5000 years ago Problems: Subgroups operating by different rules; hard for any one subgroup to understand the standards of other groups Shetland pony & Tonga for example America - Identify some problems we have that are due to cultural misunderstandings

Characteristics of Culture CULTURE IS INTEGRATED Social Structure: the rule-governed relationships of individuals and groups within a society that hold it together (rights, duties, obligations) = economic systems, family relations held together by a sense of common identity Cultures are systems Anthropologists examine one part of a system as well as other parts Economic, political, social aspects of a culture demonstrate how culture is integrated What could happen if one aspect of culture were to be altered? Name some rules found in our culture: in relationships of individuals; in relationships of groups

Characteristics of Culture Culture is Dynamic ■To survive and thrive a culture must be flexible to adapt to changes What are some changes America is currently experiencing?

What are the characteristics of culture? Culture is based on symbols – Why is so important? Permeates everything we do and everything we do is saturated with language Language is a system of communication which involves symbols –any kind of sound or gesture to which cultural tradition has assigned a meaning which stands for something- a symbol is not a: –signal: has an obvious meaning (crying)

Nature of Language Language allows us to translate our concerns, beliefs, perceptions into symbols that can be understood & interpreted by others Language allows culture to be passed from one generation to the next, cumulative & shared experiences Linguistics is the study of language Gesture-call system: helps listeners interpret what a speaker is saying - age, sex, who person is, universal cries & facial expressions; gesture-calls are less controlled than spoken language

Kinesics Study of body language –postures, facial expressions, bodily motions –conveys messages; direct or indirect –male & female body language Voice Qualities: –pitch range –rhythm, tempo –sounds bored, but says happy, etc.

Linguistic Change Languages have history. Modern languages are always changing. English is in the Indo-European language family Linguistic divergence: English has split many times from Proto-Indo-European English is one of many languages in the Germanic subgroup

Linguistic Change Historical linguistics can estimate when migrations, invasions and contacts have happened Languages are borrowed Dialects: varying forms of language that are still understood within the main language

Power of Language Language suppression effectively dominates minority groups Old languages maintain sense of identity Ebonics: African-American speech Linguistic barriers create group identity or an “in-group” Code-switching: changing from one level of language to another depending on the situation

How do anthropologists study culture in the field? Anthropologists can only observe behavior and not cultureobserve Anthropologist must abstract a set of rules from observations in order to explain social behavior Trobriand Islanders Garbage Project

Drawing data about culture Study culture through three different viewpoints: –People’s own understanding of shared rules or beliefs about how society should be –Extent to which people believe they are following rules or how they think they really behave –Observed behavior needs to be included

Why do humans depend on cultural adaptation? Adaptation: a natural process that allows organisms to adjust to their environments Organisms must possess characteristics that help them overcome hazards in the environment and obtain resources necessary for survival in their particular environment Humans depend on cultural adaptation to survive in a wide variety of environments HUMANS REACT TO AN ENVIRONMENT AS THEY PERCEIVE IT –Results: leads to differences in culture

What are the functions of culture? Cultures need to deal with basic problems –biological continuity –enculturate new members –maintain order among its members –motivate members to survive and engage in survival activities –change and adapt to new circumstances –produce and distribute goods and services necessary for life

How does culture hold society together? Balance the self-interest of its members against the demands of society as a whole Society offers rewards for following the rules Sex strengthens bonds but can also be disruptive Symptoms of stress: mental illness, violence, crime, abuse of alcohol/drugs, suicide All cultures see themselves as the BEST when they are functioning well

Why do cultures change over time? ● Changes in western society happen very rapidly Cultures respond to changes: –environmental crises –intrusion of outsiders –changes in behavior and values within culture –can bring disastrous results –

How do anthropologists “assess” culture? Does a culture meet needs and expectations of its people: i.e. nutritional, physical, mental health of population? Anthropologists must avoid: –Ethnocentrism: regarding your culture’s ways as the only proper ones Anthropologists must use: –Cultural Relativism: not judging other peoples’ cultures in order to understand them in their own cultural terms Anthropologists try to see if each culture satisfies the needs and expectations of its people