Chapter 2: The Concept of Culture Objectives: o Define culture and describe its development in the field of anthropology o Distinguish between the three major types of ethnocentrism o Evaluate common metaphors for culture o Appreciate culture as a good part of God’s creation

The Ethnic Fair  What do you put in an American booth? Thinking about your own culture can make you aware of diversities that make generalizations difficult.  Facts about culture Culture cannot be primarily expressed through food, clothing, and holiday trinkets. Culture is not a fixed, bound entity An individual can be familiar with or belong to more than one culture.

History of the Culture Concept Early understandings of “culture”  Comes from the German word kultur, meaning to grow or develop  Was conceived in terms of unilinear evolution  Was considered to exist in terms of “high” or “more” in some societies, and “low” or “less” in others How is this conception of culture expressed in contemporary U.S. English?

History of the Culture Concept  Challenges to unilinear cultural evolution Historical particularism (Boas)  fully developed cultures take different paths on the basis of particular historical and environmental contexts Postmodern critique  emphasizes power, individual creativity, diversity  Anthropologists now emphasize power dynamics, change, complexity

Cultural Relativism The position that practices and beliefs can be understood only in relation to their entire context Definition

Cultural Relativism Definition  The position that cultural practices and beliefs can be understood only in relation to their entire context As Distinct From Moral relativism Something is only right or wrong according to context-specific criteria OR Epistemological relativism The validity of knowledge is limited to the context in which it was produced

Varieties of Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism Putting one’s own culture at the center of interpretation Varieties  racism/xenophobia  cultural superiority  tacit ethnocentrism

Varieties of Ethnocentrism Racism/Xenophobia The belief that humans are organized into race groupings that are different from one another in intelligence and worth  The belief that humans are organize d into race grouping that are different from one another in intelligen ce and worth

Varieties of Ethnocentrism Cultural Superiority The belief that one culture is more enlightened, advanced, civilized, or intelligent than another

Varieties of Ethnocentrism Tacit Ethnocentrism The assumption that one’s own way of life is just normal, not cultural

The Culture Concept Today Culture The total way of life of a group of people that is learned, adaptive, shared, and integrated, and is shaped by power, motivations, and interests

The Culture Concept Today Metaphors for Culture  water in which we swim  lenses through which we see the world  Christ and culture  rules of the game  a map  a many layered onion, a parfait What are the problems with each metaphor? What does each get right? What does each leave out?

The Culture Concept Today The preferred metaphor: Culture as a conversation