1. What is culture again?

2. Definition of Culture
Culture – all the features of a society’s way of life. Culture informs our behavior and allows us to interpret the behavior of others and the world around us.
People learn culture
Systems of meaning – language is primary
Ways of organizing society
Distinctive techniques of a group and their characteristic products

3. Culture
If culture is learned, then someone must teach or share it, which inevitably means that culture is in a constant state of change and evolution
Culture is symbolic- we give everything meaning- meanings differ across cultures
Culture is naturalized- it feels natural, other ways feel weird
Culture is integrated- links together different parts of our lives and creates patterns- ex: American individualism

4. Culture Traits
Definition: activities and behaviors that people repeatedly practice, distinctive techniques
Customs- common practices followed by people of a particular group or region
Encompasses all aspects of culture
Social organization- class, gender, race, ethnicity, government structure…
Food: U.S.- fork & knife, China – chopsticks, India– which hand?
Reference the ABCs of Culture for a list of culture traits

5. ABC’S OF CULTURE OR BASIC ELEMENTS TO USE IN STUDYING A CULTURE
APPEARANCE: clothing, jewelry, type of material, hairstyle, physical features, etc.
BELIEF SYSTEM: religion, superstitions, taboos, mores, birth/death rituals, etc.
COMMUNICATION: language, signs, body language, formal, informal, slang, etc.
DATES: history, ancestry, heritage, holidays, etc.
ENTERTAINMENT: art, music, crafts, dance, sports, storytelling, etc.
FOOD: types, staples, spices, preparation, eating times, utensils, taboos, etc.
GOVERNMENT: laws, values, social roles and order, gender roles, how the people act towards each other, marriage customs, etc.
HOUSING: style, materials, use of rooms, shape, etc.
INFORMATION: education from parents, peers, schools, formal, informal, etc.
JOBS: technology, economy, ways of making a living, gender roles, etc.
KIND OF ENVIRONMENT: location, climate, physical features, vegetation, etc.
LEFTOVERS: leftover information that doesn’t fit into one of the above categories

6. Change Within a Culture
Cultures develop slowly, but are constantly changing. Cultural traits may change through time. Taboo-unacceptable behaviors Mores-acceptable behaviors
What is taboo may become a mores or vice versa.
2 concepts to understand cultural change:
- Innovation
- Diffusion

7. Innovation New way of doing something
New ideas that are useful and valuable will last.

8. Diffusion
Definition – The process of knowledge, skills, and technology being spread from one culture to another.
Ex: Jazz music, Sushi, Zen, Christianity, McDonald’s, Ballet, Languages
Diffusion can occur in different ways:
examples – hierarchical diffusion, expansion diffusion

9. Cultural Diffusion

10. Acculturation
Definition – the process of one culture changing a great deal through its meeting with another culture yet remaining distinct. Adopting cultural innovations or culture traits into its own culture
Two-Way Street

11. Cultural assimilation is when an individual or individuals adopts some or all aspects of a dominant culture (such as its religion, language, norms, values etc.).

12. Convergence and Divergence
Cultural Convergence occurs when a group accepts or adopts elements of culture from a different group or region. Examples: Colombian Exchange, Spanglish
Cultural Divergence occurs when a group isolates elements of culture due to physical or human characteristics. Examples: segregation of races in America

13. Culture Regions/Ethnic Groups
Definition: Culture region – an area that has many shared culture traits
One country could be a single culture region, or a political boundary may cut across a culture region- North vs. South
A culture region may also be made up of several countries such as in Latin America
Definition: Ethnic Group – a population that shares a common cultural background

14. Ethnicity Who in this room belongs to an ethnic group? We all do!
Why do we think of some people as pertaining to ethnic groups and not others?
White, protestant, middle-class is the normalized standard against which all others are judged “different” and therefore “ethnic” (stores may have “ethnic food” section)

15. Politics of recognition
What are the “markers” of ethnic identity?
language?
dress?
what else?
phenotype? (hair, etc.)
These men are readily identifiable as Sikhs. But what about Mexican Americans?

16. Who imagines you as part of this group?
Identification:
Internal (yours)
Internal (to group)
External (non-group members)
External (state)

17. Problematizing ethnic identification
All of these forms of identification are structured by, and structure, cultural understandings of ethnicity
Specific cultures imagine and create ethnicities
Let’s look at this through the lens of one group:

18. Indigenous people
In Mexico, to be indigenous you must speak a language (at a minimum)
Even if you spoke it as a child and no longer do, you are not now indigenous
What is problematic about this criteria?

19. Ethnic group identification
What is US criteria for indigenous group identification?
Descent
Self recognition
Tribal recognition
Federal recognition
Not:
Language or dress, not “looking Indian”
However, external members may question your identification – why?

20. Ethnicities and States States approach ethnic diversity with different strategies...
Segregationism
Assimilationism
Multiculturalism
Colorblind society?

21. What happens when states don’t/can’t manage ethnic diversity?
Can result in “ethnic conflict”: outbreaks of violence between groups
Majority of conflict in the world post-WWII has been defined as “ethnic conflict”
However, be aware that this does not mean people just fighting amongst themselves
States and state power are often heavily involved

22. Example: post-colonial states
Europeans divided states according to administrative needs and desires.
Resulting states often ungrounded in local political realities.
States lumped together unrelated groups; divided communities.
Changed networks into territories.
Humpty Dumpty has just hit the ground.