Definitions of Culture

Module 1

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Definitions of Culture: Since culture can be defined as everything we THINK (belief, value), everything we DO (norms, behaviour), and everything we HAVE (objects, artifacts), we looked at a variety of definitions so we can select the best one for the kind of inquiry we are conducting. These included

The First Definition of Culture: “Culture, or civilization, . . . is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by [a person] as a member of society.” Edward B. Taylor

Psychology: “Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another.” G. Hofstede

Education: It is the values, symbols, interpretations, and perspectives that distinguish one people from another in modernized societies; it is not material objects and other tangible aspects of human societies. People within a culture usually interpret the meaning of symbols, artifacts, and behaviors in the same or in similar ways.” James A. Banks

History: Culture is “a total way of life held in common by a group of people.” Terry G. Jordan and Lester Rowntree

Etymology of Culture: culture (n.) Mid 15th Century: “the tilling of land, act of preparing the earth for crops;” From the Latin cultura “a cultivating, agriculture;” Figuratively “care, culture, an honouring;” From past participle stem of colere “to tend, guard; to till, cultivate” (see colony). Meaning “the cultivation or rearing of a crop, act of promoting growth in plants. The figurative sense of “cultivation through education, systematic improvement and refinement of the mind” is attested by c. 1500

Dominant Cultures: Most scholars state that there is a dominant culture under which most of a population lives and communicates. This is the dominant culture, and their mode of communication is the dominant discourse.

Binary Opposition: Jacques Derrida states that the Western world (dominant culture) views culture through distinct categories called binary oppositions. These categories often oppose one another. One is often assumed to be better than the other. You cannot say one without invoking the other. Examples: Hot/Cold, White/Black, Up/Down, East/West, and so on.

Private / Public Spheres: This is a common distinction drawn between the realm of public life which typically includes work, politics, and the economy from the private realm of life which usually involves children, family, and personal matters. Different concerns and values (different cultures) often exist between each realm and, therefore, the communication style between each is different.

In Groups & Out Groups: A psychological and sociological concept that describes our ability to classify ourselves and others as belonging to similar groups (in groups) or not belonging to those groups (out groups). These groups are often based on identity and experience, but not always. We tend to share a strong positive psychological bias towards those we believe to be in our own in-group and a negative bias towards those we believe to be in the out-group.

Third Space(s): Spaces that are necessary to support different identities/cultures that may be against the dominant culture. First space = home; second space = work. When we meet in third spaces, we often have a blurred identity (or a hybrid identity) where our distinct power relations might not be demonstrated and/or applicable. Third space: colleges, bars, recreation centres, museums, sporting events, and/or spaces where political protests and events are planned.

= where the individual can experience a transformative sense of self, identity, and relation to others.

Contact Zones and Conflict: Pratt (1991) “social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today” (para. 33). Contact zones often emerge in places and time periods marked by oppression in some form, and so, two distinct communities and cultures engage with one another.

Contact Zones as Places to Learn: Contact zones need not be viewed as wholly negative or strictly as a source of negative conflict. Rather, Pratt (and the article summarizing her work) engages with the idea of contact zones as places of learning. After all, it is only through engaging with someone else’s culture and language that is distinct from our own that we begin to learn more about ourselves, our assumptions/values, and the larger world.

Module 2 & 3

Cultural Appropriation: “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture. Taking an aspect of a culture + not knowing the historical implications of that culture (and refusing to do actual research) = cultural appropriation.

Appreciations vs. Appropriation: Appreciation seeks to acquire knowledge and understanding of another culture: you honour and respect the culture, its practices, and history. Appropriation is when you take aspects of a culture without acknowledging its history or significance, and there is little to no intention of learning about this culture.

Hybridity: Rather than insisting that other cultures remain invisible or become homogenized into the dominant culture, recognizing difference and providing space for that difference allows for a particular place (such as a workplace or school classroom) to focus on hybridity. Scholar Homi Bhabha has discussed hybridity in relation to his Third Space Theory. These are often in-between spaces where dominant narratives/customs are questioned through the presence of difference.

Subculture: This is generally thought to be a smaller group of people with shared values, language, practices, and identities who are often at odds or distinct from the larger culture in which they are located.

Counterculture: a form of a subculture whose values and beliefs differ drastically from the main culture, sometimes outright contradicting it.

Intersectionality: a framework for conceptualizing a person, group of people, or social problem as affected by a number of discriminations and disadvantages [along with privileges]. It takes into account people’s overlapping identities and experiences in order to understand the complexity of prejudices [and privileges] they face.

The Medium is the Message: Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan proposes that a communication medium itself, not the messages it carries, should be the primary focus of study. The content of the medium is a message that can be easily grasped and the character of the medium is another message which can be easily overlooked. McLuhan argues that a “message” is, “the change of scale or pace or pattern” that a new invention or innovation “introduces into human affairs”.