11. Culture.docx

CULTURE Objectives -Define the term Culture -Identify the characteristics of Culture -Discuss the components of Culture -Describe Caribbean cultural diversity and change -Examine the theoretical perspectives on culture CULTURE & SOCIETY -A newborn human baby is helpless. It relies primarily on c...

CULTURE Objectives -Define the term Culture -Identify the characteristics of Culture -Discuss the components of Culture -Describe Caribbean cultural diversity and change -Examine the theoretical perspectives on culture CULTURE & SOCIETY -A newborn human baby is helpless. It relies primarily on certain biological drives such as hunger and the goodness of elders to satisfy those drives. The infant has a lot to learn. In order to survive, it must learn the skills, knowledge and accepted ways of behaving in the society into which it is born. It must learn the way of life. In sociological terminology, it must learn the culture of its society. DEFINITION -Ralph Linton (1945 as cited in Mustapha, 2009) defines culture as the way of life of its members, the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation. -Clyde Kluckhohn's states that "Culture is design for living" held by members of a particular society. Since man has no instinct, (He must) to direct his actions, his behaviour must be based on guidelines which are learned. -In order for society to operate effectively, these guidelines must be shared by its members. Without a shared culture, people would be unable to communicate and co-operate, and confusion and disorder would result. -Culture determines how members, of a society feels and think, it directs their action and define their outlook on life. -Every society has certain common problems to deal with, for example the problem of dependent members such as the very young and the very old. -How they deal with this is culturally determined. Culture is a bridge to the past as well as a guide to the future. -It is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, values, behaviours, arts, morals, laws, customs, and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society. -In a sense, people create their culture, and this culture, in turn, shapes their behaviour. Culture and Society - Society: the structure of relationships within which culture is created and shared through regularized patterns of social interaction - Society provides the context within which our relationships with the external world develop - How we structure society constrains the kind of culture we construct Cultural preferences vary across societies CHARACTERISTICS of Culture 1. Culture is learned or acquired. 2. It is transmittable - to off-spring that is it pass from one generation to the next. If not transmitted it will eventually die. 3. It is shared by people and is kept relatively uniformed example common language, which facilitates day-to-day exchanges. 4. It is fulfilling - cultural habits persist only as long as they bring some satisfaction of people’s needs. 5. It is social - it originates and develops through the interactions of people. 6. It is adaptive - it tends to adapt to the environment over a period of time, in order to survive 7. It is integrative - the elements in the culture tend to form a consistent and integrated system. 8. It is ideational - the group habits that are part of the culture are considered ideal. 9. It is symbolic - symbols are things or behaviour to which people give meaning such as National flag. COMPONENTS OF CULTURE 1. Values are socially shared ideas about what is good, right and desirable. It is what people consider to be important or good. For example, freedom, liberty. -According to Talcott Parsons values provide a general conception of what is desirable and worthwhile -The values of a society are important because they influence the content of its norms. If a society values education highly, its norms will make provision for mass schooling. -If it values a large population, its names will encourage big families. If it values monogamy, its norms will not permit people to marry more than one partner at a time. In principle at least, all norms can be traced to a basic social value. 2. Norms are shared rules and expectations about behaviour. They also concern the rules that govern social action. -Without culture, we would not know how to act. We would not know how to eat, talk, dress, take care of ourselves; in short, we would not know how to live. -Norms are also the behaviour that the majority of people in the society regard to be proper, right and customary. Norms can be seen as specific expressions of values. -Norms ensure that to some extent behaviour is standardized predictable and orderly. -There are many different types or categories of norms; some are rigidly enforced and upheld than others. For example, mores and folkways and laws. It is important to note that norms are related to values, in that values justify norms. If for example, we value freedom of speech, we allow people to speak their minds even if we do not agree with them. The norm of tolerance derives from the value we place on individual freedom. Fairly trivial norms, like lining up at ticket windows or bus doors instead of pushing to the front, are called Folkway folkways: behaving in everyday life. -Folkways may determine our style of cloth our diet and our manners. -Folkways are the informal (unwritten but still understood), socially defined norms that guide our daily behaviour. Mores Mores a are more important norms: behaving morally. These are rules of conduct that carry moral authority, violating these rules directly challenges society's values. -However, like values and beliefs, some norms within a given culture conflict with each other, and not everyone shares a belief in all of society's norms. -The culture insists that mores be obeyed. Mores include prohibition regarding murder, incest, cannibalism, rape, child abuse and other forms of behaviour that are dangerous to society. -We react to the violation of mores with horror, anger and revulsion. Taboos Taboos are norms that are so strongly ingrained that even the thought of them is greeted with revulsion. Example Eating human flesh, having sex with siblings or parents -Laws: behaving officially. Laws are formalized. They may be either folkways or mores, or neither, although they are usually based on folkways and mores. -They are officially stated and enforced by some form of government. Official punishment is an example of the formal negative sanctioning for violations of laws. A third component of culture is Sanctions 3. Sanctions are the rewards and punishments for conforming to or violating cultural norms. Positive sanctions (reward) may range from an approving nod to a ceremony of public acclaim; negative sanctions (punishment) may range from mild disapproval to imprisonment or even execution -Only a tiny fraction of social behaviour can be policed by formal agencies of control, and most sanctions are applied informally. For example, if you help your neighbours and are polite to them, you will be rewarded with smiles and even popularity. -If you use 'bad' language in the wrong company or offer your left hand rather than your right when someone wants to shake hands with you, you will receive raised eyebrows, glares, stares or comments designed to make you uncomfortable and more likely to conform to social expectations in the future. 4. Language and Symbols - another major component of culture is symbolic communication. Symbols of various kinds, including language - a complex system of verbal, nonverbal and written symbols - are the most important elements of culture. Without language, cultures would not be possible. -Language allows the transmission of cultural ideas through generations and it allows us to interact with one another to recreate and maintain our society. -Because of language we can store knowledge and contemplate the writings of past societies, including the Bible. It provides us with endless possibilities for communication. -Symbols typify and reflect elements of culture and signify ideas to people. The meanings of symbol can be derived only from their cultural context. -Symbols can be used in a culture to unify people or to command respect and devotion because they communicate with power and directness. Flags, religious artifacts such as the Christian cross a convey meaning to one group. 5. Beliefs: ideas about what is true. Beliefs help to define reality. All cultures have accumulated many beliefs over time and this provides people with a common basis for understanding their environment. Americans believe in freedom of choice. What do we believe? -Beliefs are culturally relative. What we believe regarding our lives and our environment may be quite different from what those in other cultures believe about their environment. Material Culture - is the part that is concrete and tangible, the material things that a society creates and uses for survival. -These consist of the physical or technological aspects of our daily lives, including - food, clothing, shelter, stationery, musical instruments, space rockets, televisions, beds, coins and raw materials. Nonmaterial Culture - refers to all intangible components of our ways of life. They are the languages, norms, ideas, values and beliefs of human societies. -We can neither see nor touch them. It includes things like religion, techniques, customs, discrimination against minority groups, respect for the elderly or contempt for child abusers, homosexuals and philosophies shared by members of a society. FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE -It enables us to communicate with others through language. -It makes it possible to anticipate how others in our society are likely to respond to our actions. -Culture gives us standards for distinguishing between things that are right and wrong (norms), beautiful and unpleasant (values), reasonable and unreasonable. -Culture provides methods for training children to behave in certain ways generally considered appropriate in society (socialization). -Culture provides the knowledge and skills necessary for meeting sustenance needs. CULTURAL VARIATIONS -It was stated earlier that culture is relative to time and place. The same act that is considered normal and acceptable in one culture may be highly undesirable or even reprehensible in another. -Humans of different cultures react in different ways to various cultural traditions. Dominant Culture Dominant culture - is the lifestyle of the elite or the most influential in society. It is the cultural form that is held in the highest regard, receives the most support from major institutions and is legitimized by the dominant belief system. -Importantly it need not reflect the statistical majority; rather it reflects those with most social status and power. Ideal Culture Ideal Culter- refers to the values and standards of behaviour that people in a society profess to hold, and that are worthy of aspiring to. This is where norms are ideally adhered to, for example, monogamy or the notions of 'till death do us part'. Real Culture Real Culture - refers to the values and standards of behaviour that people actually follow in society. What people actually do usually fall short of the ideal. -For example, although marriage is the ideal, if things do not work out it is acceptable for them to separate or divorce; or Caribbean men believe in having more than one partners, despite the ideal culture. Culture Shock Culture Shock - as people grow, they develop a sense of what to expect in their familiar surroundings. When one travels into a completely different culture, different assumptions are encountered. -Culture shock is the disorientation that people experience when they come into contact with a fundamentally different culture. -Culture Shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. -These signs are what we are oriented to in daily life: when to shake hands and what to say in greeting people depending on the function; when and how to give tips; how to give orders etc. -These cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions are acquired in the course of growing up and are as much a part of culture as the language spoken or the acceptable beliefs, most are unconsciously learned. -When one enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed, causing frustration and anxiety. -First, they reject the environment that causes the discomfort: 'the ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad.' -Another phase of culture shock is regression. The home environment suddenly assumes a tremendous importance; everything becomes irrationally glorified. -All difficulties and problems are forgotten and only the good things back home are remembered. Only a visit back home will bring one back to reality. Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism - refers to the tendency to view one's own culture as the norm. There is a tendency to assume one's culture is superior to others. "Our" truths and values are so central to whom "we" are that it is difficult to accept the possibility that our culture represents only one of many. -A particular culture does not represent universal "TRUTH." This is not to say that to be proud of one's heritage is inappropriate. On the contrary, a little ethnocentrism is beneficial because of its bonding effect. Ethnocentrism becomes a problem when we expect others to become like us. Cultural Relativism Cultural Relativism - this is an attempt to appreciate other ways of life rather than just saying 'our way is right'. It refers to the understanding of a culture on its own terms. In essence "you have to be able to stand in the other persons shoes." When you can "see" from the perspective of another, then you can understand that culture. For most of this is not an easy thing to do. -Adopting cultural relativism does not mean that we like or endorse every custom and practice. It is about understanding, not approval -It requires that we not only understand the values and norms of another society but also suspend cultural standards we have known all our lives. Subcultures and countercultures Subcultures and countercultures - there are variations in most cultures, especially in those societies characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity, where group members maintain a distinctive set of values, norms, lifestyles and even languages. -These unique segments of society are our subcultures and countercultures. Subculture Subculture refers to cultural patterns that set apart some segments of a society's population. Young people who have certain traits in common may display subcultural patterns. -According to Doob (2000, as cited in Mustapha, 2009), define subculture as the culture of a specific segment of people within a society, differing from the dominant culture in some significant respects, such as norms and values or in language'. -Subcultures have a set of distinctive characteristics, behaviours, practical and symbolic objects and vocabulary, to distinguish them from others; these are cultural variations - the identification with a group and with others in that group. -Subcultures provide members with meanings and answers to life's problems that the larger culture may not be able to provide. Where you live can put you into a subculture; belonging to a church, an ethnic group or a professional organization constitutes membership in a subculture. Occupational subcultures Occupational subcultures include groups whose jobs unite them in a special lifestyle and set them apart from the larger society. -The concept of occupational subculture is most relevant when the occupational group perceives itself and is perceived by others to be markedly different. -These differences are often reflected in a specialized slang and in informal norms developed to guide individuals through situations unique to their occupation. Health Care system as a subculture -It is important for nurses to remember that the health care system can be considered as a subculture in society. -The system has rules, customs and a language of its own. When individuals obtain an education in health care, they become encultured into the system. -Patients entering into the system may experience culture shock (example. washing of hands by the nurses.) The health care culture has its own definition of health jargons are used in the system and tend to make the patient feels like an outsider. Strict time orientation is adhere to wake up at 4:00 a.m., temp-baths, bed making, medication. Written records are kept, which might cause conflicts in terms of the patients, beliefs and values. -Values of encultured nurses in the health system may be different from that of the patient, thus it becomes a source of anxiety or frustration to patients and their families. -Patients when thrust into the health care culture experience stressors which impinge on the individual. Counterculture Counterculture - consists of cultural patterns that strongly oppose the established norms of the dominant culture within a society. -Countercultures are groups that have values, interests, beliefs and lifestyles that are contrary to those of the dominant culture. -They openly oppose the dominant culture and actively seek to change them, giving rise to conflicts -The Rastafarian Movement and Voodoo especially during the earlier period could be viewed as examples of countercultures in the Caribbean. -The most important difference between subcultures and countercultures is that subcultures want to coexist peacefully with the dominant culture, whereas countercultures do not wish to coexist with the larger culture. CULTURE AND CHANGE -Some elements of culture change faster than others. All societies experience change. Change in one dimension of a culture usually sparks changes in others. -Each culture embraces values, which it considers vital to its survival. Values in society change due to several reasons. 1. Value contradictions these are values that conflict with one another or a mutually exclusive (achieving one makes it difficult to achieve another). For example, the conflicting values of racism and democracy make it difficult for all members of society to experience equality. 2. Cultural diffusion this is the spread of cultural characteristics from one group to another, or the spread of cultural traits from one society to another. This borrowing of cultural traits from another culture can be direct or indirect, forced or voluntary, through trade, intermarriage, religion or war. Examples of Cultural Diffusion include: Americans adopting Japanese sushi bars, while the Japanese adopted baseball from the Americans. Problems however can occur when certain nonmaterial cultures are adopted from other countries such as parenting styles or views on certain factors. 3. Acculturation and interculturation acculturation is the extensive borrowing of cultural traits by one group from another - also called cultural assimilation. In many cases the dominant group forces its culture on the subordinate. The long-term close contact between groups also leads to the exchange of cultural traits (interculturation) and the emergence of new culture. 4. Innovation this is the process of introducing a new idea or object to a culture. There are two forms of innovation: discovery and invention. Invention refers to the process of creating new cultural elements. Inventions has given us telephone, the airplane, computer etc. that has had a tremendous impact on our way of life. Discovery, involves recognizing and better understanding something already in existence. 5. Globalization allows international economic and political systems to dominate local cultures. Societies today are more interdependent than ever before. As standards and perspectives become institutionalized, culture becomes more or less stable. PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE -Remember that a culture is a 'shared perspective'. It is not absolute truth. Perspectives are limited by their nature and filter what we see. They allow us to see life from a certain angle only. -As we interact, we come to share ideas about the way the world is. 1. Structural Functional Analysis it indicates that culture exists to fulfill a human need. Culture has different functions to ensure that everyday life continues to exist. With respect to cultures, structural-functional theorists are of view that norms, values and beliefs 'give meaning to life and bind people together'. George Murdock (1949), studied different cultures to find evidence to support this theory. He found that all cultures share many of the same traits. He believed that one example of a universal cultural trait was the family, because it controls sexual reproduction and child rearing. 2. Conflict Analysis the social-conflict paradigm indicates that culture is established in order to oppress members of a society. Conflict analysis draws attention to links between culture and inequality and highlights the way in which any cultural trait benefits some members of society at the expense of others. 3. Sociobiology is a theoretical paradigm that explores ways in which our biology affects how humans create culture. They assert that culture is influenced by genetics. Just as species evolve, so does culture. Culture in the Caribbean -Caribbean history has a long and tumultuous colonial past, with its dominant form of economic and social organization, known as the plantation system, resulting in a rich cultural legacy. The history of the Caribbean is premised upon two Ss: sugar and slavery. Impact on Caribbean Culture -Africans were taken to the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantation - the Europeans despised the culture of the Africans, so they were subjected to acculturation, as they were not allowed to openly observe their ancestral religions. Hence, many were converted to Christianity, since the African religions were viewed as pagan. Impact on Culture -Chinese immigrants were brought to the Caribbean in 1852, majority were distributed to British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad. -The East Indians - started arriving in 1838, most were sent to British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad. -Although the East Indians they were allowed to practice their culture, they were sometimes perceived as pagans and heathens. They kept to themselves and resisted assimilation into the culture of the wider society. -Each new immigrant group introduced its cultural values and attitudes to add to the already diverse cultural milieu of the region. The plantation system also created a complex system of social stratification, especially in British Guiana, Trinidad and Jamaica. Today in these societies, race and ethnicity created divisions. Three major theories attempted to explain Caribbean society. The Plantation Model (George Beckford); the Plural Society Model (M.G. Smith) and the Creole Society Theory (Edward Braithwaite). -Culture in the Caribbean is multifaceted, dynamic and rich. Culture in the Caribbean has emerged as a result of the fusion between European and African cultures and a later blending with cultural elements from Asia. It spans, among others pop, folk, resistance and class cultures. Many slaves searched for their African culture which led to rebellions. -The term 'Caribbean' conjures up in the minds of outsiders, images of carnival, Voodoo, calypso, beaches, palm trees, Rastafarians, reggae and rum. These stereotypical images are due, in part to the governments' proliferation of tourism campaigns often void of any historical roots, and the acceptance and perpetuation of these by the Caribbean citizens themselves. Factors which contributed to the cultural diversity of the Caribbean are: The change from plantation slavery (forced labour) to industrialization (paid labour). Population growth as a result of migration of people of different cultural backgrounds and place of origin Chinese, Indians, Jews, Syrians, Germans to name a few. Communication travel, the media, information technology. Geopolitical location Improvement in the level of education. Changes in the political system for example, a change from socialism to democracy (in the western sense of the term). Impact of Globalization -Globalization and its attendant forces such as economic trade, technology and travel, provide the availability of a wide range of attractive foreign cultural products that have the potential to supersede what already exists in the Caribbean if allowed to do so. -These cultural products come in form of the television programmes, mostly from the USA; the growth of American fast-food outlets such as KFC, Burger King and Subway throughout the region and the general life of the metropolitan cities, through ease of travel. -In other words, the region, through the new forces of globalization, is further challenged to maintain its cultural identity. CONCLUSION -Caribbean culture is rich and diverse. The culture is steeped in the history of the region and involves aspects stemming from the different people who occupied the Caribbean at one time or another. -Each country's culture arises out of a common heritage, that of slavery yet the culture of each territory is unique in many ways. The people of the Caribbean have fought hard to maintain their cultural heritage despite the forces of colonialism.