What is culture?Some definitionsNitza Hidalgo’s Concept of Culture as an IcebergWhat sunk the Titanic?Slide 7What is culture?Rememberings: The Roots of Our Voices Spring 2010Some definitionsCulture as Knowledge•“Culture is the acquired knowledge people use to interpret experience and generate behavior.” -- James Spradley,l anthropologistEdward Hall's ideas and metaphors•Culture is the medium we live in, like the air we breathe.•Culture is innate but learned (i.e. we are born with the physical necessity and capacity to specialize our bodies, brains, hearts in line with cultural patterns.) •Culture is living, interlocking system(s)--touch one part, the rest moves. •Culture is shared, it is created and maintained through relationship. •Culture is used to differentiate one group from another. A word that means several different things•National / ethnic culture (meanings and behaviors groups of people develop and share over time)•Secondary or subgroup cultureNitza Hidalgo’s Concept of Culture as an IcebergSurface CultureSurface level (Concrete)Unspoken Rules (Behavioral)Deep CultureUnconscious Rules - SymbolicHidalgo, N. 1993. Multicultural teacher introspection. In Perry, T. and Fraser, J. (Eds.) Freedom's Plow: Teaching in the Multicultural Classroom. New York: Routledge.What sunk the Titanic?Deep CultureSurface CultureFood, dress, musicvisual arts, drama, crafts, dance, literature, language, celebrations gamesCourtesy, contextual conversational patterns, concept of time, personal space, rules of conduct, facial expressions, nonverbal communication, body language, touching, eye contact, patterns of handling emotions, notions of modesty, concept of beauty, courtship practices, relationships to animals, notions of leadership, tempo of work, concepts of food, ideals of childrearing, theory of disease, social interaction rate, nature of friendshipstone of voice, attitudes toward elders, concept of cleanliness, notions of adolescence, patterns of group decision-making, definition of insanity, preference for competition or cooperation, tolerance of physical pain, concept of “self,” concept of past and future, definition of obscenity, attitudes toward dependents, problem-solving, roles in relation to age, sex, class, occupation, kinship, and so