CHAPTER 2 CULTURE CHAPTER OVERVIEW This chapter introduces students to the anthropological concept of culture It focuses on the defining dimensions of culture and includes a discussion of the mechanisms of cultural change and globalization CHAPTER OBJECTIVES 1 Know the defining dimensions of culture In particular understand what it means that culture is learned shared symbolic all encompassing and integrated Culture which is distinctive to humanity refers to customary behavior and beliefs that are passed on through enculturation Culture rests on the human capacity for cultural learning It encompasses rules for conduct internalized in human beings which leads them to think and act in characteristic ways Learned depends on the uniquely developed human capacity to use symbols signs that have no necessary or natural connection to the things they stand for or signify people create remember and deal with ideas and apply specific systems of symbolic meaning Symbolic crucial to cultural learning symbols are used to originate and bestow meaning on a thing or event and correspondingly to grasp and appreciate such meanings often linguistic but can be myriad and nonverbal golden arches mcdonald s hamburgers holy water regular water but symbolically significant for catholics Shared culture is an attribute to members of a group not just an individual shared beliefs values memories and expectations link people who grow up in the same culture All Encompassing culture includes much more than refinement good taste sophistication education and appreciation of the fine arts the most interesting and significant cultural forces are those that affect people every day of their lives particularly those that influence children during enculturation Integrated cultures are integrated patterned systems if one part of the system changes other parts change too not just integrated by their dominant economic activies and related social patterns but also by sets of values ideas symbols and judgments core values integrate each culture and helps distinguish them from others 2 Know the biological background of culture how we share cultural features with other primates and how human culture is different than any similar features in primates Similarities between humans and apes our closest relatives are evident in anatomy brain structure genetics and biochemistry Hominis is the term used for the group that leads to humans but not to chimps and gorillas and that encompasses all the human species that ever have existed Similarities Many human traits reflect the fact that our primate ancestors lived in the trees these traits include grasping ability and manual dexterity opposable thumbs depth and color vision learning ability based on a large brian substantial parental investment in a limited number of offspring and tendencies toward sociality and cooperation Like other primates humans have flexible five fingered hands opposable thumbs excellent depth and color vision Humans and primates share the ability to learn from experience and change behavior as a result Primates also make their own tools and hunt in order to survive just like humans do Differences cooperation and sharing is much more developed among humans The amount of information retained by humans is far greater than that in any other primate groups Mating rituals are different when female baboons chimps are ovulating their vaginal area swells and reddens which then results in them forming temporary bonds and mate with males Humans lack visible ovulation cycles so they mate with males throughout the year Human mating is more exclusive and more durable than those of chimps We often get married and remain with one partner for the duration of our lifetime as oppose to chimps who are frequently changing partners and never committing to one in particular Other primates tend to disperse at adolescence Females migrate seeking mates in other groups humans also do this but they still usually maintain lifelong ties with sons and daughters after moving away 3 Consider how people may avoid subvert and manipulate particular cultural rules and expectations and know how anthropologists today tend to view and analyze such practices Individuals make up constitute the system culture society social relationships social structure but are also constrained by its rules and by the actions of other individuals cultural rules provide guidance about what to do and how to do it but people don t always follow those rules they use their culture actively and creatively rather than following its dictates blindly Anthropologists distinguish between ideal what people say they should do and what they say they do real culture actual behavior of people as observed by the anthropologist they emphasize how day to day action practice or resistance can make and remake culture individuals within a society or culture have diverse motives and intentions and different degrees of power and influence Practice Theory that may be associated with gender age ethnicity class and other social variables Practice theory focuses on how these individuals manage to influence create and transform the world they live in it recognizes a reciprocal relation between culture and the individual 4 Identify the levels of culture described by Kottak and address why it is important to differentiate among them National Culture embodies the beliefs learned behavior patterns Levels of culture national international and subcultural values and institutions that are shared by citizens of the same nation International Culture boundaries since culture is transmitted through learning rather than genetically cultural traits can spread through borrowing or diffusion from one group to another Subcultures associated with particular groups in the same complex society different symbol based patterns and traditions extends beyond and across national Nations may contain many different culturally defined groups Culture is contested Various groups may strive to promote the correctness and value of their own practices values and beliefs in comparison with those of other groups or the nation as a whole 5 Distinguish between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism and consider how both relate to human rights Ethnocentrism the viewpoint that behavior in one culture should the tendency to view one s own culture as superior and to apply one s own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people raised in other cultures contributes to