V. Cultural conceptions of substance use and problem use: an ethnographic approachVI. Cultural use of substances: Marking transitionsVII. First assignment informationVIII. To do listCan view feedback before starting quiz the 2nd time.If you complete it three times without a 10/10 score contact Sheilah (TA)Office hours for Tuesday, September 9th are now booked for Sheilah and JoeIclicker’s are used for extra credit, if it doesn’t work. Sign in in the sign in sheet. If you forget Iclicker, sign it so they know we are here.Way to check if it is going through, after today’s class, Joe will preform a sync and get a list of people who have not yet synced iclicker. Due date for registration is Tuesday September 9Also there are two parts of Iclicker process. Send information to box, if you click a vote and it is received then it will be green. If the light turns red it wasn’t received, try to click it again. Registration is a separate process, going to Learn@UW and telling it this is my ID.Cultural conceptions of substance use and problem use: an ethnographic approachIntense method of research. Person goes into the culture, without preconceived notion of what is happening in that culture.Why do people use them? What are some reasons for that?Customs, beliefs, values, knowledge, and skills that guide a group’s behavior in a shared direction.Includes a unique world view shaped by environmental, historical, biological, and other forces that mark a group’s evolutionReduce “Separateness”With one anotherWith the “spirit world”Sometimes food can be considered culture.It is always changing, culture have history that moves forward, but also cultures change they adapt.Religion can be considered belief and value, sometimes religion defines most of what a culture is. Can depend on how intense religion is. Religion is huge part, people follow multiple religions carry onto multiple parts of their lives.Perspective from reading: Purpose of culture is that we as humans have desire to bond with one another. That is difficult. To increase bonding, or reduce separateness, a lot of things we have talked about are a mechanism for doing so. Not just trying to increase connections with one another, also spirit world. Substance use, etc. Used to increase connections.A fundamental human dilemmaSeparatenessCultures have developed different strategies to cope with this separateness and have established norms and rituals to maintain these strategiesCommon purposes of substance use across culturesCultures incorporate psychoactive substances“Symbolic Mediation”: Link domains of reality that are defined as separate (e.g. physical and spirit world) (link things that are actually there with spirit world) –substances used as this.Facilitate social bondingMark transitions –substances involved in this as wellExamples of substances used as a Symbolic Mediator:Way that substances used as symbolic mediators: Southwest of US, and also South America. Used peyote cactus to facilitate bonding.Cactus that grows in those areas. Not extremely common, unique to those areas of the world. It has hallucinogenic, similar to LSD or Acid in the United States. Properties of this drug, produces visual hallucinations. If you are listening to music you may see colors that change with different patterns of music.Sometimes hallucinations aren’t really there, symbols derived from these hallucinations.Sometimes hallucinations people have are similar. Common to see physical forms. Common to think you are communicating with spirits.Thought to have spiritual properties.Properties used to their advantage in those areasAnother example: Haya in East AfricaMany banana trees growing outside huts in Haya community. Banana’s are very important in that culture. Fragmented banana’s created low alcohol content beer that was used as a symbolic mediator in that culture.Catholic Painting: What symbolic mediation is going on here?Wafer is bread, the wine. In Catholic church believe that when priest offers host and wine at that moment become body of Christ. Catholic tradition that when you take bread and wine at that moment you believe that wine is blood of Christ and bread is the body of Christ. Sacrament you are taking is body and blood of Christ. Many folks take that literally. Literal that drinking of wine is connected to real world and spirit world.How are substances used as symbolic mediators in cultures and religions that you are familiar with?-In our culture at 21 you can drink. How is that symbolic mediation? Now go from young adult to adult. Transition into adulthood. Fully recognized as an adult. Even though at 18 you can vote and buy cigarettes, still can’t get hotel room or rent a car till 21. Not because of transition of being drunk, use of alcohol is a symbol of becoming an adult.-In Jewish religion wine used a lot. On Purim supposed to get so drunk you can’t tell the difference between things. Symbolic mediation, this transition state or lack of perception due to being drunk makes you not able to make distinction between certain aspects of spirit world.-In Ireland drinking in pubs, wasn’t just to facilitate social bonding. But also a connection to the past.Real world and spirit world connection is a symbolic mediation.Facilitating social bondingConnecting individuals through shared common experienceSocial lubricant (alcohol in particular)More willing to talk once you pass a certain level of alcohol contentCommon experienceHere football games, common experience.Cultural use of substances: Marking transitionsDay to day transitionsBefore workAfter workEnding the weekLife transitionsBeing single to being marriedTransition from student to the workforceHappy hour!Transition from being at work in work mode, to relax mode. Professional mode to being relaxed and goofing off.Huge transition!In weddings, substances are almost always used. Many champagne toasts, marking transition.Commoditization of psychoactive drugsPositive aspects of substance use are exploitedProperties of psychoactive drugs become targets for increasing consumption, production, and profitAltered states of consciousness -> profitMedicinal uses -> profitAddictive properties ->profitBeer in the state of Wisconsin is definitely an economic commodity. Many jobs, many people involved.Substances now have become commodities. Now that they are commodities there is a need to disseminate substances just for profit. All properties of substances are taken