ISS 210 1st Edition Lecture 18Outline of Last Lecture I. Ritual Functions II. Situation DefinitionsIII. Social control IV. Key terms V. Cultural Remission (“Time Out”)VI. Ethanol EquivalentsVII. Blood Alcohol Level (BAL) VIII. Calculating BACIX. Stages of Intoxication X. Harris and the sacred cowsXI. Materialist interpretation XII. Why sacredXIII. Criticism of HarrisXIV. Cows gifXV. Stuarts theory of cultural changeXVI. The concept of integrationXVII. Limitations of prior structure Outline of Current Lecture I. Participation in Cultural Communities II. Industrialization III. Cultural Process IV. Change and Variation V. Culture Shock VI. Linear Cultural Evolution VII. Defining Intelligence VIII. Preparation for LifeIX. Insider/Outsider PerspectiveX. Emics and EticsXI. When is the “same” situation? Current LectureI. Participation in Cultural Communities – People develop as participants in cultural communities; their development can only be understood in the cultural practices and circumstances of their communities – Avoid overly general terms: “the child does such and so rather than these children” did such and so – “Time tables” vary by cultural context: what sources of support and danger are nearby.– Caring for other children (10 or older in the idle class US; 5-7 in other societies) Social Context. – Autonomy handling knives and fire (For 8-10 month old infants; US middle class 5 or older) II. Industrialization – Specialized institutions to deliver human services; education and medical care led to age segregation– Age grading segregated children from full range of community activities – Schools isolated children from adults teaching lessons out of context for skills being learned – Industrialization separated the work place from home where children might learn from keen observation (as on farms in the US) – Isolates children from older generation and the older generation from childrenIII. Cultural Process – Culture isn’t just what other people do – People don’t recognize that they have culture and take cultural practices for granted – Understanding ones own cultural heritage requires taking the perspective of people form other cultural backgrounds– Need contrast to see unique features of taken for granted ways of doing things– Cultural practices fit together and are connected– Not just a collection of practices; coherence cannot reduce differences between communities for one or two variables– Similar practices may have different ends– Similar ends may be accomplished by different practicesIV. Change and Variation – Cultural communities change, as do individual social and physical environments change, including new ways of making a living– Variation exists within communities because peoples connection with communities differ – Variation within and between communities as resource for humanity, allowing us to be prepared for varied and unknowable futures– There is not likely to be one best way– This does not mean all ways are fine – Requires one to suspend judgment about a practice to understand its function– (Cultural relativism) V. Culture Shock – Unlikely fish would discover existence of water– The experience of others absence from ones own can make us aware of our cultural practices – Unsettling to reflect on ones own cultural ways as an option rather than the “natural way” – Comparison of diverse ways is not to judgmental but can be perceived as a threat– Understanding of the patterns of cultural requires we suspend judgment of their values– Interpreting the activity of other people without regard to their meaning system and goals (emic) renders observations meaningless– Value judgments at times must be made but they should be well informed VI. Linear Cultural Evolution – Linear cultural evolution paces cultures on a single progression from primitive to us – Henry Louis Morgan defined stages linking technological progress with social process– Savage – the lowest stage, hunting and gathering societies; subsistence on wild plants – Barbaric – starting to use agriculture (Neolithic) domestication of animals and pottery – Civilized – begins with the art of writing, which binds together the past and the future– The model was incorporated in many disciplines and the popular culture – Western education was viewed as the means to boost backward cultures along the path– Formal, compulsory education used the 19th century to bring immigrant children to American values and reject old ways – Led to creation of residential schools for Native American children that undermined theircommunities– Post WWII, UN model for modernization was to introduce European and North American– style education in former colonies to “raise” people out of poverty and ignorance and bring them to “modern” ways VII. Defining Intelligence – Criteria for intelligence based on the professional activities of scholars, thus biased toward the scholarly skill set – Early childhood literacy where it serves important religious functions– School – like ways of speaking in “sharing time” – African American children develop themes in connect episodes– European- American children use tightly structured narratives focused on a single topic that closely resemble the literate styles teachers aim to foster – Different goals for different communitiesVIII. Preparation for Life– Adults prioritize learning goals according to adult roles and practices in their communities and the personal characteristics these require to fit in– France: Immigrants West African mothers viewed the use of toys as tiring for babies and often structures their infants interaction around other people emphasizing social intelligence over technical intelligence– France mothers focused their infants attentions on toys and in animate objects to accomplish the opposite– Appalachia helping the family takes precedence over attending school IX. Insider/Outsider Perspective– Which is the true version of the culture or can we even know what is true (post modernism) – Insiders: people differ within communities, so who can speak for the whole community? – Goes beyond membership to participation – Outsiders: viewed with suspicion evil eye with interest and hospitality but always subjectto interpretation by natives – Their presence effects behavior, as does the natives concept of public and private behavior–