Post on 11-Nov-2014
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Introduction
Cross-Cultural Comparison
What is Culture? Is it what you. . .
Get at the Dorothy Chandler?
Absorb when you go to the Getty Center or the De Young Museum?
Or is there more to it than that?
Two Meanings of Culture
To some, culture is about the visual and performing arts
To anthropologists, it carries the same meaning as customs
That is, the study of how people behave different
In different parts of the world
Examples of Culture: Making a Living
Some peoples forage:
They hunt game and gather edible plant foods
These African !Kung foragers are an example
Others grow their food
Like this South American Yanomamö woman
Examples of Culture: Economics
Some peoples buy and sell on the market
Like these Guatemalan Maya vendors
Others make direct trades’
Like these Trobriand islanders about to trade
Valuable kula white armshells for red necklaces
Examples of Culture: Law and War
Many tribes negotiate their differences
As in this bride price haggling in India
Tribal warfare is widespread
As in this expedition setting out in Kenya
So What is Culture?
Culture is the different waysThat people deal with common life issuesHow to people make a living? Answers are diverseHow do people marry—or do they? There are numerous answersHow do people get along—Or do they? Again, there is no one answer
Defining Culture: Edward Burnett Tylor
Edward Burnett Tylor founded anthropology at Oxford University in Britain His definition: “That complex whole which includesKnowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, customAnd any other capabilities and habitsAcquired by man (meaning both women and men)As a member of society”
Concept of Culture
All cultures have at least five characteristics in common:
Learned
Shared
Patterned (Integrated)
Adaptive
Symbolic
Culture is Learned
All we do, say, or believe is learned, as these photos show.Yanomamö mother is about to teach her daughter gardeningYanomamö boys learning to hunt by shooting a lizardEnculturation: learning the ways of a culture
So What’s the Big Deal About Learning?
Our behavior is not genetically transmitted, unlike ants/bees
Learning is not just conditioning like trained dogs
We learn the skills and values of our society
And apply them to new situations
Culture is Shared
A group with common language and custom shares a culture
Groups may be as small as 50 (African !Kung band, above)
They may comprise a nation of millions (e.g. Japan, shown by these schoolgirls, below)
There may be subcultures in a culture (e.g. Amish in Pennsylvania)
Culture is Patterned/Integrated
One aspect of culture reflects other aspectsThey all fit into a pattern as a wholeExamples of integrationExtreme example: Mexico’s Teotihuacan pyramid (above) Probably weren’t built by tribesmen (below)But pig feasts did fit in with New Guinea tribal culture. How? See PNG Module.
Culture is Generally Adaptive
Technology generally reflects features of environment
Settled communities: usually indicate stable food supply, such as the Aztec chinampas
Grasslands are best for pastoralism, such as this Mongolian camp
Cultures can become poorly adapted during rapid change
Culture is Based on Symbolism
Definition: Bestowing meaning to a thing or event
Inherently unrelated to the thing or event itself
Examples: Stop, yield traffic signs (above)
Language, such as these Maya
Sign or Signal: Sounds or gestures with self-evident meaning
(Arrow-shaped traffic sign)
Cross-Cultural Comparison: Basic Course Requirement
In this course, you will be comparing selected culturesYou will be read case studies in The Evolution of Human Societies You will watch a series of films on other case studiesYou will write reports on these case studiesYou will also take exams based on your readings and films.
Course Requirements: Nuts and Bolts
To be transferable to a CSUThe course entails all the standard requirementsFor additional details, refer to your syllabus available onlineThe entire course will be conducted through ETUDES-NGFor full instructions, go to the college website
Course: Levels of Sociocultural Integration
Some cultures are more complex than others.
Level of Sociocultural Integration gives a structure for comparison
We will compare cultures that are similar in complexity
There are four basic levels:
Band, tribes, chiefdom, and state
Levels of Sociocultural Integration: Bands
Bands comprise groups of related families
They are usually simple foragers:
They hunt game and gather plant foods
Because their resources are uncertain, they are nomadic
They have little or no formal leadership
Their population is small: 25-100
Examples: Inuit (Eskimo), Australian Aborigines, !Kung San of Southern Africa
Levels of Sociocultural Integration: Tribes
Tribes comprise several extended familiesThese are connected by some other organizationExamples: marriage ties, age grades, secret or warrior societiesThey are pastoralists (herdsmen) or horticulturalists (hand cultivators)They lack political offices and central governmentThey are often warlikeExamples: Yanomamö and Kayapo of Central Asia;Masai and Turkana of East Africa
Levels of Sociocultural Integration: Chiefdoms
Chiefdoms have—a chiefThey comprise permanent offices with rules of successionThere is a centralized governmentBut there is no police or army that exercises absolute rulePeople are ranked: there are fewer positions of power than people able to fill themUsually associated with horticulture, pastoralism, and complex foragingExamples: Kirghiz of Central Asia, Kwakiutl of Northwest Coast,
Level of Sociocultural Integration: States
States have a monopoly over legitimate powerAgencies are army and policeThey are stratified: a minority controls life-sustaining resources (land, water, capital)They are complex, with bureaucracies (public and private) They incorporate both redistribution (taxation) and markets They rely on a system of codified law
Examples of States
Theocratic States: Tibet is a classic example
Aztecs, Maya, and Inca also focused on their gods
Feudal States; Japan, China
Peasant Society
Peasants are part of a stratified system within a state
Both peasants and horticulturalists produce food by cultivation and provide other necessities.
They both have to provide for next year’s crops
They both observe special occasions, such as a wedding, funeral, or celebrations
Defining the Peasant: Rent Fund
The peasant, not the independent horticulturalist has to provide for a fund of rent
In other words: pay taxes with crops or money or labor
Examples: Mexico, Guatemala, China, and all others where states exist
Comparing Cultures
In this course, you will compare two case studies each week
They will involve videos from Netflix or Blockbuster; Where possible, we will use downloadable sources
You may find others from YouTube
They will involve readings from case studies in The Evolution of Human Societies
We will not cover the authors’ theories
Source of Cultural Studies: Fieldwork
The source of all cultural studies is fieldworkThe ethnographer must gather original data firsthandYou can get some idea about a culture from reading a bookBut in the end, you cannot talk authoritatively about a culture without having been thereThe description of a culture is known as an ethnographyThere are several techniques involved in fieldwork: Observation, participant observation and interviews
Ethnographic Techniques
Observation: Watching and listening for important clues to understanding a culture
Participant Observation: Taking part in a ritual at a Obo court in Ghana
Interviews: Here, an economic anthropologist interviews a market woman in Ghana
Other techniques vary according to:
The topic of research
Audiovisual technology
The willingness of informants to participate—or not
The Question of Ethics
There is one last question: How do different peoples react to us?The YouTube presentations raise that very issueThe first video is of an ethnographic tourist operation: is that ethicalThe other two videos reflect the invasion of Western cultures on three different culturesThis is a longstanding question, and corporate enterprises, as you can see, do what they bloody well pleaseLike it or not, we are part of this system and the problems they cause
Putting it All Together
The primary aim is to acquaint you with the cultures around the worldThe level of integration framework will give you some perspectiveFor example, cultures survived for centuries without government or markets or even high techI hope these you may see the implications of the culture you study. . .On your own. Enjoy the course!