LectureOneCultureLearningObjectivesWarm-upExercisesDefinitionofCultureCharacteristicsofCultureMetaphorofCulturePartOneCaseAnalysisCase1ShowingConcernInChinaXiaoLi:Youmustbeverytired.You’reold..Catherine:Oh,I’mNOTold,andI’mNOTtired.IntheWestA:Howareyoudoingnow?Wouldyouliketorest?B.No,notabit.Case2FirstOfferOneday,AmericansofferedsomebeertoaChinesebutherefused.Theysaidnothinganddranktheirbeer,whilethepoorChinesewatched.Onanotherday,theChinesequicklyacceptedAmericans’offerofbeer,whichistotheirpuzzle.InChineseculture,itisnotpolitetoacceptonthefirstoffer.ChinesecustomsshowthattheChinesewasmodest,politeandwell-behavedandhadintentionofacceptingthebeeratthe2ndor3rdoffer.InAmericanculture,peopledon’tpushalcoholicbeveragesonanyone,forapersonmaynotdrinkforreligiousreasons.

Case3SameLanguage,

DifferentBehaviorsEnglishman:Atthemeetingtheothernight,youimmediatelycalledpeoplebytheirfirstnames.Wedothathere,butnotwhenwefirstmeetsomeone.American:That’showwemakepeoplefeelcomfortable.Peoplefeelfriendliertowardeachotherwhentheyusefirstnames.Case3SameLanguage,

DifferentBehaviorsEnglishman:Youtouchpeopleontheshoulderquitealot,especiallywhenyoucomplimentthem.American:IguessIhaveneverthoughtaboutthatbefore.IsupposethatiswhatIdoathomePartTwoCultureWarm-upCaseHavingtravelledtothecity,

amarmosetreturnedhome.Themarmosetintroducedthathesawbuildingswhichweremadeofconcreteandglasstouchingtheskyandbuildingswerefullofpeoplewalkingontwolegsandcarryingbriefcases.Later,hisfriendsandrelativesimaginedglassbranchesscratchingtheskyandpeoplerunningalongthebrancheswiththeirtailswrappingfirmlyaroundtheirbriefcases.

Why?

DifferentCulturesBetweenChineseandWesterners1.DifferentDefinitionsofCultureTheoriginoftheword“culture”camefromtheLatinword“cultura”.Itusedtobeaverb,whichmeant“till”.Inthe15thcentury,culturewasusedinEnglishtomean“pieceoftilledland;cultivation”Inthe16thcentury,itmeansthecultivationofthemind,manners,etc.”Inthe19thcentury,itmeanstheintellectualtrainingandrefinement.(Onions,1966).Nowadays,itsmeaninggraduallyextendedtothespiritualwordstomean“atypeofcivilization”etc.1.DifferentDefinitionsofCulture

Cultureistooinclusiveaconcepttodefine.Manyphilosophers,sociologists,anthropologistsandlinguiststriedtomakesatisfactorydefinitionsforit.Yetnoneofthemsucceeded.AccordingtostatisticalworkbyKroeberandKluckhohn(1952),therearemorethan164definitions.Therefore,itisnotsurprisingtofindmanydefinitionsandinterpretationsoftheworldculture.2.DefinitionofCultureFromthepicturewecanseethatculturepermeateseveryaspectofourlife.Thestudyofculture,therefore,coversalloftheitemsthatcomeundereachcategory.Inshort,cultureisthetotalwayoflifethatagroupofpeopleshare.Assuch,cultureisascomplicatedasthewayofhumanlife.2.DefinitionofCultureAsFerraro(1995)defines,cultureas“everythingthatpeoplehave,thinkanddoasmembersofasociety.”Itcoversallofthethreecomponents:(1)materialobjects(2)beliefsystems(3)behaviorpatternsMaterialobjectsBeliefsandvaluesystemsBehaviorpatternCulture3.IngredientsofCultureAlmanentandAlwan(1982)contendthat“culturemaybeclassifiedbythreeelements.”(1)artifact(2)concepts(beliefsorvaluesystems)(3)behavior(actualpracticeofconceptsorbeliefs.)Justlikethefollowingpicture.productsliteraturefolkloreartmusicideasbeliefsvaluesbehaviourscustomshabitsdressfoods4.Howtounderstand“culture”?1.Cultureishumanspecific.2.Itisasocialphenomenon.3.Itisanationalphenomenon.4.Itisahistoricalphenomenon.5.SourcesofCulture

LanguageNationalityEducation(general)

Profession(specializededucation)Group(ethnicity)SourcesofReligionCultureFamilySexSocialclassCorporateororganizationalculture

Thefigureaboveshowsthebasicsourcesofculturalbackgroundattheleveloftheindividual.Someoftheseoptionsarewidelysharedacrosscultures.PartThreeTheMetaphorofCultureTherearemanymetaphorsofculture.1.Cultureisthedancingstepofthehumanrace.

2.Cultureisthesocialadhesiveofallhumanrelationship.3.Cultureisthecomputerthatprogramstheeverydayconduct.4.Cultureisablueprintforliving.5.Cultureislikeaniceberg.Cultureislikeaniceberg.Views,attitudesPreferencehatredLove,habits,customs.painting,fooddress

Howtounderstandthemetaphorofculture

Cultureislikeaniceberg.Itisverynicebutdangerous.Because,onlyasmallpartofcultureisvisible,like,food,dress,painting,architectureanddanceetc.Theyareapparenttotheeyes.Agreaterpartofcultureishiddenunderthewater,suchasviews,attitude,preference,loveandhatred,customsandhabitsandsoon.Theyareoutofourawareness.Thismakesthestudyofculturedifficult.

PartFourCharacteristicsofCultureCultureislearnedbehavior.Cultureisusuallyacquiredunconsciously.Cultureissharedamongitsmembers.Cultureispersistentandenduring.Culturemanifestsitselfbothimplicitlyandexplicitly.Cultureisadaptiveandchangeable.Cultureisrelational.CharacteristicsofCulture

CharacteristicsofCulture(1)Cultureislearned.Cultureisacquiredthroughtheprocessoflearningorinteractingwiththeindividual’senvironment.Withouttheadvantagesofknowledgefromthosewholivedbeforeus,wewouldnothaveculture.Infact,thegroup’sknowledgestoredforfutureuseisatthecoreoftheconceptofculture.Frominfancy,membersofaculturelearntheirpatternsofbehaviorandwaysofthinkinguntilmostofthembecomeinternalizedandhabitual.CharacteristicsofCulture(2)Cultureisusuallyacquiredunconsciously.Mostofthebehaviorswelabelasculturalarenotonlyautomaticandinvisible,butalsoengagedinwithoutourbeingawareofthem.Itshouldbenotedthatthelearningofcultureisusuallydoneunconsciously.Becausecultureinfluencesusfromtheinstantweareborn,wearerarelyawareofmanyofthemessagesthatitsendsus.

CharacteristicsofCulture

(3)Cultureissharedamongitsmembers.

Thelearnedculturalpatternsarenotthepropertyofanyindividualsbutsharedbythemembersofthesamegrouporsociety.Becausecommonexperiencesproducecommonbehaviors.Thesharingofexperienceandbehaviorbindsmembersandmakesacultureunique.

CharacteristicsofCulture(4)Cultureispersistentandenduring.Cultureisnotcreatedanddevelopedovernight.Itisthedepositofhumanknowledgeandcollectionofbothmaterialandnon-materialwealthcreatedbymanoverthelongprocessofhumancivilization.Thisnatureofculturegivescontinuitytothedevelopmentofacultureandprovidesreinforcementtoitsmembersintheirlifetimelearningoftheculture.

CharacteristicsofCulture(5)Culturemanifestsitselfbothimplicitlyandexplicitly

Someaspectsofcultureareeasilyobservableandsomearenot.Thewaysofdressing,talkingandworkingarereadilynoticeable,buttheideasandmotivationsunderlyingthesesuperficialbehaviorsaregenerallyunrecognized,Thestudyofcultureanditspeopleshouldinvolvenotonlythelearningoftheexplicitrulesbutalsothoseimplicitbeliefs,valuesandattitudesthatrelatetothem.CharacteristicsofCulture

(6)Cultureisadaptiveandchangeable.

Cultureisongoingandsubjecttochange;Asideasandproductsevolvewithinaculture,theycanproducechangethroughthemechanismsofinventionanddiffusion(borrowingfromanotherculture).Popularculture,likemusic,food,hairstyle,clothing,furnishing,styleofcar,etc,isadaptiveandchangeable.

CharacteristicsofCulture

(7)Cultureisrelational.

Anycultureisanintegratedentity.Allthecomponentsofcultureareinterrelated.Thechangeofoneaspectofculturewillcertainlybringaboutchangesinotheraspectsaswell.Thestudyofcultureandpeopleshouldalsotakearelationalapproach.Inotherwords,weshouldstud