What is Culture?

Learning objective: Our goal in this class is to not only look at what the cultural practices, traditions, and norms are, but to ask why they came to be.  We will be giving you direct feedback on how well you understand cultural diversity. We will be looking at the reasons for and circumstances of particular traditions and practices in order to learn about deep culture. We will think like anthropologists – ie use the research tools of anthropology while learning about the art, literature, music, dance, clothes, and other forms of visible culture.  Reflections will also be an important part of the writing you do this semester, as will the intercultural development interview.  These allow you to think about not only Turkish culture, but how you think about cultural diversity. We are learning to be cultural learners.
Let’s start by considering one analysis of culture. What do you think of this quote?
“It has long been recognized that culture is very hard for humans to think about culture. Like fish in water, we fail to “see” culture because it is the medium within which we exist.” (Cole, 1996, p. 8)
Image of a fish in a fishbowl

Fish, by mohamed_hassan, Pixabay, CC0 https://pixabay.com/illustrations/fish-aquarium-bowl-aquatic-4191925/

What is the water? What do we take for granted as understood when we’re in our own culture?
What do you think about this quote?
“Encounters with other cultures make it easier to grasp our own as an object of thought.”  (Cole, 1996, p. 8)
Let’s make a word cloud to capture our thinking – https://www.jasondavies.com/wordcloud/
What would you tell someone from another country about culture in your home town?
So. . . Are there aspects of culture we do see?
  • Material Culture
  • Cultural Practices
Write your thoughts down about your own culture and save for the autobiography assignment.
Would anyone like to share?

Visible and Invisible aspects of culture:

 

Graphic of an iceberg

This graphic of an iceberg shows the different aspects of culture, visible (above the water), and invisible (below the water). Iceberg, by Olga Berrios, Flickr, CC 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/ofernandezberrios/2427741646

Quotes:
Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. /z-wcorg/.