Sc2218 lecture 4 (2010)

SC2218: Anthropology and the SC2218: Anthropology and the Human ConditionHuman Condition

Lecture 4: Culture, cultures,Lecture 4: Culture, cultures,and the Human Conditionand the Human Condition

Eric C. ThompsonEric C. Thompson

Semester 1, 2010/2011Semester 1, 2010/2011

Where Are We Going?Where Are We Going?

• Part 1: What is Anthropology?– Strangers Abroad– Race– Culture

• Part 2: What do Anthropologists Study?– Kinship, Gender, Economy, Community

• Part 3: Current Debates and Trends– Representing Others– The Poetry of Culture– World Anthropologies

YOU AREHERE

E-Learning WeekE-Learning Week• Week 8 (October 4-8) is E-Learning Week• Lectures and Tutorials WILL NOT MEET• Week 7 Tutorials (D2, D3) WILL NOT MEET• Lecture for Week 8 will be WebCast• Extra Wiki participation will substitute for Week 7-8

Tutorials• During Week 7-8: Spend at least 90 minutes on the

Wiki; post at least ONE comment in discussion threads; include the phrase *tutorial participation* in your contribution.

Opportunities for Extra CreditOpportunities for Extra Credit

• Participation in Class Exercises:– Week 5: Kinship Exercise (in Lecture)– Week 7: Exchange Exercise (in Lecture)

• Contribution to the Wiki– There is no “maximum” contribution.– Extra work will earn you extra credit.

From Last Week:From Last Week:1. “Old fashioned concepts of Race are not only socially divisive, but scientifically wrong.”

2. Culture as a capacity; the ability to learn and share knowledge through communication.

3. Evolution: qualitative change over time.

Not necessarily worse-to-better

Not in a single direction (unilinear)

Not necessarily gradual or “peaceful”

Outline of Today’s LectureOutline of Today’s Lecture• “The form is fixed… but culture takes off”

– What is Evolution? (Review)– The Importance of Culture (Wells)

• What is Culture?– Definitions– Culture/cultures

• What is the Difference between Culture & Society?• Final thoughts on Cultural Systems

– Processes and Patterns– Tradition and Change

What What isis Evolution? Evolution?

• Change in a system over time resulting in a qualitatively different system.

• The qualitative difference may or may not entail greater complexity.

Some Examples of Evolved SystemsSome Examples of Evolved Systems• Biological Species• Language• Bird Songs• Ecosystems• Settlement Patterns• Modes of Production• Kinship Systems

Recent Human Evolution?Recent Human Evolution?

• Human evolution in the past 50,000 years?

• Biologically – No (not substantially)– Biologically, humans are not qualitatively

different from each other now or from humans alive 50,000 years ago; differences are minor.

• Socially and Culturally – Yes– Major, qualitative differences between human

society and cultures today compared to 50,000 years ago.

““The Form Is Fixed . . .”The Form Is Fixed . . .”

http://anthro.palomar.edu/tutorials/physical.htmhttp://anthro.palomar.edu/tutorials/physical.htm

• 2.5 Million Years Ago – Homo habilis (the “handy man”)

• 1.8 Million Years Ago – Homo erectus (first out of Africa)

• 200,000 to 50,000 years ago – Modern Homo sapiens**Wells calls this “the Great Leap Forward” and “First Big Bang” in modern Human cultural evolution. Marking a qualitative difference between Homo sapiens and others; like Homo erectus. (pp.151)

““. . . and Culture Takes Off”. . . and Culture Takes Off”

http://anthro.palomar.edu/tutorials/physical.htmhttp://anthro.palomar.edu/tutorials/physical.htm

• Biological change in humans has been largely & literally superficial for 50,000 years.

• Human diversity is primarily cultural not physical or racial.

Agricultural Revolution*Agricultural Revolution*(a.k.a. Neolithic Revolution)(a.k.a. Neolithic Revolution)

• 10,000 – 5,000 years ago

• Humans start routinely planting and harvesting food

• Surplus production (especially of grains – rice, wheat, etc.) *Wells calls this the “Second Big Bang”

(The Importance of Culture, pp.150-151)

Agricultural & Surplus Lead To:Agricultural & Surplus Lead To:

1. Settled Populations2. Specialization in non-

agricultural production3. Increased

interdependence4. Increased trade and

exchange5. Hierarchy and State

Building

Complex Social Networking

Mesopotamian Ziggurat: Representation of State Power

First Urban RevolutionFirst Urban Revolution

• From 5,500 – 2,500 yrs ago• Urban Centers (“Cities”) appear in:• Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley (5,500-4,500 y.a.)• China (3,800 y.a.), Central & South America (2,500 y.a.)

Second Urban RevolutionSecond Urban Revolution

First Urban Revolution was associated with the Agricultural Revolution (about 10,000 years ago)

Second Urban Revolution is associated with the Industrial Revolution (since about 200 yrs ago)

Some call this “Modernity”

Population GrowthPopulation Growth

Population Explosion from about 1800 C.E.

10,000 y.a.: 8 million

1750 C.E.: 800 million

1820 C.E.: 1 billion

2002 C.E.: 6.3 billion

““The form is fixed…The form is fixed…and culture takes off”and culture takes off”

• In the past 50,000+ years…– Human biology has not changed (except only

superficially… ‘skin deep’).– Human society and culture have changed

significantly.

• What are Society and Culture?

What is….What is….

CULTURE?(Anthropology’s Key Concept)

E.B. Tylor’s definition . . .E.B. Tylor’s definition . . .

“Culture or Civilization . . . is that complex whole which includes

knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man* as a

member of society.” – 1871

*Ummmm…. and woman.

E.B. Tylor

*See: “Mr. Tyler’s Science” in Lee Cronk (1999)

Franz Boas . . . Culture as Franz Boas . . . Culture as cultivationcultivation

“If this trip has…a valuable experience, it lies in the strengthening of the viewpoint of the relativity of all cultivation. And that the evil as well as the value of a person lies in the cultivation of the heart, which I find or do not find here just as much as amongst us.” – 1883-1884

Franz Boas

*Quoted in the film: “Shackles of Tradition”

Clifford Geertz’s definition . . . Clifford Geertz’s definition . . .

“Man* is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun. I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning.” – 1973

*Again . . . to include woman!

Clifford Geertz

1926-2006

Clifford Geertz’s definition (2) ... Clifford Geertz’s definition (2) ...

Culture is our “models for and of the world.” – 1973

Models of… categories, ideas through which we make sense of the world.

Models for… categories, ideas through which we act in the world. Clifford Geertz

1926-2006

Lee Cronk, Lee Cronk, That Complex Whole…That Complex Whole…• “Culture is neither the act of baking a cake nor

the cake itself, but the recipe, the socially transmitted information that tells a person how to bake a cake.” (1999, p.12)

• “An ideational definition of culture… While culture is indeed not directly observable, it is nonetheless real. Real things that are not directly observable are routine things in science, and scientists study them all the time.” (1999, p.13)

Culture & culturesCulture & cultures

• “Culture”: A general capacity & process.– The cultural process is both public (Geertz)

and “in people’s heads” (Cronk)

• “cultures”: Patterns of thought (and behavior?), which are produced through the processes of “Culture”.– Malay culture, Chinese culture, American

culture, !Kung culture, etc…– Corporate culture, YouTube culture, etc…

““Strange Beliefs”Strange Beliefs”

• How did Evans-Pritchard’s view of magic and witchcraft differ from some of his predecessors?

• How were Azande granaries important in Evans-Pritchard’s research?

• What does it mean to say that Azande thinking has a “different point of departure”?

• Why was Evans-Pritchard interested in Nuer cattle?

Zande WitchcraftZande Witchcraft(E.E. Evans-Pritchard)(E.E. Evans-Pritchard)

• Not “irrational” but different way of understanding the world.

• Zande know why granaries collapse – but why do they collapse on a particular person at a particular time?

Culture, Religion, World ViewCulture, Religion, World ViewBelief SystemsBelief Systems

• Culture = a system of beliefs

• Religion = a system of beliefs

• Culture refers to sacred and secular beliefs

• Religion refers to sacred beliefs (about death, God, morality, etc.)

• “World View” is commonly used in the same way as “Culture”

What is the difference between:What is the difference between:Society and CultureSociety and CultureSocial and CulturalSocial and Cultural

The Thought & Behavior ProblemThe Thought & Behavior Problem

• Some anthropologists (like Cronk) argue for a distinction between:– Culture/Culture: as cognitive and symbolic– Society/Social: as behavior and practice

• Others use culture to mean both symbolic and behavioral systems (“that complex whole”)

Dr. Eric’s definitions ofDr. Eric’s definitions ofCultural and SocialCultural and Social

• Culture refers to our signaling systems (which, among other things, coordinate our actions)– Culture is learned, shared knowledge– Cultural systems are systems of meaning

• Social refers to our behavioral systems, specifically those behaviors through which we relate to other people (e.g. exchanges)– Social Systems are systems of relationship

and exchange.

How Social Systems & How Social Systems & Cultural Systems WorkCultural Systems Work

A Comparison ofA Comparison of

Cities as Social Systems to Cities as Social Systems to Countries as Cultural SystemsCountries as Cultural Systems

Example 1:The Social

Dynamics of Cities(Urban Systems)

Imagine a Society of independent farmers. Each farmer makes her/his own tools for farming (hoes) and grows and consumes her/his own crops.

Suppose, for whatever reason, B is good at making hoes. (For purposes of this example, it doesn’t really matter why.)

Let’s Trade!

So, C says to B, “tell you what, I don’t like making hoes. If you make hoes for me, I’ll giveyou my extra grain (agricultural surplus).”

B makes extra hoes for C. C gives extra grain to B in exchange for the hoes.

B is spending time making the hoes, so doesn’t have as much time for farming. But that’s ok because B is getting surplus food from C.

Hmmm… Hmmm…

A and F see this, and think, “That’s a pretty good idea, B makes really good hoes, and I don’t really like making hoes.”

Hoes Grain

So A and F start trading with B, exchanging agricultural surplus (grain) for hoes as well.

Hoes Grain

B quits farming altogether, and specializes in hoe production.

Hoes Grain

G and H see this, and think, “I really don’t like farming. I want to get into this hoe business.”

Hoes Grain

In order to get involved in the hoe business, they move to where the action is.

Hoes Grain

There are several reasons for this, all of which have to do with the dynamics of exchange.

Hoes Grain

One is that B happens to be centrally located, which facilitates trade with many customers. H and G can take advantage of that location.

Hoes Grain

Also, B, G, and H can all reside close to each other; it does not take a lot of space to produce hoes (in contrast to agriculture).

HoesGrain

In extremely simplified form, this is a classic example of how urban systems arise.

First Urban Revolution

• From 5,500 – 2,500 yrs ago• Urban Centers appear independently in:• Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley (5,500-4,500 y.a.)• China (3,800 y.a.), Central & South America (2,500 y.a.)

Example 2:The Cultural Dynamics

of Countries(“Territorial Nation-States”)

Say we have an island, or continent, with people living on it.

A few of the people on the island are particularly prominent, wealthy, or otherwise powerful.

In order to avoid conflict amongst themselves, they get together and decide to specify which territory each of them will control.

You stay on your side, I’ll

stay on mine, ok?

Together, they draw a map of the island with borders so that they all know where one territory ends and the other begins.

I thought YOU were bringing

Any one have paper and a pen?

Next, the people who drew the borders and the map have to let everyone else know about this.

So, they make copies of the map they’ve drawn and pass them around for everyone to see.

To make sure that everyone knows to which territory they belong, passports (identity cards, birth certificates) are issued to each person.

In very simplified form, this is how the system of countries (territorial nation-states) came into existence and how it operates.

BordersMaps,Place Names

Passports,Identity Cards,Birth Certificates

Countries are produced through cultural processes. Borders, maps, place names, identity cards, etc. are all ways to symbolically represent

the existence of countries. They are images. Countries are ideas.

Countries exist because people imagine them to exist; because people are able to share and communicate these ideas.This is a cultural process andcountries are culturalconstructs.

Countries (unlike urban systems) do not exist in the absence of such representations.

Social & Cultural SystemsSocial & Cultural SystemsThe Comparison of Cities as Social Systems and The Comparison of Cities as Social Systems and

Countries as Cultural Systems illustrates the Countries as Cultural Systems illustrates the distinction between the two.distinction between the two.

But neither exists without the other.But neither exists without the other.

We always live our lives in social systems (of We always live our lives in social systems (of relationship and exchange) and cultural systems relationship and exchange) and cultural systems

(of beliefs and ideas). (of beliefs and ideas).

We will refer back to these theoretical frameworks as we examine specific cultural systems in the coming weeks; Such as…

*Families and Kinship*Gender & Sexuality*Economic Organization & Exchange*Ethnicity, Race, Nationalism…

Culture: Processes of Being, Culture: Processes of Being, Becoming, and InteractingBecoming, and Interacting

All human beings have a capacity for “Culture”*

Our lives are an ongoing process of learning and changing through symbolic interaction with others.

““Cultures” as ProductCultures” as Product• Cultural Processes produce Patterns

• Cultural Patterns shape Processes

• Culture ≠ Tradition

• Tradition is one mode of cultural transmission (among others)

Cultural SystemsCultural Systems• Cultural Patterns are Systematic

– Elements related in Systematic Ways– Relationships are Essential to Meaning

• Tradition refers to transmission of the system of meanings unchanged, one generation to the next.

Culture as an Evolving SystemCulture as an Evolving System• Systematic ≠ Static, Unchanging• Cultural Systems change through:

– Substitution

– Displacement

– Ambiguity

““It’s a mistake to name a process It’s a mistake to name a process after a product . . . You can still go after a product . . . You can still go

fishing if you never catch a fish”fishing if you never catch a fish”- From the Film “Sight Unseen”- From the Film “Sight Unseen”

It is important to remember that:“Culture” as a general capacity for conceptualizing and process of symbolic interaction & interpretation

Is distinct from…“cultures” as a patterned outcome (product) of processes of “Culture”

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