Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison
-
Upload
paulvmcdowell -
Category
Business
-
view
14.622 -
download
0
description
Transcript of Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison
![Page 1: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Introduction
Cross-Cultural Comparison
![Page 2: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
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?
![Page 3: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
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
![Page 4: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
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
![Page 5: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
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
![Page 6: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
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
![Page 7: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
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
![Page 8: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
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”
![Page 9: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Concept of Culture
All cultures have at least five characteristics in common:
Learned
Shared
Patterned (Integrated)
Adaptive
Symbolic
![Page 10: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
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
![Page 11: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
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
![Page 12: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
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)
![Page 13: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
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.
![Page 14: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
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
![Page 15: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
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)
![Page 16: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
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.
![Page 17: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Course Requirements: Nuts and Bolts
To be transferable to a CSU or UCThe 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
![Page 18: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
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
![Page 19: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
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
![Page 20: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
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
![Page 21: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
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,
![Page 22: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
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
![Page 23: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Examples of States
Theocratic States: Tibet is Classic Example
Aztecs, Maya, and Inca also focused on their gods
Feudal States; Japan, China
![Page 24: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
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
![Page 25: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
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
![Page 26: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
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
![Page 27: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
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
![Page 28: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
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
![Page 29: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
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
![Page 30: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Comparison](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062303/554925acb4c90547498bbd7f/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
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!