22/03/2011
Challenge 4: How do we cope with cultural dilemmas in an increasingly globalized world?
"Culture" concept
"Culture" concept
Body Ritual among the Nacirema
(Canadian Cree, Mexican XX, Notgnishsaw)
How is stereotype other people, what kind of words we use to describe other people when we describe other countries.
The evolutionary concept of culture
- Some cultures are better and more rigth than others
- Some cultures rank higher than others on a "developing ladder"
- The goal (at least from those on the top of the ladder) must be always to move up the leadder -- to become more and more developed towards Western standards
- All cultures are equal
- Culture as homogenic islands
- Cultural relativism is the principle taht an individuals human beliefs and activities should be undesrtood by others in terms of that individual´s own culture
Problems with the evolutionary and the relativistic concept of culture are:
- Individual differences are ignored
- The local context is ignored
- Culture is not something that you have
- Culture is created among people, when they interact
- Culture is the tacit knowledge, the meanings and values that we share -- but we do not know if beforehad
- Everyone in a culture does know share the same values
- Culture many not be seen as fx national cultures (homogenic cultures)
- There are always differences within a culture -- there can be certain dominating logics, but not everyone agree about that logic
- The cultures are constanly moving -- and there will always be negotiations
- We are moving between several different cultures
This class has helped me to open my mind and change what I understood as "culture. " I thought that culture was all: religion, traditions, languages, values, rules, history ... but now I understand that the concept of culture is very abstract and it is not easy to use if you understand well.
Culture is relative, we use this concept wrong, when we talk about culture, we are talking about cultural conflict, cultural diversity, cultural differences ... in this concept there are many more concepts.
Also I think the word "culture" is not practical when you talk about human differences. All people are different, even though have the same culture, though we live in the same place or if we are brothers and sister... all persons are totally different and diversity is not only cultural, it is also personal, and that is wonderful and very rewarding.