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Social Studies 1011874503322320Masai at a Wedding CeremonyMasai at a Wedding Ceremony118745025463500Culture (Cultural Anthropology) We learned about Ethnocentrism: The belief that your culture is superior to all others. Any time you’re feeling a group of people are primitive, bad or stupid, you might be trapped by this.When you study culture, you try to move away from your biases and examine other cultures on their own terms. This is perhaps the classic situation where minds are like parachutes, they only function when open.Young people, people who’ve grown up in uniform communities, people with strongly inflexible values sometimes find this difficult.It comes down to this, people are very different, but some things are common to all people. If you’re curious about that, you might like to study Cultural Anthropology.It’s good to recognize that Anthropology is one of those areas that uses scientific techniques but is not a true Science. The problem is that although there is much you can learn, it is not reproducible in most cases. Often Anthropology is done by learning the language of a far away people and living with them for a prolonged time.Culture is: Culture is the values, beliefs and perceptions of the world that lie behind people’s behaviour. These shared thoughts produce what is acceptable within that society. Cultures are learned through language, not instinct and biology.There are many ways cultures differ, but it’s interesting to be on the lookout for typical areas where they do:We are part of a Pluralistic Society where there is a diversity of cultures. Canada unusually has an official policy of Multiculturalism. Some people question if this is a good idea or even possible. left1397000QUESTION: Think of a case of culture shock you have experienced or an area of contrasting values in your community. Is everyone you know comfortable with Transgendered people? Are some people incensed about people who break the law and others critical of police practices? Does everyone agree about when and how sex and marriage should happen? Language: It is debated how much language affects our thinking. The classic example is the “50 words for snow” that exist in the Eskimo-Aleut languages. (This is also true of Potatoes in Peru and Camels in Arabic Countries). The many words exist partly because Inuit words are put together from parts:qanuk: ‘snowflake’kaneq: ‘frost’kanevvluk: ‘fine snow’qanikcaq: ‘snow on ground’muruaneq: ‘soft deep snow’nutaryuk: ‘fresh snow’pirta: ‘blizzard’qengaruk: ‘snow bank’This makes many believe that people see things very differently when they don’t share a language. This has been shown when people lack a word for certain colours for example. It’s not clear just how much language affects your perception however.It also interesting how other forms of communication, like gestures are also different across cultures.Raising Children: Kids are raised very differently in different cultures. In some, discipline is strict, in others it is extremely lax.There is an Anglo-Indian, Sindhu Vee, comic that does a funny bit about this (pardon the language): is a major gap between cultures that promote cooperation primarily and those that promote competition. !Kung people are very cooperative and don’t discipline their children, however cooperative play is encouraged.Many other societies including some African, South Asian and East Asian (Victorian Britain 120 years ago). Have parents so strict that they allow almost no recreation and control all aspects of a child’s life.There is a famous book about this called The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Yale Law Professor and Chinese-American Amy Chua. EXTENSION: North America, particularly the US, competition is encouraged. This is also true of many other countries. In some countries, it is discouraged.This could be why some countries emphasize independent behaviour (Individualism) and other emphasize group behaviour (Collectivism). Which do you think Canada is?Read more: EXTENSION: of Subsistence: One of the main influences on a culture is how it gets food. 2311400381000Foraging, sometimes known as hunting and gathering, describes societies that rely primarily on “wild” plant and animal food resources.?Pastoralism?is a subsistence system in which people raise herds of domesticated livestock.?Horticulture?is the small-scale cultivation of crops intended primarily for subsistence.?Agriculture is the subsistence system used in Canada, and involves the cultivation of domesticated plants and animals using technologies that allow for intensive use of the land.40455853317875-88905080Sex, Marriage and Family – When Europeans first encountered sexually liberal societies such as Tahiti (usually after having been onboard ship for weeks with only men) they were very excited. This was a challenge to the European culture that is still disputed today.Marriage exists in every culture. It almost always is what allows a couple to have sexual access to each other. It was particularly important before reliable birth control.What is appropriate or preferred in sex and marriage varies widely across culture.Polygamy exists in many cultures, usually one husband several wives, and less common is Polyandry one wife and several husbands.In many cultures Arranged Marriage is a strict rule. Research is not clear if picking your own partner works any better.403479071755 Queen Draupadi and her 5 husbands Queen Draupadi and her 5 husbandsIt’s hard to measure, but research suggests that almost 50% of marriages end in divorce. (The number is lower among people with college degrees for some reason). The number of people getting married is going down also. EXTENSION: many cultures getting a marriage partner isn’t free; the wife or the husband’s family had to be paid with money or service. Bride Price: The husbands family pays. Dowry: The wife comes with her inheritance.Money and Work – Many societies have different systems of money and labour. Some are egalitarian where everyone is equal. (Many tribal societies that move around, Nomads, are egalitarian.) left000Some are hierarchical like European Societies, with a ruler, a nobility, a peasantry and sometimes slaves. What is Canadian Society?Money is different in different societies. In the Triobriand Islands, the number of Yams in your Yam house indicates your wealth and influence. Sometimes money is gifts of goods and resulting social obligations. left43561000The Potlach often works like that in BC. If you want to be an important Chief, you need to give gifts to all the important families. This is also how government works in the Cargo system of Mexico and Guatemala. This means money is power, but only if you give it away. Our society lacks this system of redistribution. Sometimes wealthy people become more powerful and richer until they control much of the money, property and goods that are in circulation.Culture in General – Many things we didn’t discuss: Spirituality, Ethics, Work, Family and Community Groups, Art, Households and many other things are parts of culture. All parts of a Culture are interconnected.As humans, it is often troubling the be surrounded by a foreign culture, but we can fight our xenophobic instincts and work to challenge our assumptions and engage with the uncertainty and wider perspective of other cultures. This will make us wiser and more tolerant people.We may have made some ethical improvements to our culture recently, but we still have not proven we will survive. Whenever you feel superior, remember our culture at present doesn’t appear to be sustainable, and it will have to change enormously to survive the coming challenges.Some cultures have survived for thousands of years. It is thought that the San Bushmen of South East Africa and the Aboriginal Australia have culture in common with their ancestors many tens of thousands of years earlier. Even BC First Nations might have a related culture to their 14 000 year-old ancestors. ................
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