movie paper
y654293137
WhatisCulture.pptxWhat do we mean when we say “culture”?
Defining culture (NY article)
“Culture” 2nd hardest word to define in English
“Culture” most looked-up word in Webster’s (2014)
Three senses of culture:
engagement with arts (e.g. “She just went to the MOMA exhibit. She’s so cultured.”)
Traditions/rituals of certain place/time (e.g. “Enjoy the vibrant local culture!”
Sets of (undesirable) norms/structures/hierarchies (e.g. “consumer culture,” “gun culture,” “rape culture”)
Author: 1&2 have positive connotations. 3 has negative connotations, and has become predominant usage.
Q: Do you agree with author’s analysis? If so, what accounts for the dominance of 3? If you disagree, why?
DEFINING CULTURE
In a sentence, or in keywords, try to come up with your own definition of “culture.”
Defining Culture
Clifford Geertz, 1973
Focus on symbolic meanings
Culture = historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic form by means of which humans communicate, perpetuate and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life
7 characteristics of culture: 1) Learned
Systems of language
Phonologic
Semantic
Syntactic
Pragmatic
“The Hidden Curriculum”
Q: What was on “hidden curriculum in your HS?
7 Characteristics of Culture: 2) Created
“[hu]mans are animals suspended in webs of significance they themselves have spun, I take culture to be those webs” -Geertz
7 Characteristics of Culture: 3) Rule-governed
7 Characteristics of Culture: 4) Symbol-systems
7 Characteristics of Culture 5) Changing
7 characteristics of culture 6) Distinctive
Cultural exchange vs.
Cultural appropriation
7 Characteristics of Culture: 7)Constraining
Boundaries
Horizons
Discussion questions
1. Culture is Created
Naturalistic fallacy: appeals to nature to justify values.
Do X because it is natural. Don’t do Y because it is not natural.
1a) Why do we continuously fall into naturalistic fallacy trap?
1b) What are some contemporary “appeals to nature” that you’ve noticed (in advertising/politics/social media, etc.)?
2. Culture is Learned
What is one aspect of your culture that you learned, that you wish you hadn’t? How might you go about “un-learning” it?
