2. What does the man on the
street think culture is?
Food
Dress
Music
Different language from me
Different race from me
Or, God forbid, ―opera‖ and ―ballet‖—
―High‖ Culture
3. The foregoing are only
“symptoms” of culture at
best…and complete
misunderstandings, at worst!
4. Before we decide what culture
IS…
We need to consider HUMAN BEHAVIOR
We need to consider LANGUAGE
We need to consider SPACE
We need to consider TIME
We need to think about how culture is
CONSTRUCTED……
5. How does culture come to be?
Culture is constructed by humans in order to
communicate and create community.
Culture begins with an imagining of the
world around us.
Culture is never static—it is ever-changing.
Most of culture is not visible—it’s carried
around inside the heads of its members
6. What are some examples of
cultures?
Family culture
National culture
Ethnic culture/tribal culture
Global culture
Work culture
Religious culture
Gender/sexual orientation culture
Ability culture
College student culture – college professor culture
7. Every culture has its own
discourse
What’s discourse?
– Language, including slang, jargon, ―inside talk‖
– Images (think of the ―discourse of advertising)
– Song lyrics
– The way a movie is put together, with its
images, language, and ―flow.‖ (think of The
Matrix)
– Traffic signals; signs
8. Are we prisoners of our own
cultures?
On one level, no.
– You’re both a college student and a member of
your family.
– You function both in relationship to your profs
and with your dorm community and friends.
– You may be part of many cultures: You can be
both Native American and a rugby player;
debate team member and Christian; saddle
bronc rider and poet.
10. We are forever, inextricably
influenced by our “home”
culture!
How come?
– Because the differences between cultures are so
internalized, unconscious, and accepted by the
individual as ―the normal way‖ that we can
never completely discard them, no matter how
culturally sensitive we become!
11. So, what are these hidden
mysteries of culture?
The difference between high context and
low context cultures says it all, so let’s
begin our comparison….
12. High Context … Low Context
Japan or Native Mainstream American
American – Most of info about
―what’s going on‖ is in
– Most of info about
―what’s going on‖ is to the explicit code—the
talk surrounding an
be found in the
event, whether it’s a
physical context.
wedding, a movie, a
– All cultural members
football game
get it without it having
– Cultural members like
to be explained
to talk and need to talk.
– Less talk
13. High Context … Low Context
Messages need to be
Messages are quickly
explicit because
perceived between
―what’s going on‖ is
cultural members
often changing, has no
because much of
particular context to
knowledge of ―what’s help explain
happening‖ is it, cultural members
internalized—as a aren’t supposed to
cultural member you know
are supposed to know automatically, questio
ning is valued.
14. High Context … Low Context
Examples
Church architecture Music videos
– Designs of classic – If the viewer is not
cathedrals are familiar with the artist
immediately or music style, a lot of
recognizable for the
what is going on
kind of building they
doesn’t make sense—
are.
needs to be explained
– See that architecture
by someone who is
brings other things to
familiar
mind: monks
chanting, history, faith – Quickly go out of
…many layers style, not ―classic‖
15. One more complicating factor
Polychronic Monochronic
This ―way of being‖ and This ―way of being‖ and
―way of seeing‖ is ―way of seeing‖ is
often, but not often, but not
always, found in High always, found in Low
Context cultures. Context cultures.
It literally means It literally means
multiple time One or single time
16. In what ways do we see the
evidence for Polychronicity
and Monochronicity?
Time
Space
Way of doings things or ―being in the
world‖
17. Time
How long will you wait at the doctor’s
office before you get pissed off?
When someone says ―the party starts at
7:00‖, what time do you arrive?
When you ask someone to do something
with/for you and they respond ―in a while,‖
how long does that mean?
How much do you rely on your wristwatch?
18. Space
Do you mind if your roommate spreads her
stuff on your side of the room?
Does your dad make you move out of his
chair?
How do you feel if someone cuts in front of
you in the pizza line? What if that person is
older, or the President of the University?
20. A sense of place:
Explain these concepts
He found a place in her heart.
She has a place in the mountains.
I’m tired of this place.
Your place or mine?
His place at the table.
We have to find a place for this new skillet.
I can’t place him.
21. Way of Doing Things or How
One is in the World
Do you like to have the TV on and many
people talking and moving around you
while you study?
Do you like to get one thing done before
you start another?
If you have a deadline and a friend wants to
talk about his problems, do you stop
working to listen?
22. More about Ways of Being…
Should people get into college because of
their grades or because they know someone
important at the school?
Do you think a meeting should start at the
scheduled time, or should the people
already there wait until all the people
concerned get there?
23. And finally…
Individuals are still individuals.
There is always room for variation.
If there is a cultural value from your own
culture that you abhor, you can work on
rejecting it and eradicating it from
yourself, and…
If you respect a value from another culture
that you embrace, you can work on
internalizing it.
