Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 01

CULTURE is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by men as members of society. (Edward B. Taylor) Not observable behaviors, but shared ideals, values and beliefs people use to interpret, experience and generate. CULTURE MEANINGS, KNOWLEDGE, BELIEFS, IDEAS, POWERS, LAWS & RULES, VALUES ANTHROPOLOGY has humanity as its object but unlike other human sciences it tries to grasp its object through its most diverse manifestations. Its a comparative study of cultural and social life. ITS ABOUT HOW DIFFERENT PEOPLE CAN BE AND WHAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION (FIELDWORK) is a thorough close-up study of a particular society (it lasts about a year). PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY is identification of human skeletal remains for legal purposes state sponsored terrorism and crime victims investigation of human rights abuses ARCHEOLOGY deals with material remains of human past, enduring relics of ethnic cultures dating back to 2.5 million years. The Archeology of Garbage University of Arizona, 1973 William Rathje & Cullen Murphy studied local garbage dumps with the methods of anthropology which resulted in release of the book Rubbish! (1992). It came out that information obtained this way is much more accurate that information gained by asking people about their behavior and habits (e.g. their consumption of alcohol they may underestimate it, while investigation of their garbage show how it really looks like). Anthropology is less contained than other social sciences (history, linguistics, philosophy, sociology) but has a lot to learn from them and develops with them. LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY genealogical relationships between languages distribution of languages how long and where did the speakers live LINGUISTICS language description language history

vs.

ETHNOLOGY (SOCIO-CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY) focus on present cultures study of behaviors that can be seen, experienced and discussed with those cultures to be understood fundamental to an ethnologist is DESCRIPTIVE ETHNOGRAPHY (description of first-hand experience). Whereas the sociologist or the political scientist might examine the beauty of a flower petal by petal, the anthropologist is the person that stands on the top of the mountain and looks at the beauty of the field. Robert Gordon ANTHROPOLOGY UNIVERSALISM vs. RELATIVISM To what extent are different cultures different and what do they have in common. ETHNOCENTRISM is the emotional attitude that ones own race, nation or culture is superior to all other ones.

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 02

Studying culture in the field: peoples own understanding of the rules they share behaviors that can be directly observed An anthropologist should cast aside his/her feelings and biases or at least try to do so. e.g.: Bronisaw Malinowski in his study of Trobraiand society attributed the Trobraiand womens high social status to matrilineage, yet he never attributed it to the productive work and wealth and was mostly interested in the male side of things OBJECTIVITY IS HARD TO OBTAIN

URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY developed after there were almost no places to investigate like before (far away islands or so). It makes ethnography a two-way process the observed society can read what the observers write about them.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY

Victorian Anthropology white mans burden the Europeans alleged duty of civilizing the savages (as weve ended social evolution and now we have to help them develop) response to Darwins Theory of Natural selection all humans are closely related and primary of the biological over the cultural DIFFUSIONISM understands that cultures traits spread from one society to another through migration, war, trade etc. so-called armchair anthropologists (using only written sources) HISTORICAL PARTICULARISM(Franz Boas) all cultures are different and unique, they have their own history which cannot be reduced to a category in some universalist scheme of development. Bronisaw Malinowski (founder of the modern British sociology) described the requirements for the ethnographic fieldwork systematically: take active participation in the society under scrutiny know the language they use TWO BRITISH SCHOOLS OF ANTHROPOLOGY: (?????? Ten fragment jest podjerzany) BIOPHYSICAL FUNCTIONALISM (Malinowski) inborn physical needs are the driving force in the development of the social institutions. Four basic instrumental needs require institutional devices. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM(Alfred Radcliffe-Brown) the acting individual is irrelevant, focus on social institutions (kinship, norms, policies).

ANTHROPOLOGISTS MAIN INTERESTS: 1920s The Pacific Islands 1930s Africa 1950s American Indians, Latin Americans, South East Asia 1960s New Guinean Highlands Today HERE

SOCIETY is a group who shares a homeland and dependent on each other for survival and who share a common culture. shared ideas, values, standards of behavior dependence: economic systems, family relationships (social structures) A culture cannot exist without a society. Its shared by the members of a society, but its not uniform. Theres CULTURAL VARIATION and INDIVIDUAL VARIATION GENDER ROLES are elaborations on biological differences between the sexes. SUBCULTURE is a subgroup of a society functioning by its own distinctive standards of behavior that shares some standards with the rest of the society. PLURALISTIC SOCIETY is a society in which cultural variation is especially marked and few standards if any are shared. The problem this situation causes is the low level of mutual understanding. CULTURE IS LEARNED ENCULTURATION is a process in which culture is transmitted from one generation to another.

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 03

Cultural ecology an approach developed by Julian Steward the study of adjustment the ways of life to different habits culture as an adaptive mechanism this way of survival is influenced by natural selection the same way as in the process of evolution humans are able to adjust to new environment by changing their habits, customs and cultures Environment, adaptation and subsistence
cultural area a geographic region where numerous different societies follow a similar pattern of life carrying capacity the number of people the available resources can support at a given technological level density of social relations the number and intensity of social interactions among the members of a camp

4 TYPES OF SUBSISTANCE ADDAPTATION:

FOOD FORAGERS began 10,000 years ago collecting food by fishing, hunting wild animals, wild plants the least specialized subsistence technology: digging sticks, traps (?), fire (?), hand skills live year-round in groups of less than 100, highly mobile, the family as a basic political unit exist in areas of marginal interest to the plant and animal domestication the tundras, deserts, inaccessible forests optimal foraging theory: the greater the caloric costs of obtaining food, the less likely itll be sought EQUALITY OF SEXES: men go hunting and women collect plants women provide 60%-70% of all calories women can gather plants while taking care of the children they nurse infants several times an hour over a period of 4 -5 years, which is a natural form of contraception, so: women give births at widely spaced intervals and the number of offspring remains low

HORTICULTURALISTS began 9,000 11,000 years ago domestication of plants and animals (sheep, goats, dogs, cattle) slash and burn technology: trees and vegetation cut away, left to dry and the burned before a crop can be planted tropical forest or savannas; since the nutrients in the soil become depleted they cultivate a few lots (?) simultaneously, each for a different length of time and grow several crops together each family is autonomous part of the village of several hundreds sedentary they stay in the same place for generations

PASTORALISTS animal husbandry as the major source of food (cattle, camels, reindeers, llamas, goats etc.) many of pastoralists began as family groups adjusting to less productive environment transhumance a migratory way of life in different seasons, two primary foraging areas for their animals (e.g. in this part of the year they live in X, in the another part they travel to Y and return to X next year and so on) present in deserts, grass lands, savannas, mountains that are unable to sustain agriculture no surpluses AGRICULTURE intensive cultivation animal and technological power use of chemical fertilizers and irrigation high yields and little investment of human labor a system of government that is not solely based on family class distinction inherited differences and wealth within communities

overgrazing too many animals grazing in one area can lead to problems such as the loss of farmland that occurred in West Africa.

Cultural adaptation has enabled humans to survive in a variety of environments. Sometimes, though, what is adaptive in certain circumstances or in the short period of time might maladaptive in other circumstances or in the long run. A society must strike the balance between the self-interest of the individuals and the needs of the group. If one or another becomes paramount, the result may be cultural breakdown.

Culture may be viewed as an adaptive mechanism a system designed to ensure the continued wellbeing of a group of people, it may be termed successful as long as it secures the survival of a society in a way that its members recognize as reasonably functioning. In structural functionalism society is an organism, an integrated whole of functional social instruments . If an institution is not functional, it vanishes. In American functionalism a culture can survive if it responds efficiently to its members survival needs.

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 04

Lewis Henry Morgan Universal Evolution Mankind commenced their career at the bottom of the scale and worked their way up from savagery to civilization. LINEAR PROGRESS THROUGH THE AGES: BARBARIANS lower, middle, upper

SAVAGES lower, middle, upper (promiscuous horde)

CIVILIZATION (state, monogamy)

Words for kinship are signs of progress (the more of them a society has the more civilized it is).

Leslie White Technological Determinism Technology is foundation of social and ideological systems. Technological system is basic and primary. Progress = less energy used and more gains

Julian Stewart Multilinear Evolution Five cultural traditions evolved in similar avid and semi-avid (?) environments where agricultures had been able to flourish. There are patterned regularities in all cultures. Three steps of cultural-ecological investigation: 1. Interrelationship of technology and environment 2. Behavior patterns involved in the exploitation of a particular area by means of popular technology 3. Behavior patterns as affecting other aspects of culture Cultural core the cultural features that determine a societys way of subsistence Mind the role of religion and ideology as affecting subsistence, e.g.: In Poland people dont eat horse meat. Why?

Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead Culture and personality Their work is against the 19th century social evolutionism and diffusionism and the functionalism of Radcliff-Brown and Malinowski. They believed in cultural determination and studied the process of socialization, which creates patterns of personality different socialization practices result in different personality types.

Enculturation the process of passing culture from generation to generation it begins with self-awareness (ability to identify oneself and evaluate oneself) self-identification alone isnt enough positive value to the self must be attached this develops in concert with neuromotor(?) development Personality a distinct way one thinks, feels and behaves; a product of enculturation of individual with their own genetic make-up. During the process the cognitive map (mental map) is build. Ruth Benedicts theory of culture and personality: We must investigate a certain behavior regarding the cultural background of a certain culture. Types of personality: Dionysian ecstatic, egocentric and individualist Apollonian living by the golden mean, no excess and disruptive behavior Paranoid magic ridden, fearing and hating everyone

CHILD REARING DEPENDANCE TRAINING promotes compliance with the group feeding on demand the definition of self comes from ones affiliation with the group INDEPENDENCE TRAINING feeding according to a schedule the competition (e.g. in schools) is highlighted

Margaret Mead and dr. Benjamin Svock (?) released a book Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care which urged parents to rear children trusting their own judgment, even not according to existing cultural patterns.

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 05

(I think there was more on it, but, unfortunately, I was late for this lecture) Distinction between sex and gender: Sex = chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal and external sex organs Gender = the characteristics that a society or culture defines as masculine and feminine

National character studies took place during and after World War II culture at distance studies use of newspapers, books, photographs, interviews of expatriates A case study be Geoffrey Gorer(?) How come Japanese people are so brutal during warfare as opposed to their gentle family life? Hypothesis: Its because of the way they are raised. Japanese infants have to control their sphincter (=zwieracz), before they acquire neurological and muscular development. As adults Japanese people express their rage through ruthlessness in war. HYPOTHESIS WAS TESTED AND FOUND TO BE FALSE Dangers of national character studies: it happens that the scholars dont know the language of people whose culture they investigate there is danger of generalization failure to account for cultural complexity insufficient evidence small samples of information simplistic psychological theories

STRUCTURALISM (Claude Levi-Strauss) There are parallels between language and certain aspects of culture such as kinship, exchange, myths. They are all a form of communication analogous to language. For all their variety, these exchanges follow a small set of deep structure. Human thought is structured into contrastive pairs light/dark, good/evil, raw/cooked. Self/others is a contrastive pair necessary for communication.

Descent groups members of those trace their connections back to a common ancestor Kinship system is the single most important social institution. Kinship systems are elaborations on four fundamental kin relations: brother-sister husband-wife father-son mothers brother-mothers son

Avuculate a relationship between a young men and his mothers brother. Ego & Father Ego & Mothers Brother Father & Mother Mother & Mothers Brother + + + + + + + + -

Familiar relationship / Relationship of authority PATRILINEAR SYSTEM MATRILINEAR SYSTEM

Cognatic system in Europe and North America kin of both sides are equally important

RESIDENCE PATTERNS: PATRILOCAL the Brides family loses its offspring, shes a newcomer in her husbands family MATRILOCAL the husband joins his wifes family AMBILOCAL both ways are possible NEOLOCAL a married couple start their household in a new location

WHY IS THERE INCEST TABOO? Kinship systems are about the exchange of women to achieve reciprocity a fundamental structure of human (???) GIFTS trust, aid, solidarity Women are gifts Incest taboo ensures that such exchanges take place between different peoples (exogamy). The formation of society occurs when a man gives his sister away to another man forming affinity (=powinowactwo).

 INSTINCTIVE HORROR OF INCEST (BUT: 10-14% of children under 18 in US are somehow involved in incestuous relationships!) PSYCHOANALYTIC EXPLANATIONS son desires his mother, rivalry with the father Oedipus complex father viewed as a castrator son identifies with the father UNDESIRABLE GENES eliminated PREFERENCE FOR GENETIC DIVERSITY In ancient Egypt existed obligatory brother-sister marriage: royal family were believed to be semi-divine they had to keep from marrying mortals to maintain their sacredness keeping their goods with them

Primogeniture the eldest son receives the largest part of the inheritance Ulimogeniture (?) the youngest son does

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 06

Max Weber: Industrialization weakens kinship bounds leading to the growth of anonymous bureaucratic organization TRADITIONAL SOCIETIES loyalty to specific persons obliged to help each other, but its good to treat different kin differently status is ascribed & connected with ones kinship particularistic treatment MODERN SOCIETIES loyalty to the law follow rules & principles that regulate the treatment of others status is achieved universalistic principles

Kinship has been replaced by metaphoric kinship ideologies: nationalism presents nation as a metaphoric kinship group, like lineage its based on contrast us vs. them. Nation may function as a lineage group e.g. when a person dies with no heirs the state inherits eir estate. CONJUGAL FAMILIES independent nuclear family polygamous families CONSANGUINEAL FAMILIES consisting of women, their dependant offspring & the womens brothers married men and women live together as members of one household EXTENDED FAMILIES part conjugal, part consanguineal living together elders authority in-marrying spouses adjust their ways to conform to the expectations of the new family

NUCLEAR FAMILY In the 4th century Roman-Catholic Church prohibited close marriages, discouraged adoption, condemned polygamy, concubinage and divorce. Nuclear family replaced consanguineal family and ensured large number of people with no male heirs (20% have girls only) Church inherited the estate. (how nice of it) In industrial society ones nuclear family is a refuge a place of permanent love and affection in ever-changing world. In 1960s unrelated nuclear families lived together in communes.

LEVIRATE the wife marries one of the brothers of her dead husbands; security for the widow and her children; the husbands family has rights to wifes sexuality SORORATE the husband marries one of the sisters of his dead wifes SERIAL MONOGAMY AND FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS a form of marriage common in North America a series of partners in succession women who bear children by men who arent married to them paternity unrecognized in 50% of the cases upon divorces children stay with their mothers after a year their living standard drops 73%, while their fathers increases 42% women seek mens support, they cannot support themselves a housewife performs unpaid work, divorced, she cant a find a well-paying job due to lack of skills affected by the conditions womens purchasing power is declining

MYTHS
Levi-Strauss notes that many different cultures have similar myths. Myths have deep structure. They are like language they comprise use of mythemes, which take meaning only when combined in particular patterns. Myths are structured in terms of binary oppositions. All myths have similar sociocultural function within society to magically resolve its problems and contradictions. To fully understand the myth we should look at the narrative they way mythemes are used. Myths stories we tell ourselves as a culture in order to banish contradiction and make the world understandable and therefore habitable. Myths attempt to put us at peace with ourselves and our existence.

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 08

RELIGION AND SUPERNATURAL
Religion the beliefs and patterns of behavior by which humans try to deal with what they view as important problems that cannot be solved with technology or organizational techniques. It consists of various rituals: prayers, songs, dances, offerings and sacrifices people enact to try to manipulate the supernatural beings. WHY HAVE RELIGION IN THE SCIENCE ERA? threat of nuclear catastrophe health threats of pollution unease about biotechnology GMO, in vitro, genetics loss of economic security in the era of downsizing fear of loneliness in the society as a result of isolation from kin Religion is opium for the masses Karl Marx RELIGION REFLECTS AND CONFIRMS THE STRATIFIED STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY supernatural beings: gods, angels, saints of Christianity hierarchy rationalizes the social order and relations of subordination may offer some compensation for a subordinate position in the society e.g.: in three great monotheistic religions we have a masculine god -head and a woman as a cause of original sin, which explains mens superiority PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF RELIGION: reduces anxiety of the unknown provides comfort (theres always someone up there to help you) reinforces group norms with notion of what is right and wrong and helps to keep people in line transfers the burden of decision making from people to supernatural beings offers continuity of life after death maintains social solidarity used to enhance the learning of oral tradition HOW DO MAJOR DEITIES RELATE TO LIFE? GODS societies where women are subordinate to men define god-head in exclusively masculine terms; economies based upon herding of animals or intensive agriculture; patrilocal GODESSES prominent in societies where women have a major contribution to the economy and enjoy equality with men; farming societies dependant on womens labor; matrilocal

ANCESTRAL SPIRITS they participate in family life they may be malevolent or benevolent reborn as new members of society they are similar to the living (emotions, feelings, behaviors)

ANIMISM sees nature as animated everything has a soul: plants, animals, mountains its typical for peoples who view themselves as a part of the nature food foragers and food producing peoples spirits offer care to individuals hunters may meet them in the woods they help and hinder the shaman ANIMATISM world is animated by impersonalized supernatural powers e.g. the Melanesians think of mana a sacred impersonal force present in all objects, its physical itself but can manifest itself physically

MYTHS AND SUPERNATURAL BEINGS: myths rationalize the religious practices and beliefs they are full accounts of supernatural beings actions and reinforce belief in them they illustrate the societies ethical code of actions

RELIGIOUS SPECIALISTS the priests, ministers, rabbi, pastors full-time religious specialists, they underwent special training, they tell people what to do shamans part-time specialists, they acquired their position through their own initiative due to possessing certain special abilities for dealing with supernatural beings, they tell the gods what to do shamanism may be therapeutic for it provides a good outlet of self -expression for an unstable or artistic personality SHAMAN A RELIGIOUS ENTERPRENEUR acts on behalf of a client to cure or foretell the future really believes in eir power intervenes to influence or impose eir will on the supernatural frequently uses drugs to connect emself with the spiritual world it may be placebo (or nocebo) effect todays faith healers conform to the definition of the shaman

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 10

3 MODES OF DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIAL GOODS: RECIPROCITY / REDISTRIBUTION / MARKET EXCHANGE
RECIPROCITY goods are given from one group to another as gifts, but there is understanding that the sharing is mutual GENERALIZED RECIPROCITY no assumption of immediate exchange, e.g. goods are services provided by children to their parents BALANCED RECIPROCITY an immediate return of the gift is expected, e.g.: barn rising in Amish communities silent trade no direct interaction between traders, surplus goods are left in place where other people will find them and replace with their equivalents NEGATIVE RECIPROCITY e.g. white people came to Africa and exchanged water for gold/diamonds KULA RING CYCLE as described by BRONISAW MALINOWSKI Men periodically sail in their canoes to exchange shell valuables with other Kula partners who live on distant islands. Red shell necklaces always circulate clockwise, while shell bracelets circulate counterclockwise. With those exchanges Trobriand men seek to create history, the necklaces accumulate their tribal histories and names of those who possessed them, proclaim fame and talent and mens influence in the process. high social rank, good navigator food, tools and other items of economic importance were also exchanged keeping alive the tradition of the islands amicable relationship among trade partners from different islands lasting for generations REDISTRIBUTION present in sedentary agricultural societies with sufficient surplus and a form of government; income flows into public coffers in the form of gifts, taxes and the is distributed again; those societies have irrigation system, local police and lighting MOTIVES FOR REDISTRIBUTION: maintain prestige, power and position of superiority through the display of wealth to assume those who support the agent an adequate standard of living e.g. WOP, 1% Campaign devices of leveling redistribution of taxes CONSPICOUS CONSUMPTION (Thorsten Veblen, 1899) in societies that produce a significant surplus people gain goods of prestigious value to impress others with their display of wealth ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY anthropology of economic systems: production, distribution an consumption

MARXIST ANTHROPOLOGY
MARXISM based on the writings of a German philosopher Karl Marx and social socialist Friedrich Engels. Its a form of historical materialism it stresses the historical specificity and the changeable character of social formulation. The determining factors behind social change are the material conditions of social existence. Marxism puts stress on conflicting economic interests between distant social classes as leading to a transformation and replacement of the existing mode of production with a new one. MARXS ANALYSIS OF CAPITALISM: the mode of production based on private ownership of means of production (in his gay mills, factories and workshops, today multinational corporations). the fundamental class division of capitalism: BOURGEOISIE who own the means of production and PROLETARIAT who must sell their labor to survive capitalism makes profit by extracting surplus value from workers, the new value created by workers in excess of their own labor-cost and which appropriated by the capitalist; it allows then for profit and in so doing is the capitalist accumulation in such societies its the proletariat to overthrow this system and replace it with some other more friendly THE RULING IDEAS ARE THE ONE OF THE RULING CLASS SUPERSTRUCTURE Education, family, medicine, religion, politics (everything not connected with the production) ------------------------------------------BASE RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION b. exploits the proletariat MEANS OF PRODUCTION All the things you used to produce

BASE shapes the SUPERSTRUCTURE

SUPERSTRUCTURE maintains and legitimates the BASE

MARXIST ANTHROPOLOGY emerged primarily from France in the 1960s. It developed out of two motives: disconnection with the earlier functionalist paradigms for the study of societies the need to evaluate anthropologys historical relationship with colonialism Also: it was inspired by Lewis Henry Morgans evolutionism (barbarianism civilization thing) unlike functionalism Marxism stresses the historical development of culture

FEMINISM AND MARXISM In the 1960s feminist scholars proposed to take account of womens mode of reproduction controlled through social expectations, especially concerning marriage, the care of children and domestic work within the family and how these act to condition their roles and evaluations in the external labor market WOMEN AS A SOCIAL CLASS OPRESSED BY MEN Eleanor Burke Leacock Subordination of women as a consequence of capitalism rather than universal inferiority of women

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 11

FEMINIST ANTHROPOLOGY Influenced by Marxism, feminists in the 1960s ask questions about the way social expectations controlled womens reproductive activities through marriage, the care of children and domestic work within the family and how these act to condition their roles and evaluations in the external labor market. Do women have facilities (kindergartens, nurseries etc.) that would allow them to participate in the public life? Are women subordinate in all societies? Do gender roles vary with social evolution? What is the relationship between gendered relations and other relations of social distinction such as access to property, status and power? HAVE WOMEN ALWAYS BE DEVALUED? FOOD FORAGERS egalitarian gender relationships, matrilineal clans under property partners were shared GROWTH OF AGR. subjugation of women as a class, monogamy so that property would pass to their heirs FEMALE SUBJUGATION IS A HISTORICAL DEVELPOMENT: in egalitarian societies we produce goods to consume in capitalist societies we produce good also to exchange them, business bonds weaken the family bonds, womens share in the exchange of commodities is limited due to childcare and nurturing, women are deprived of control over their own production. Monogamy, patriarchy, private property and class relations are explicitly political. BARI (VENEZUELA) the Colombian government introduced male chiefs it encouraged surplus production of manioc men control the money women were excluded from subsistence activities men have nets and motorboats women cant fish no more

ONE IS NOT BORN, BUT RATHER BECOMES A WOMAN Simone Bearior FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF ANTHROPOLOGY: In dominant ethnographic discourses anthropologists imported their own cultures bias assumptions and expectations about the male-female relationship. They found women everywhere at lower position and then contended that female inferiority was cross-natural.

IS MALE TO FEMALE AS NATURE TO CULTURE? Sherry Orter, 1975 1. Womans body and is functions are involved in the time with species life, seem to place her closer to nature 2. Womans body and its functions places her in social roles that in turn (???) to be at a lower order of the cultural process than mans 3. Womans traditional social roles, imposed because of her body and its functions, in turn give her a different psychic structure is seen as being closer to nature The structural situation of child rearing reinforced by male and female role training produces gender differences, which are replicated and reproduced in the sexual sociology of adult life Nancy Chodorow FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF ANTHROPOLOGY: Is it enough to reorient the ethnographic research towards the study of women and gender relations? Is it enough to send female ethnographers there to gather information about women? Or, maybe, we should look for alternative models of writing about women, for they are a mutated group silenced by structure of domination? AUDRE LORDE WHITE FEMINST SCHOLARS DONT REPRESENT BLACK WOMEN

THE MASTERS TOOLS: the ethnographic present, claims to objectivity, generalizations playing down individual differences, exotication of racial difference. DISMANTLING THE MASTERS HOUSE WITH NEW TOOLS: by analyzing the views, perceptions and attitudes of women themselves, by producing situated knowledge SITUATED KNOWLEDGE DONNA HARAWY There is good reason to believe vision is better from below brilliant space of the powerful SITUATED AND EMBODIED KNOWLEDGES vs. UNLOCATABLE IRRESPONSIBLE KNOWLEDGE CLAIMS WE CANT PRETEND TO BE OBJECTIVE Edith Turner A story When Jimie Nuchik was lost in the tundra Jimie went hunting and didnt come back. Men went to look for him, women (including the narrator) stayed at home to pray. She shows how an ethnographers self is affected and changed by the work she does among others. She is a witness, not an objective scholar. Knowledge is something intuited and gained through performance. Turner admits she doesnt understand what people mean.

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 12

INNOVATION
Primary innovation creation of something completely new, e.g. firing of the clay Secondary innovation improvement of something already existing, e.g. potters wheel Innovation must be consistent with a societys needs, values and goals if it is to be accepted, yet it is not sufficient enough its only possible if a given society wants to change, e.g.: Introduction of the Dvoraks keyboard. Despite the fact it was d esigned to be more efficient in use it didnt replace the old QWERTY keyboard, because people where used to it and saw no need of innovation, of which Dvorak later said Im tired of trying to invent something for the human race, if they dont want to change!

DIFFUSION - Spread of customs from one culture to another.

We arent always aware of it (e.g. do we realize that vegetables like carrots or white cabbage are an effect of cultural diffusion? They come from Italy) Culture is a thing of chords and patches Robert Lowie 90% of culture is borrowed. There is no pure culture Ralph Linton Diffusion is not unconditional: Acceptance of the innovation depends on the perceived superiority to the method or object it replaces. E.g.: Why do Americans still use feet, inches, gallons, pounds etc.?

CULTURAL LOSS
Chariots and carts in Middle East were widely used in biblical times, but disappeared by the 6 th century AD and were replaced by camels. Its cultural loss in a sense that its going back to older method of transport (the opposite of innovation). But can we say its really regress? Why are camels used instead of carts? Because they are adapted to the environment they are used in. Burry in mind: Wheels, like wings, fins, brains etc. are exquisite devices for certain purposes, not signs of intrinsic superiority Stephen Gould

ACCULTURATION
different cultures in intensive firsthand contact actual or threatened use of force is a factor cultural change forced upon other groups as a result of conquest or colonialism

Effects in: merge or fusion when two cultures lose their separate identities and corm a new one (melting pot ideology / syncretism) one culture loses its authority and becomes a subculture (a cast, class, ethnic identity) Examples: extinction (usually slow and gradual) genocide extermination of one group by another, either deliberate (usually in the name of progress, e.g. the extermination of Jews, Gypsies and homosexuals by the Nazis) or accidental (outcome of one groups activities with no regard for their impact on others).

DIRECT CHANGE
Use of applied anthropology, a by-product of colonial dealings which can be used to solve problems in an enormous variety of fields like: health and medicine, business, education, human rights, environmental issues, museums.

REACTIONS TO ACCULTURATION
Assimilation persons self-consciously reject their own past and adapt an identity to share more fully in the supposed benefits of the dominant culture. Hybridity / syncretism blending of indigenous and foreign elements into a new system creolization a result of displacement and social encounter, a dynamic interchange of symbols and practices eventually leading to new forms, e.g.: Trobrainders adapted the game of cricket, making it a ritualized way of tribal wars (they replaced battles with the matches )

REACTIONS TO CULTURAL CHANGE (IN GENERAL)

Revitalization movement a deliberate construction of a more satisfactory culture, e.g. when there is discrepancy between culturally defined aims and available means, e.g.: Hippies in the 1960s, the religious right-wing militias in contemporal U.S. Revolutionary movement / rebellion a revitalization movement from within directed primarily at a cultures ideological system and at attendant social structures. 98% of rebellions take place in former colonies, economically poor countries in South and Central America, Asia and Africa as a respond to exploitation of their resources and labor by more powerful countries (neocolonialism). 75 % of rebellions take place because of misrecognition of ethnic groups (I know 98 and 75 dont sum up to 100, but thats what SHE wrote )

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 13

MODERNIZATION global process of cultural and socioeconomic change whereby developing societies acquire some of the characteristics of the western industrialized societies technical development agricultural development industrialization urbanization DOES MODERNIZATION LEAD TO CULTURE HOMOGENIZATION? MODERNIZATION TRIGGERS: decreasing importance of religion/traditional beliefs weakening of kinship ties and ascribed status growth of political bureaucracies social stratification and achievements as status indicator differentiation: specialization of roles and functions BUT, PARADOXICALLY, HOMOGENIZATION EFFECTS IN STRENGTHENING OF ETHNIC IDENTITY RETRIBALIZATION a solidification of ethnic identity in response to modernization and integration forces in the post-colonial nation-state THE TWO PRINCIPLES OF OUR AGE: TRIBALISM AND GLOBALIZATION CLASH AT EVERY POINT EXCEPT FOR ONE: THEY MAY BE BOTH THREATENING TO DEMOCRACY Benjamin Barber, Jihad & McWorld

ETHNIC AND NATIONAL IDENTITIES

PRIMORDIALISM: Ethnic and national identities are often legitimated by primordial ties: common origin, ancestry, descent race, language, history, territory or place of origin, religion. CONSTRUCTIVISM: Ethnic and national identities are constructed rather than innate. They are relational (they emerge in contact with other cultures), situational and changeable.

ETHNICITY AS CONSTRUCTED IDENTITY: cultural distinctiveness does not itself create ethnicity. There must be a minimum of cultural contact between their respective members. the ethnic groups cultural distinctiveness has to be affirmed socially and ideologically through recognition among its members and outsiders ethnicity is not a property of a person or a group, it is an aspect of a rela tionship (reaction to globalization and marginalization) ETHNICITY a self-conscious and vocalized identity that naturalizes one or more attributes the usual ones being skin color, language, religion and territory and attaches them to collectivities as their innate possession and mythohistorical legacy

Introduction to Cultural Studies Lecture 14

ETHNICITY AS A POWER RELATIONSHIP Ethnicity arises out of power differentials ethnic politics are, by definition, the politics of marginality; dominant groups are never themselves ethnic. The dominant group, which need not be in the majority, will consider itself the universal or essential group and thus above the categorization of ethnicity. There is e.g. no English ethnicity in Britain nor any White Tribe in the US (although, the question Is Anglo an ethnicity from the perspective of Chicano? must be asked) ETHNICTY AS MARGINALITY Ethnicity is subordinate to a dominant group, then within the state ethnicity is marginal by definition. ETHNICITY AS CULTURAL CAPITAL Ethnicity can be an important form of cultural capital e.g. in political struggle and elections (vide Obama)

NATIONALISM AND MODERNITY European nationalism is a modern product; it developed both in France and Germany around the time of the French Revolution (French Enlightenment and German Romanticism) Its a response to industrialization, peoples disengagement from primordial ties like kin, religion and local communities. Nation is an imagined community made possible by the development of the print-capitalism: media, standardization of language, education and worldview homogenization. Nation is a metaphorical kinship group. NATIONALISM: AN IDEOLOGY OF THE NATION a tool of state power in societies threatened with fragmentation loyalty to the state in exchange for security and cultural identity the state has monopoly on the use of violence (e.g. police), the enforcement of law and order, the collection of taxes, uniform education, system of legislation and administration, shared labor market, official language NATION-STATE An intrinsic connection of an ethnic ideology of shared descent and a state apparatus. A nationalist ideology may be, in common usage, defined as en ethnic ideology which demands the right to its own state on behalf of the ethnic group. (e.g. Pakistan)

ETHNICITIES AND POWER RELATIONS

ETHNIC MINORITY a group that is not only inferior in number but politically non-dominant; its status denotes political submission to the ethnic majority MULTICULTURALISM a form of integration in polyethnic countries when cultural diversity is a feature of the society no common ethnic culture but a national ideology symbolic community above the level of the ethnic group every citizen entitled to equal rights by the state and its members of the civil state respect for the right to cultural difference (expression of ethnic identity) LOYALTY TO THE STATE? Not all citizens are complacently loyal or even directly affected by the states demand. Nationalism is a traditionalist ideology: in most cases these ethnic ideologies glorify the supposed ancient traditions.

Introduction to Cultural Studies - REVIEW

WHAT IS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY? Its a comparative study of cultural and social life based on ethnographic fieldwork, which tries simultaneously to account for actual cultural variation in the world and to develop a theoretical perspective on culture and society. CULTURE is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by men as members of society. (Edward B. Taylor). Not observable behaviors, but shared ideals, values and beliefs people use to interpret, experience and generate. CULTURE MEANINGS, KNOWLEDGE, BELIEFS, IDEAS, POWERS, LAWS & RULES, VALUES

SOCIAL EVOLUTIONISM LEWIS HENRY MORGAN

rise from savagery to civilization unlinear evolution theory were on different positions but our ultimate objective (civilization) is common

FUNCTIONALISM BRONISAW MALINOWSKI, A.R. RADCLIFFE-BROWN

society as an organism, an integrated whole of functional social institutions social institutions reinforce order and contribute to the maintance of the society

CULTURAL ECOLOGY JULIAN STEWARD

culture as an adaptive mechanism culture may be termed successful as long as it secures the survival of a society in a way that its members recognize as reasonably fulfilling

STRUCTURALIZM CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS

culture is a collection of beliefs, sentiment, norms etc. Its a surface representation of deep structure that has been affected by a groups physical and special environment as well as history

CULTURE AND PERSONALITY RUTH BENEDICT, MARGARET MEAD

a culture is an individual, is a more or less consistent pattern of thought and action if were interested in cultural processes, the only way in which we can show the significance of the selected detail of behavior is assign the background (??????!)

CULTURAL MATERIALISM MARVIN HUGHES SUPERSTRUCTURE

religion, science, art, music, literature, sports, rituals

STRUCTURE
DOMESTIC ECONOMY
family organization, kinship organization, gender and age roles

POLITICAL ECONOMY
patterns of class, patterns of caste, modes of political organization

INFRASTRUCTURE
MODE OF PRODUCTION
technology, work patterns, geographic environment, physical environment

BIRTH AND DEATH RATE

Size and density of population, rates of population growth, technology and birth (population control)

POSTMODERN ANTHROPOLOGY
A semiotic concept of culture culture is always an act of interpretation, an inquiry that involves placing a cultural act a ritual, a game, a political campaign and so on THICK DESCRIPTION (ZAGSZCZONY OPIS) provides contact and meaning to observed actions, rather than simply recording the occurrence of an event in isolation. Its more about recording the story effect, rather than the fact itself

CHAPTERS FROM HAVILAND THAT WERE USED: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15 CHAPTERS FROM SMALL PLACES, LARGE ISSUES THAT WERE USED: (1, 2, 7, 8), 17, 18 TYPES OF EXAM QUESTIONS: 1. briefly describe a concept 2. briefly compare concept A to concept B 3. match names with ideas 4. describe in one paragraph (up to 250 words) an aspect of anthropology, e.g. kinship and descent / religion and the supernatural / growing up human / ethnic identities COME HALF AN HOUR EARLY TO THE EXAM (8.30), SO YOU CAN PREPARE