The concept of culture

Question 1

What does the word culture mean?

Answer 1

cultura from latin verb
colere
worship
cultivate
protect, maintain

old root of the word from Indo-European
kwel
to move
turn around

Question 2

Components of culture

Answer 2

Symbols
Language
Norms
Values
Beliefs
Artifacts/Technologies

Question 3

How do we learn culture?

Answer 3

Culture is learnt socially by education, imitation or mimicry
-> “learnt ways of behavior“
-> culture is always social, shared

Mimicry: Behavioral mimicry
- the automatic imitation of gestures, postures, mannerisms, and other movements

Question 4

Mimesis

Answer 4

• from memos which means imitation
• The other meaning refers to the worship or imitation of nature as an artistic
  purpose, in aesthetics and classical poetics.

Question 5

What does culture have to do with civilisation?

Answer 5

Culture –> society (as a group of people who share culture/cultures
physical medium of culture: individuals and society
Civilization) –> civilization

Question 6

Culture vs civilization

Answer 6

Culture
* internal and external: the
manner in which we think,
behave and act – individual & group
* no measurement standards
* culture without civilization

Civilization
* external: social and political
organisation and development
– system of social, political or
technical development
* precise measurement
standards, for example: …
* no civilization without culture

Question 7

Some conclusions regarding culture:

Answer 7

• Culture is one of the principal concepts in social science.
• Culture and society are very linked with each other.
• Culture defines the behavior of individuals: culture/society.
• There is no civilization without culture.
• Culture is transmitted (tradition, values, …) and cumulative.
• Culture is stable but not static.

Question 8

Civilization

Answer 8

Some would conclude that civilization is a process of modernization, urbanization, a “higher” state of human society

Process of civilizing: systematising society
developing the state of human society, to the extent that the culture,
industry, technology, government, etc. reaches the maximum level

Question 9

Culture –> civilization

Answer 9

Culture
–>
Society: as a group of people who share culture/cultures
physical medium of culture: individuals and society
–>
Civilization: common objective elements – language, history,
religion, customs, and institutions – as well as
people’s self-identification

Question 10

Culture and civilization saying:

Answer 10

There is culture without civilization, but no civilization with out culture

Question 11

Modern cultural imperialism

Answer 11

Critique on globalization/development towards one “global culture”.

Concern about the dominance and negative
impact of Western culture and cultural products
(film, music, pop culture/“junk culture”) on
local cultures, including languages, beliefs,
lifestyles, traditions, behavior.

Question 12

We can define 5 relations, which structure a civilization:

Answer 12

1. The relationship to nature
2. The relations between gender
3. The relations between the generations
4. The political relations
5. The “spiritual/ transzendental” relationsship

Question 13

Culture forms relations:

Answer 13

Culture than is the way how we form the relations, it defines the relations,
it is the frame we give (behavior, rules, normes, values, ethics,… )

Question 14

Civilization in IR: Clash Theory

Answer 14

Clash theory: (Samuel P. Huntington and others)

Civilizational diversity and cultural pluralism: source of
tensions and conflicts

Cultural reductionism: exaggeration of closure and internal unity

“a presumed cultural core of civilizations becomes the overwhelming
determinant, almost the independent variable, to explain important social,
economic and political developments locally and globally”

Question 15

Civilizational dialogue perspective:

Answer 15

Civilizational diversity and cultural pluralism:
- source of enrichment, key for building a more peaceful and just, less hegemonic or Western/liberal-centric, international order

• In history migration enriched cultures and civilizations
  globalization and its positive impacts

Question 16

Culture and identity

Answer 16

• Personal identity
• Social identity
• Cultural identity

We must avoid the temptation to think of our identities as constant. Instead, our
identities are formed through processes; therefore, our identities aren’t something
we achieve or complete.

Question 17

Personal identity

Answer 17

includes the components of self that are primarily intrapersonal and
connected to our life experiences. Individual and unique.

• Personality, life experiences, family, values, interests, …
• Distinguish one person from another.
• Starts with birth and ends with death.

Question 18

Social identity

Answer 18

How we interact with others and how we are treated in society.

Social roles, societal expectations (recognition), socially constructed
categories.
School, work, neighborhood, …

Question 19

Cultural identity

Answer 19

• Cultural group(s) we belong to, with own cultural contexts (values, beliefs,
  customs, language, tradition, historical context …)
• Influences a person’s worldview, behaviors – cultural background.

e.g. national identity, ethnic identity

Question 20

Culture and identity

Answer 20

The (cultural) identity of a society, a nation (hymn, flag, etc.) can lead to
clashes/conflicts – nationalism.

“Culture is not the refuge of identity, but rather the set of resources that
allows the development of the subject.”
.

Question 21

Intercultural identity

Answer 21

Intercultural identity can be seen as the extension to cultural identity.
What does it include?

• Openess to other cultural identities and to grow, to develop
• Ability to see differences and to integrate, reflect on own identity

-> Identity in a globalized world is multi-dimensional.
-> Communication is the bridge to understand different identities.
.

Question 22

Two directions of intercultural identity:

Answer 22

particularity: see differences, form own identity

universality: see universal principals, norms, values, potentials

Question 23

Culture and language

Answer 23

Language is primary a non-material component of
culture, we learn language by listening and sounds or
signs.

Language comes to be material when it is written
down, beginning of written language?

Language/mother tongue is THE access to cultural
socialization – key to a whole “universe” of behaviours, costumes, rules and norms, stories, values, beliefs etc.

Question 24

Speech community:

Answer 24

Group of people of a similar
cultural background that speak the same language.

Question 25

Cultural scripts

Answer 25

The “scripts” that guide social behavior and language use in
(everyday) speaking situations.

Question 26

UNESCO WAL (World Atlas of Languages)

Answer 26

*language is a carrier of human heritage (in identity, historical, cultural and
linguistic material);

*language is a local knowledge repository system (in identity and ethnic issues,
traditional knowledge, biodiversity);

*language is a system for communicating between people (including in the
political, sociocultural and economic domains);

*language is a regional, national and global economic-political resource to be
managed as part of good governance and societal development

Question 27

How do we communicate?

Answer 27

15% by the content itself
35% by the tone of voice
50% by behavior and by physical appearance

-> non-verbal communication is an extremely important aspect of communication among people and therefore of culture.

-> important to recognize non-verbal cues in communication process between people coming from different cultural backgrounds to avoid misunderstanding

Question 28

Cultural differences exist in:

Answer 28

Respecting physical space: proxemics

Behaviour with hands, lips, arms: facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, haptics

Explicit/direct communication vs. indirect communication

Question 29

Intercultural communication competence (ICC

Answer 29

ICC is related to empathy, intercultural experience, and bilingualism.

The development of ICC includes observing emotions and feelings, questioning
stereotypes, and dealing with confusion and complexity.

ICC connects with the English language proficiency.

Question 30

Strategies For Effective Nonverbal Communication in
intercultural encounters

Answer 30

*Active listening and observation:

*Understanding cultural norms and etiquette:

*Adjusting nonverbal cues to match the context:

• try to be pleasant
• be interested
• try to learn something- thank you, good morning etc.