V1: What is Culture Flashcards
1
Q
What are the additional meanings of culture?
A
15th: tending of natural growth (husbandry) -> to cultivate
- later process of human development (metaphor)
18 / 19th:
- human growth (metaphor) (1)
- culture as an independent noun (abstract process) (2)
- there are plural cultures
Now:
- synonym for civilization
- process of becoming “civilized”
- human development
2
Q
What is the definiton of culture for Matthew Arnold (19th Century)?
A
Culture = study of perfection
- education in high culture could better the world -> not knowledge, but social and moral passion for doing good
- passion for sweetness and light -> culture hates hatred
- a process for everybody
- difference of high culutre (pure) and mass culture (scummy)
- Process important (attempt) -> it’s about becoming something
Was scared that low culture would be able to vote -> only high culture (educated) should vote
- scared of anarchy
- very exclusive
3
Q
What is the definition of culture for Raymond Williams (20th Century)?
A
Culture is ordinary
- Process: a general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic
- Lifestyle: a particular way of life, whether of people, a period, a group or humanity in general (aligns with Herder -> plural cultures)
- Product: abstract noun which describe the works and practices of intellectual and especially aristic activity
Strucutre of Feeling:
- Shared sense of experience, hisotry, understanding
4
Q
What does the metaphor of the “Bus ride” mean?
A
The bus goes through different landscapes:
- Historic city (cathedral)
- Country side (rolling hills)
- Industrial scene (factories)
-> Culture isn’t in high art -> Culture is in everything -> Culture is ordinary
- Speech, Clothes, things we produce
