Introduction to Culture
Some of the definitions given by the students in the class:
Culture is a way of living. It is something that connects us with the previous generation. It is a mirror of life. It is a set of values that gives someone a certain identity. It is a reflection of society in terms of norms, values, tradition and development. It is an invisible regulatory mechanism varying from one society to another that has brought human civilization thus far. It guides our behaviour and shapes our lifestyle.
Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that is passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, games, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief as well as the art.
Culture is manifested in human artifacts and activities such as music, literature, lifestyle, food, painting and sculpture, theater and film. Although some scholars identify culture in terms of consumption and consumer goods (as in high culture, low culture, folk culture, or popular culture),anthropologists understand "culture" to refer not only to consumption goods, but to the general processes which produce such goods and give them meaning, and to the social relationships and practices in which such objects and processes become embedded. For them, culture thus includes art, science, as well as moral systems.
Characteristics:
• Choir
• Social but not individual
• Idealistic
• Total social heritage
• An integrated system
• Language as its chief vehicle
• Transferred from old generation to new generation and has tendency to go further
Society:
It can be defined as a combination of several communities.
Community:
It can be defined as a group of people sharing the same language and ethnicity. It cannot be multi-cultural. It is an extended form of family.
Association:
It is an organization or union having certain objective, strategy, course of action and written rule. There is a body of people governing it and media is used by association to gain publicity.
Factors of social change:
• Technology
• Education
• Media and communication
• Information communication technology
• Globalization
• Politics
• Mobility
• Industrialization
• Assimilation
• Human nature
2. Role of Media in defining and representing culture
Media Representation:
It refers to the combination of aspect of reality (people, events, places, cultural identity) in the media. The term refers to the processes involved as well as to its products. For instance, in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - representation involves not only how identities are represented (or rather constructed) within the text but also how they are constructed in the processes of production and reception by people whose identities are also differentially marked in relation to such demographic factors. Consider, for instance, the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?
Conspiracy Theory:
A conspiracy theory is a hypothesis that alleges a coordinated group is or was secretly working to commit illegal or wrongful actions, including attempting to hide the existence of the group and its activities. In notable cases the hypothesis contradicts what was, or is, represented as the mainstream explanation for historical or current events. The phrase "conspiracy theory" is also sometimes used dismissively in an attempt to portray hypothetical speculation as being untrue or outlandish.
Gaze theory:
The concept of gaze theory describes how men view women or how women view other women and how women view themselves. Marxists believe that female bodies are representation of commodity. There is a debate about the representation of women in media. Some view it as exploitation whereas others believe it to be independence.
Queer theory:
It explores the representation of homosexuals as well as sexual orientation. Queer theory's main project is exploring the contestations of the categorization of gender and sexuality.
3. Media as a Cultural Institution
Cultural institutions are elements within a culture/sub-culture that are perceived to be important to, or traditionally valued among, its members for their own identity. Examples of cultural institutions in modern Western society are museums and the print media.The five cultural institutions as needed (at least in some way) in any society in order to survive: education, economic system, government, family, and religion.
Some of the definitions given by the students in the class:
Culture is a way of living. It is something that connects us with the previous generation. It is a mirror of life. It is a set of values that gives someone a certain identity. It is a reflection of society in terms of norms, values, tradition and development. It is an invisible regulatory mechanism varying from one society to another that has brought human civilization thus far. It guides our behaviour and shapes our lifestyle.
Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that is passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, games, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief as well as the art.
Culture is manifested in human artifacts and activities such as music, literature, lifestyle, food, painting and sculpture, theater and film. Although some scholars identify culture in terms of consumption and consumer goods (as in high culture, low culture, folk culture, or popular culture),anthropologists understand "culture" to refer not only to consumption goods, but to the general processes which produce such goods and give them meaning, and to the social relationships and practices in which such objects and processes become embedded. For them, culture thus includes art, science, as well as moral systems.
Characteristics:
• Choir
• Social but not individual
• Idealistic
• Total social heritage
• An integrated system
• Language as its chief vehicle
• Transferred from old generation to new generation and has tendency to go further
Society:
It can be defined as a combination of several communities.
Community:
It can be defined as a group of people sharing the same language and ethnicity. It cannot be multi-cultural. It is an extended form of family.
Association:
It is an organization or union having certain objective, strategy, course of action and written rule. There is a body of people governing it and media is used by association to gain publicity.
Factors of social change:
• Technology
• Education
• Media and communication
• Information communication technology
• Globalization
• Politics
• Mobility
• Industrialization
• Assimilation
• Human nature
2. Role of Media in defining and representing culture
Media Representation:
It refers to the combination of aspect of reality (people, events, places, cultural identity) in the media. The term refers to the processes involved as well as to its products. For instance, in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - representation involves not only how identities are represented (or rather constructed) within the text but also how they are constructed in the processes of production and reception by people whose identities are also differentially marked in relation to such demographic factors. Consider, for instance, the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?
Conspiracy Theory:
A conspiracy theory is a hypothesis that alleges a coordinated group is or was secretly working to commit illegal or wrongful actions, including attempting to hide the existence of the group and its activities. In notable cases the hypothesis contradicts what was, or is, represented as the mainstream explanation for historical or current events. The phrase "conspiracy theory" is also sometimes used dismissively in an attempt to portray hypothetical speculation as being untrue or outlandish.
Gaze theory:
The concept of gaze theory describes how men view women or how women view other women and how women view themselves. Marxists believe that female bodies are representation of commodity. There is a debate about the representation of women in media. Some view it as exploitation whereas others believe it to be independence.
Queer theory:
It explores the representation of homosexuals as well as sexual orientation. Queer theory's main project is exploring the contestations of the categorization of gender and sexuality.
3. Media as a Cultural Institution
Cultural institutions are elements within a culture/sub-culture that are perceived to be important to, or traditionally valued among, its members for their own identity. Examples of cultural institutions in modern Western society are museums and the print media.The five cultural institutions as needed (at least in some way) in any society in order to survive: education, economic system, government, family, and religion.
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