1 文化的定义

Culture is defined here as a set of distinctive material, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual features of a social group, including art, literature, lifestyles, value systems, traditions, rituals, and beliefs. The link between human biology and human behavior and culture is often very close, making it difficult to clearly divide topics into one area or the other; as such, the placement of some subjects may be based primarily on convention.
Culture consists of values, social norms, and artifacts. A culture’s values define what it holds to be important or ethical. Closely linked are norms, expectations of how people ought to behave, bound by tradition. Artifacts, or material culture, are objects derived from the culture’s values, norms, and understanding of the world.
The mainstream anthropological view of culture implies that most people experience a strong resistance when reminded that there is an animal as well as a spiritual aspect to human nature.

2 文化的定义和内涵

Culture is a complex term that consists of so many things. At the base of culture, one would find people who live in social groups and share a way of living which separates them from other human groups. A culture may include rituals, religion, economic systems, language, a style of dress, a way of cooking, and a political system. People who share a culture typically follow the same rules and form a social society.

3 文化和亚文化

Every culture includes a somewhat different web of patterns and meanings: ways of earning a living, systems of trade and government, social roles, religions, traditions in clothing and foods and arts, expectations for behavior, attitudes toward other cultures, and beliefs and values about all of these activities. Within a large society, there may be many groups, with distinctly different subcultures associated with region, ethnic origin, or social class. If a single culture is dominant in a large region, its values may be considered correct and may be promoted—not only by families and religious groups but also by schools and governments. Some subcultures may arise among special social categories (such as business executives and criminals), and some may cross national boundaries (such as musicians and scientists).

4 文化的三大层次

There are also several levels of culture. On the material level, a culture has an economy that provides a way to produce and exchange material goods in order to survive. A material culture provides humans a way to feed, shelter, and clothe themselves. On the social level, a culture gives humans a way to organize themselves. Social culture involves kinship and family. It also gives societies a work life and political structure. The last level of culture involves the ideological. It gives a group of people a unique way of thinking about beliefs, values, and ideals. All of these different aspects of culture give humans an understanding of how the world works and how they live and act in their own environment.

5 文化干扰的概念

Culture jamming is the act of transforming mass media to produce commentary about itself, using the original medium’s communication method. It is a form of public activism which is generally in opposition to commercialism, and the vectors of corporate image. The aim of culture jamming is to create a contrast between corporate or mass media images and the realities or perceivednegative side of the corporation or media. This is done symbolically, with the “detournement” ofpop iconography.

Culture jamming is based on the idea that advertising is little more than propaganda for established interests, and that there is a lack of an available means for alternative expression in industrialized nations. Proponents see culture jamming as a resistance movement to the hegemony of popular culture, based on the ideas of “guerrilla communication”.

Culture jamming’s intent differs from that of artistic appropriation (which is done for art’s sake)and vandalism (where destruction or defacement is the primary goal), although its results are not always so easily distinguishable.

6 文化同化的概念

Cultural assimilation (often called merely assimilation) is an intense process of consistent integration whereby members of an ethno-cultural group (such us immigrants, or minority groups) are “absorbed” into an established, generally larger community. This presumes a loss of many characteristics of the absorbed group.

Assimilation can be the process through which people lose originally differentiating traits, such as dress, speech particularities or mannerisms, when they come into contact with another society or culture.

Assimilation may be voluntary, which is usually the case with immigrants, or forced upon a group,as is usually the case with the receiving “host” group or country. A region or society whereassimilation is occurring is sometimes referred to as a melting pot.

7 文化创造的概念

Cultural Creatives is a term coined by sociologist Paul H. Ray and psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson to describe a large segment in Western society that has recently developed beyond the standard paradigm of Modernists versus Traditionalists or Conservatists. The concept was presented in 2000 in their book The Cultural Creatives. How 50 Million People Are Changing the World, where they claim to have found that 50 million adult Americans (slightly over one quarter of the adult population) can now be identified as belonging to this group which has not yet found its identity but is disenchanted with materialism and hedonism. Dr. Ray calls this segment New Progressives.

This growing section of the population is admittedly spiritual and embraces the practice of spiritual values in daily life without formal religion. Many adherents to the tenets of the Cultural Creatives tend to become familiar with a variety of religions and seek to identify with principles that are universal amongst religions. The intention is to search for universal, practical spiritual principles that have intrinsic value, and do not depend on ecclesiastical authority.

8 文化极化

Although cultural policies often have the stated aim of reviving national unity, one result has been an increased polarization. With the disappearance of former taboos, open criticism of the culture and values of specific minorities became common. Muslims in Britain or the Netherlands may occasionally hear that their culture is backward, that western culture is superior, and that they are obliged to adopt it. In turn, overly-defensive reactions include an increased self-identification as“Muslims”, and adoption of Islamic dress by women and “Islamic” beards by men. Part of the Muslim minority is now hostile to the society they live in, and sympathetic to terrorism. In Amsterdam’s secondary schools, about half the Moroccan minority does not identify with the Netherlands: they see their identity as “Muslim”, and regularly express anti-western views but, nevertheless, do not want to return to their historical homeland. In turn society is increasingly hostile to Muslims: a survey showed that 18% in Britain think that “a large proportion of BritishMuslims feel no sense of loyalty to this country and are prepared to condone or even carry out actsof terrorism”. A TNS/Global poll showed that 79% in Britain would feel “uncomfortable living next to a Muslim”. A major attitude survey of teenagers in Flanders showed that 75% refuse tohave a relationship with a black person, a Muslim, or an immigrant. Half want all immigration stopped, and 41% say they distrust anyone from another ethnic background.

9 文化是后天习得的

Culture is not inherited, but must be learned and shared. A culture can also change and adapt to the needs of a society. Culture can help humans survive in this ever-changing globe. Many members of a culture develop a feeling of superiority over other cultures and can become ethnocentric.

Some societies, like the United States, are multicultural and consist of many diverse cultures. People can also develop self-identity within a culture and may have culture shock if they are exposed to a new and confusing culture different from their own.

10 康拉德·菲利普·科塔克观点: 对某文化的适应过程

Conrad Phillip Kottak (in Window on Humanity) writes: Enculturation is the process where the culture that is currently established teaches an individual the accepted norms and values of the culture or society in which the individual lives. The individual can become an accepted member and fulfill the needed functions and roles of the group. Most importantly the individual knows and establishes a context of boundaries and accepted behavior that dictates what is acceptable and not acceptable within the framework of that society. It teaches the individual their role within society as well as what is accepted behavior within that society and lifestyle.

11 康拉德·菲利普·科塔克观点:文化适应的作用

Enculturation helps mold a person into an acceptable member of society. Culture influences everything that a person does, whether they are aware of it or not. Enculturation is a life-long process that helps unify people. Even as a culture changes, core beliefs, values, worldviews, and child-rearing practices stay the same. How many times has a parent said “If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?” when their child wanted to fit in with the crowd? Both are playing roles in the enculturation. The child wants to be included in the subculture of their peers, and the parent wants to instill individualism in the child, through direct teaching. Not only does one become encultured, but also makes someone else encultured.

12 康拉德·菲利普·科塔克观点: 学习文化的三种方式

Enculturation can be conscious or unconscious; therefore can support both the Marxist and the hegemonic arguments. There are three ways a person learns a culture. Direct teaching of a culture is done——this is what happens when you don’t pay attention, mostly by the parents, when a person is told to do something because it is right and to not do something because it is bad. Forexample, when children ask for something, they are constantly asked “What do you say?” and thechild is expected to remember to say“please.” The second conscious way a person learns a cultureis to watch others around them and to emulate their behavior. An example would be using different slang with different cliques in school. Enculturation also happens unconsciously, through events and behaviors that prevail in their culture. All three kinds of culturation happen simultaneously and all the time.

13 不同文化间的关系及其六大研究领域

An intercultural relation is a relatively new formal field of social science studies. It deals with the ability to get along with others, especially those from a different cultural background.
Some of the main topics of study are:

Reflection and development of cultural competence

Analyzing different cultural patterns in the world

Finding strategies for adapting

Solving problems in intercultural communication

Teaching social skills to reduce cultural misunderstandings

6. Studying the lifelong impact of youth and other exchanges