CULTURAL ASSIGNMENT

Cultural Assignment

Culture

Introduction

Culture, as a concept, is one of the most complex ideas in academic use today. It is defined and applied in various and often incompatible ways and is the site of significant disagreement between academic disciplines regarding the fundamental character of human social life and the manner in which it is to be studied. For anthropologists, culture tends to refer to symbolic systems of beliefs, values, and shared understandings that render the world meaningful and intelligible for a particular group of people. While these systems-which provide the basis for such elementary concepts as food and kinship and even, influence how individuals experience time, space, and other aspects of reality-often appear to their adherents as natural and objective, they in fact represent variable, socially agreed-upon models. In turn, humans must themselves construct these models in order to find order and meaning in a world lacking an inherent sense of either. Ironically, just as the anthropological concept of culture has gained extraordinary momentum in popular use, as well as in areas such as law and political science, the concept has come under criticism from within the discipline of anthropology itself. Some anthropologists allege that the culture concept oversimplifies and stereotypes whole societies, erroneously treating them as isolated and uniform while underplaying individuality and diversity of opinion. Others maintain, however, that the concept has never entailed such assumptions, and that culture is simply a useful way to think about the beliefs and shared understandings that make it possible for humans to understand their world (Nagata et al, 2001).

While debates surrounding the concept of culture reflect legitimate ideological differences, they are often clouded by misunderstanding-not only is the word used to denote widely different ideas, but it is frequently defined in vague and ambiguous terms (if explicitly defined at all). This chapter seeks to provide a clearer picture of the concept by tracing the details of its use from its earliest applications through its role in contemporary anthropological thought. First, the origins and evolution of the concept are explored, with particular attention to key aspects of its development in American anthropology. Next, the contemporary concept of culture as meanings and symbols is examined in detail. Finally, major critiques of the concept and notable responses to those critiques are presented.

Dominant language

The dominant language can be highlighted as the majority of the people are use to understand the same language at large, as the culture varies the domination of the language also varies with the majority of the people who understand the same language.



Cultural communication patterns

As the norms and the values of the culture varies, therefore the communication`s pattern also varies with the cultural norms. Like in one society the eye contact between two persons shows the level of attention and the amount of respect i.e. someone is paying you. As part of a seminal treatise on the culture concept, were among the first to suggest that the concept of culture should exclude behavior. Their conclusion was based on the recognition that other ...