The Deep Structure of Culture: Roots of Reality : Roots of Reality

1. The family is the nucleus of civilization. – Will and Ariel Durant History is a pact between the dead, the living, and the yet unborn. –Edmund Burke The Deep Structure of Culture: Roots of Reality: Roots of Reality

2. ROOTS! In this incredible capture by photographer Brian Yen (briyen on Flickr) we see an incredible system of roots scaling a wall as a child runs past a group of elderly people.

3. Some…. Others…. • Love solitude • Cling to youth • Worship the earth • Seek material things • Value silence • Find being alone brings despondency • Embrace old age/death • Molest the earth • Believe “things” hinder a peaceful life • Value talk What motivates people?...AND You?

4. “Deep Structure” What is it? …It’s the source of or influence behind how a culture views the world… Deep structure unifies a culture, makes each culture unique, and explains the how and why behind a culture’s collective action.

5. Family State (community/gov’t/history) Religion/worldview Three “social institutions” that work together to define, create, transmit, maintain, and reinforce the basic elements of every culture

6. The institutions of family, state, and religion tell you: how you fit into the grand scheme of things whether you should believe in fate or the power of free choice why there is suffering what to expect from life where your loyalties should reside and even how to prepare for death. Deep Structure—Carries culture’s most important beliefs.

7. Helps preserve culture. Preserves deep-seated hatreds too! The fighting in Beirut, Belfast, Turkey, and Sudan isn’t an intercultural communication problem. Clashes in the deep structure of each culture are the problem. People’s values and beliefs. Their worldview. Middle East—conflicts reaching back 1000 years. Pakistan named its first nuclear bomb after a 6th century martyr who fought against India. Deep Structure is Enduring

8. Love of family, God, and country most important values to most people. Feel anger when you see rioters burning the American flag? What do you think Muslims feel when they see the Koran burned? (Florida pastor) before the burning of the Koran Riots over burning of Koran Deep Structure is Deeply Felt

9. “We learn our identities through socialization.” Multiple identities which may compete or reinforce each other: kinship, occupational, cultural, institutional, territorial, educational, partisan, ideological Sense of community; belonging --gangs Deep Structure: Supplies Identity

10. “If you know the family, you do not need to know the individual.”—Chinese saying “The apple does not fall far from the tree.”—U.S.A. Family is the oldest and most fundamental of all human “institutions.” Governments rise and fall but families survive. FAMILY is a universal experience

11. Family prepares its members for the various roles they will perform in society. • It is the family that teaches you culture and also “provides you with the foundation of your self-concept and communication competencies.” (p 41) The Importance of Family

12. Nuclear Extended • Parents and children • In U.S., less regimentation, less emphasis on obedience, while exploration and creativity are encouraged. • Place aged parents to nursing homes. • Example: USA • Includes grandparents and relatives • Insist on obedience and are more organized around rules. • Keep elders in the home. Many generations under same roof. • Examples: Native Americans, Mexicans, Indians, Filipinos, Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans Two Types of Families

13. Families transmit important culture values It’s the first and primary caretaker—first exposes the child to important values. • How to obey, be responsible, become self-reliant, independent, etc. • Provides physical care and protection, emotional support and caring • Families transmit identity We’re born into and are identified by our family. They teach us our historical background, our culture, traditions, customs, language, etc. • Families transmit communication proficiencies In the family we first learn how to create, maintain, and end relationships; how to express ourselves; how to argue; how to display affection; how to choose acceptable topics for mixed company. Functions of the Family

14. A child in India who lives with many people in one house learns about extended family. A Mexican child who is raised in a home with many elderly people learns about the treatment of the elderly. A child in Egypt who observes his parents praying five times a day is learning about Allah…. Culture is a major determinant of the path we take…

15. How are they learned? • What are some in… • U.S.A. • Jobs • Color • Words • Asia Children see Daddy served first at meals, gets the first bath, receives nods and deep bows from the rest of the family…Yet it’s the women who do the housework and care for the family. gender equality videointerchanging of gender roles Gender Roles

16. India Males-- superior gender. Male children believed to be entrusted to parents by the gods. Son performs last rites after parent’s death. Inheritance is through the male line. Men make the most important decisions. Wife lives in her husband’s home after she marries. Gender roles, cont.

17. Males the preferred gender. The Koran has a lot to say about women, but addresses men only and tells them that wives should obey their husbands. Arab proverb: “Your wealth brings you respect, your sons bring you delight.” Weaning comes much earlier in the life of a girl child than of a boy child. Arab Culture

18. Dad is the undisputed authority figure. He makes all the decisions. His word is final! “Woe to the house where the hen crows and the rooster is still.”—Spanish proverb Mexico

19. “Confucianism made men alone the structurally relevant members of the society and relegated women to social dependence.” …Boys studied the classics and played while girls were confined to the inner quarters of the house where they received instruction in womanly behavior and tasks. Asia (China)

20. Until early 1960s, most girls were raised to be wives and stay-at-home mothers. Today women are: • Members of the Supreme Court • Part of a police SWAT team • Wartime army truck driver • “…Many men, whose own fathers would no more have diapered a baby than jumped into a vat of boiling oil, now want to be involved fathers.” • As Mexican-American women secure employment outside the home, there’s more and more joint decision-making. Roles are Changing in the U.S.A.

21. A Toronto couple’s decision to keep the gender of their 4-month-old baby a secret….They “hope their third child, Storm, can remain untouched by the connotations of pink versus blue, male versus female, long enough to make up his or her own mind.” Child psychiatrist Mike Brody says, “This seems more controlling than the helicopter parents.” Stephan Tan, a music school owner and father of four young children, said, “What struck me was that the father had made a statement that he found it obnoxious that so many parents make so many choices for their children, but it’s plain to see that he himself is making a very extreme choice for his child. Is gender just a social construction? Baby’s Gender Under WrapsMay 28, 2011, Spokesman Review

22. Individualism Collectivism • Values individual over the group. • Individual is perceived as a sovereign and stand-alone entity. • Self-motivated, autonomous, independent thinking. • People view themselves as members of groups. • Concerned about their actions on their groups. • Activities taken in groups on a more public basis. Individualism vs. CollectivismMost cultures are a mixture of these elements.

23. …and the Family …and the Family • Linked to the history of the USA….our western European heritage, earliest colonial times, through the industrialization--nuclear family has been at the center • Independence is expected and valued • Self-actualization is encouraged • Self-reliance…Children are raised to leave the nest • Parents: “…raise child to create a responsible, self-reliant individual who, by age 18 or so, is ready to move out of the parents’ house and make his/her own way in life.” • Children—”decide for yourself” “do your own thing” “solve your own problems” • “An individual could no more be separated from the family than a finger from the hand.”—Indian proverb • Family members share property, food, work, love, perform religious rituals together and often live under same roof. • All members of extended family responsible for rearing of children • LOYALTY (Mexicans, Japanese, Chinese) • Chinese: Don’t bring shame to family=lack of devotion. • Chinese: Filial piety/lifelong devotion to parents. • Arabs: Family loyalty takes precedence over friends or job • Mexico, India, Puerto Rico France, Russia, Japan, China, Arabs Individualism Collectivism

24. U.S.A. Most of the world • Prefers youth to old age • Facelifts, etc. • Youth often don’t want to interact with elderly • Arab: Children taught to kiss hands of older people when introduced, be polite in presence of elders, stand up and offer them their seats. Listen to and learn from elders. • “A home without an elderly person is like an orchard without a well.”—Arab proverb • China: the past is highly valued • French prefer mature age to youth • Examples: Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, France, Brazil, Native Americans AGE

25. The Family is expected to “socialize” the children --teach the child how to employ the language of the culture and interact with other people. • Teach good manners • Aggression: Some parents encourage, approve, and reward aggressivebehavior. • (Puerto Rican …especially for boys) Mexican: teaches children to avoid aggressive behavior. Most punitive for aggression against other children. Chinese: Non-aggressive. Children learn skills necessary for group harmony, family togetherness, interdependence in relationships, respect for their place in the line of generations, and saving face. Social Skills

26. Historical events help explain the character of a culture (p 54) U.S. westward movement to explorations of outer space shows Americans agree on a history of conquest. • What a culture seeks to remember and pass on to the next generation tells us about the character of that culture. HISTORY

27. US history books and folktales abound with examples of how ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A MAJOR DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD. (Rosa Parks, Bill Gates, Elvis Presley….) USA--Manifest Destiny, a philosophy applied in the early 1800s to justify an aggressive campaign of westward expansion and territorial acquisition. USA cultural heritage emphasizes equality, independence, frequent change, and a willingness to deal with the unknown. (p 57) U.S. History….

28. U.S./Russia/China/Japan/ Mexico/Islamic Civilization pp55-70 Japanese Surrender WWII Look for the Culture’s Main Views….

29. Individualism versus Collectivism • Violence and Wars • Change and Progress • Link between the people and their land • Performing and Cultural Arts • Sense of Pride and Superiority • Physical and Cultural Isolation • Clan and Family • Education Here are some possibilities….