Unit 3 Area of Study 2Australian Cultural Communities

“The content and meaning of culture and multiculturalism”

“Verstenhen” is imagining yourself to be in the position of the person whose behaviour you are seeking to explain

When studying culture and identity it is important to consider the experiences of diverse groups of people

In order to understand culture you must be able to imagine what it would be like to live within that culture, without judging it against norms from your culture

Close your eyes Imagine you’re in a remote indigenous community

targeted in the NTER◦ Imagine yourself as a 20-something Aboriginal male. Why do

you drink alcohol?◦ Now imagine yourself as a Government policy maker. How are

you going to deal with the issues in the community? Consider everything from education to housing and the justice system.

◦ Now imagine being a reporter from Today Tonight sent to investigate what’s happening in the community. What angle would you take and why?

How do values and norms influence the different perceptions of the same community?

Culture includes the practices and beliefs that become associated with a group and leads to its distinctive identity Culture focuses on how people live rather than human genetics

Culture is made of two parts: Material culture: physical artifacts and objects

technology, clothing, art, building forms, etc Non-material culture: abstract creations

values, beliefs, norms, customs, symbols, language, institutional arrangements, etc

“The social heritage of a people; those learned patterns for thinking, feeling, and acting that are transmitted from one generation to the next, including the embodiment of these patterns in material items” (Hughes 2002).

In order to understand culture you need to understand its language e.g. The Rosetta Stone unlocked the language of

Ancient Egypt, allowing exploration of their culture The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests the

language used by a culture is representative of how it “thinks” If we don’t have an already existing language to

describe something like an idea or emotion, we change our perception or meaning of the idea or emotion to fit into already existing language

The language you speak can limit or determine how you think because language represents reality differently Therefore, no two languages are ever similar enough to

allow for perfect translation between them

Identify examples of how languages spoken by ATSI peoples and non-ATSI peoples influence perception.

In groups, discuss your ideas of Australian culture by identifying examples of material and non-material culture.

Does Australia have one culture?

Monoculture◦ One single cultural heritage◦ One set of physical and abstract characteristics◦ New members to the culture must “assimilate” or

“integrate” (become absorbed by dominant culture)

Multicultural◦ A cultural heritage consisting of a number of

cultures in parallel◦ There is no dominant culture as each cultural

group experiences equitable status◦ There is no dominant set physical and abstract

characteristics

Is Victoria a monoculture or is it multicultural?◦ Scan through the ‘Victoria’s Population Diversity’

booklet and identify examples that support both types of cultures

Norms are standards of behaviour or ways of thinking determined by a dominant group

Norms include: Folkways

customs and habits Mores

ethical standards and established practices Laws

institutional norms and rules Values

degree of importance placed on something

Norms are the acceptable standards and specific guides for conduct to promote social cohesion

They are social expectations of what is correct or proper e.g. codes of behaviour such as saying thank-you, eating with

cutlery, not talking in a lift, etc We punish people who do not behave ‘normally’ or who

break the codes (this is called ‘social control’) as adherence to the norms of a community ensures social order e.g. streakers or nude bathers are fined

We learn what is normal by watching and mimicking (internalisation) and by being taught (socialisation)

Norms change e.g. good samaritanism is decreasing due to being time poor,

individualistic, or dangers

How do norms inhibit thoughts and actions? Identify three norms in this classroom and

the consequences of not conforming to them.

Think of two situations where moral norms may differ from institutional norms.

What is one norm in Australian culture that you have seen change over your lifetime?

Values are the ideas and qualities that are considered worthwhile, desirable, correct and good by a society

Values underpin the norms of a society and determine behaviour

They provide the criteria by which we evaluate people, objects and events

For example, my family values include:◦ work ethic, individuality, social equality,

democracy, etc

As a class, brainstorm values that are important to you

Then, individually rank your Top 5 according to their level of importance to you

Discuss your ranking with others How do you values differ from your

grandparents? Why? What is the greatest influence on the

development of Australian cultural values?

Symbols◦ Symbols are acts or objects that have a special

meaning to a particular group of individuals◦ They represent something through shared

understanding◦ Symbols include:

gestures: head movement for yes/no, handshakes objects: flags, uniforms, religious icons language: vernacular, slang, accent

Which symbols were used to represent Australia in the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics?

Are there any symbols that represent all Australians?

Identify five symbols that are unique to Australia.

Institutions underpin the norms and values of a society and can act as agents of social control

Institutions shape our behaviour through formal or “unwritten” rules

Society is always changing and so are institutions Institutions have interdependent relationships with

each other (they need each other and change to one institution filters into changes to another)

Examples include: Money (including banking institutions) Marriage (including religious institutions) Family (including governmental institutions) Web2.0

Organismic analogy◦ Think of society as an organism (or a body)

Just like you need lungs to breath, society has need too (requisite needs)

And like the organs in your body, institutions are taken for granted by society (that is, they work without your conscious awareness)

Talcott Parsons argued that all societies need four things: Adaptation, Goal Attainment, Integration, and Latent Pattern Maintenance

Which institutions do you think these four things relate to, and which body part do they most suit?

◦ Adaptation the subsystem that converts raw materials from the

environment into usable stuffs◦ Goal Attainment

the subsystem that motivates and guides the system as a whole

◦ Integration the subsystem that regulates the activities of the systems

diverse members◦ Latent Pattern Maintenance

the subsystem that indirectly preserves patterns of behavior that are needed for survival

Adaptation◦ in the body, the digestive system◦ in society, the economy

Goal Attainment◦ in the body, the mind◦ in society, government

Integration◦ in the body, the central nervous system◦ in society, the law

Latent Pattern Maintenance◦ in the body, the autonomic nervous system◦ in society, education, religion, and family

Imagine you take a sleeping tablet and go to bed You wake up in a tent You’re in the jungle It could be Indonesia No-one speaks English You look around and don’t understand what people are doing

even though it appears habitual to them How is your life different from it is in Australia in terms of

Living conditions Food Laws Work Relationships

Do you feel insecure? What has happened to your sense of identity because of

being in a different culture?

Cultural identity is a person's sense of self identity related to their notion of belonging to a particular cultural group e.g. the identity ingrained in your psyche

Cultural identity can enhance belonging for an individual

When considering Australia’s cultural identity you need to consider whose culture you are referring to: ATSI cultural identity or non-ATSI cultural identity

Does Australia have a shared cultural identity?

Australia’s cultural identity includes the right of all Australians, within carefully defined limits, to express and share their individual cultural heritage, including their language and religion

Read the ‘People in Action’ handout◦ Write a reversal of the story◦ What Australian values and norms should Abdula

be aware of when visiting Australia on a business trip?

Read the ‘Identity, Multi-culturalism, and Imagined Community’ handout

Write definitions of the following terms in your glossary:◦ Cultural identity◦ Culture◦ Monoculture◦ Mulitculturalism