Session 2

Deep Culture & Stereotyping

Zhu Yaoyun@yahoo.cn

http://course.sdu.edu.cn/cec.html

Agenda

Learning Objectives

On completion of this session, you will be able to :•Explain three deep structure institutions (family, state, religion) and their functions•Understand the definition, cause, popularity and effect of stereotypes•Avoid the lack of objectivity in the process of cultural exploration

Review:Review:1. Course Info1. Course Info2. Countries2. Countries3. Culture 3. Culture

1. Deep Culture1. Deep Culture

Outline1.1 Deep Structure of culture(1) Family(2) State (community)/History (3) Religion (worldview)1.2 Deep culture: functions (1)They carries the most important beliefs (2) They and their messages endure (3) They are deeply felt (4) They supply much of a person’s identity 1.3 Case study

1. Elements of Culture

[Family]•History•Religion•Values•Social Organization•Language

1. Deep Structure of Culture – Roots of Reality – the “how” and “why”

•At the core of any culture’s deep structure • are its social organizations / institutions

•The three most enduring and influential social organizations that deal with deep structure issues are

•(1) Family• parents and children, husband and wife•(2) State (community)/History • the individual & the group, • the citizen & the state,•(3) Religion (worldview)• the relations between God and man,

1.1.1 Family

Family is “a group of intimates, who generate• a sense of home and group identity, •complete with strong ties of loyalty and emotion,•and an experience of a history and a future.”• 34(Noller and Fitzpatrick)

An infant, his mother, his maternal grandmother, and his great-grandmother.

1.1.2 State / History

When we refer to history as one of the deep structure elements of a culture, we are also talking about:• a culture’s formal and informal government,• its sense of community, •its political and economic processes,• its key historical heroes, •and even its geography.• All of these factors work in combination to provide the members of every culture with

• their identity, values, goals, and expectations.•Source: Samovar, Larry A. & Porter, Richard E. Communication Between Cultures (6th edition) [M]. Beijing University Press, 2009. PP77

1.2 State / History ExampleThe history of the United Statesteaches young people that almost anything is possible—one can even become president.•Abraham Lincoln’s log-cabin background •Harry Truman’s beginnings as a clothing store clerk. •Bill Clinton’s path from rural Arkansas to the White House •Barack Obama overcame divisive issues of racism to run and win the election for president.•Such history is an integral part of the American psyche. Source: Samovar, Larry A. & Porter, Richard E. Communication Between Cultures (6 th edition) [M]. Beijing University Press, 2009. PP77

1.1.2 State / History National Culture

• Lammers & Hickson (1979) orgs reflect three broad national cultures

• Latin (Fr-Sp-It): high centralization, rigid strata, sharp inequality, conflicts erupting around areas of uncertainty

• Anglo-Saxon (US-Br-Scand): decentralization, fluid strata, flexible rule applications

• Traditional (3rd World): paternalistic leaders, implicit rules, elite collusion

1.1.3 The Topics of World View• World view is at the core of a culture. ----It is a culture’s orientation toward God, humanity, nature, questions of existence, the universe and cosmos, life, death, sickness, and other philosophical issues that influence how its members perceive their world.---- The responsibility of generating and preserving world view usually falls on religion.

1. 2 Deep Culture: Functions– Roots of Reality – the “how” and “why”

• These three social organizations, working in concert, define, create, transmit, maintain, and reinforce the basic and most crucial elements of every culture.

1. 2 Deep Culture: Functions

• 1.2.1. Deep Structure Institutions (family, state, religion) carry a culture’s most important beliefs

• 1.2.2 Deep Structure Institutions and their messages endure

• 1. 2.3. Deep Structure Institutions and their Messages are deeply felt1.2.4. Deep Structure Institutions supply much of a person’s identity

1.2.1. Deep Structure Institutions carry a culture’s most important beliefs

1.2.2 Deep Structure Institutions and their messages endure

• Generations of children are told about Abraham, Confucius, Moses, the Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, and other spiritual leaders.

• Whether it is the Eightfold Path, the Ten Commandments, the Analects, the Five Pillars of Islam, or the Vedas, the meanings of these writings survive.

1. 2.3. Deep Structure Institutions and their Messages are deeply felt

• someone takes God’s name in vain,• calls someone’s mother an obscene name,• Look around the world and you can observe

deeply rooted loyalty and nationalism on every continent.

赵薇

http://yule.sohu.com/59/01/ecolumn163740159.shtml

1.2.4. Deep Structure Institutions supply much of a person’s identity

• The most significant identities, and the ones that mean the most, are filtered through deep structure institutions.

• When you think about yourself, you most likely conclude that : you are a member of a family (“my name is Jane

Smith”) you have a religious orientation (“I am a Christian”) you live in the United States (“I am from Idaho”)

1.3 Case Study

• What went wrong?

• See• Mr Thomas 与多国员工的失败交流 .doc

2. Stereotypes2. Stereotypes

Outline

• 2. 1 Stereotype: Introduction Definition Nature Effects Causes Popularity • 2.2 Stereotype: Examples• 2.3 Video Analysis

2. 1 Stereotype: Introduction

1. Definition: • A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified

conception, opinion, or image. • Exaggerated beliefs about people.2. Nature: • These beliefs may be positive or negative, but

they are often untrue because they overgeneralize about all members of a group.

3. Effects: • They an instigate prejudice and false assumptions

about entire groups of people.

2. 1 Stereotype: Introduction

4. Causes : •Stereotypes frequently occur when we know little about someone or about a group of people 5. Popularity: Members of all cultural groups make such comments, usually about members of other cultural groups.

2.2 Stereotype: ExamplesBasic assumptions Have you heard or made the following statements? • The British are cold and unsmiling • Americans are loud and noisy and friendly• Indian people always lie; they never tell the truth • The Germans are so efficient and organized • The Chinese are so nosy--they're always asking

personal questions • Muslim women have no freedom

www.llas.ac.uk/resources/paper/1303 nosy ['nozɪ] [ 词典释义 ] a. 1. 【口】好管闲事的 ; 爱追问的 2. 大鼻子的 3. 有香味 ( 或臭味 ) 的

2.3 Video Analysis

• The story of a Iranian-American• Video Source: www.ted.com

3. Review3. Review

Deep Cutlure1.1 Deep Structure of culture(1) Family(2) State (community)/History (3) Religion (worldview)1.2 Deep culture: functions (1)They carries the most important beliefs (2) They and their messages endure (3) They are deeply felt (4) They supply much of a person’s identity 1.3 Case study

Stereotype

• 2. 1 Stereotype: Introduction Definition Nature Effects Causes Popularity • 2.2 Stereotype: Examples• 2.3 Video Analysis

Assignment:Film Analysis

• The Great Debaters • 伟大的辩手

• Analyze the deep structure institutions and stereotypes reflected in the film. http://course.sdu.edu.cn/G2S/Template/View.aspx?courseId=784&topMenuId=142446&action=view&type=&name=&menuType=2&curfolid=5016