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Activity 15
Studying a Culture

Adapted from "The Study of Culture," in Independence, Number One in a Series of K-12 Guides.  New York: Global Perspectives in Education, 1976. pp14-16.

Grade Level

Secondary

Introduction

The study of culture is valuable for offering young people a basis for comparison with their own society and an appreciation of the way of life of other peoples.  At the same time, they expand their world view by understanding the similarities and diversity of different human groups-in other words, they begin to recognize all humans as members of the same species, but one that has found infinitely varied ways of meeting basic needs.

Teacher/Student Objective

The major goal of this activity is to help students understand that studying a culture is studying a "system" (interconnected features) of people interacting with their environment.  By doing so, people create and maintain certain values which are slow to change over time.

Gauging Student Understanding

The progress indicators cited reflect desirable end goals. Teachers should be prepared to use a wide variety of observational, testing and authentic achievement evaluation measures in judging the progress of students.

By examining case studies of peoples around the world and reflecting upon their own experience, students will associate a peoples' ways of living with the culture of an area and will be able to give examples of that interaction.  By comparing and contrasting various cultures, including their own, students will be able to identify such cultural manifestations as a reflection of the values held by that culture.

Suggested Materials

This activity is intended to supplement textbooks on cultural studies. It can be used independently, but the teacher will need to collect specific examples for possible distribution to the class. Pictures translated to overhead transparencies will be most valuable in initiating this activity. Access to the Internet as an electronic window to other cultures would be another major source.

Initial Data for Consideration and/or Process

The students can be divided into smaller groups to study examples from the spectrum of continents and countries across the world. Some examples to use in initiating (or extending) this activity:

• The Plains Indians' acquisition of the horse.
• The introduction of new strains of rice on farms in India.
• Military defeat for Japan in World War II.
• The arrival of a Walmart (or other) store in a town.
• The deforestation of the Brazilian rainforest.
• The Spanish conquest of Latin America.
• The computer.
• The spread of Islam.
• The control of malaria, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis and/or the spread and fight against of the HIV infection.
• A local example.

Some ideas to galvanize discussion are provided:

• Given some of the examples we have seen, how do the different parts of a culture form a system, each part depending on the others?  Can you give other examples from your own life?

• How has a change in one sector of a culture influenced other aspects?  How might a single technological innovation influence different cultures in different ways, e.g., the computer?  How has this device changed your life?  That of a professional writer?  Of a secretary?  (Other professions might be cited.)  How has it affected nations across the globe?

• Provide the students with the following statement:  In societies where people have learned to control environmental conditions, they become less dependent on the environment and more dependent on each other.

• If one asserts that all cultures may have varying value systems, what does that mean?  Use the possible examples of religion, marriage and technological advancement.  Be sure that consideration is given to the varying values held by families within a community.

• Compare the value systems in two different cultures–or in two subcultures of the US.
  How do these values influence behavior?
  What are some examples of forces that have changed value systems?
  How do the values of the groups studied compare with your own?

• Why are there different value systems within a particular society-especially modern, complex societies like the US?
  Do you think minority groups should reject their traditional values in order to "fit in"?
  Is one set of values better than another?
  Is it possible to have harmony when different groups have different sets of values?
  What are the advantages and disadvantages of such diversity?
  Can you think of values in American society that you would like to see changed?

• Encourage the class to explore their reactions to different value or belief systems.
  How might others react to the values and beliefs held by the students?
  You can use such discussions as a means of analyzing ethnocentrism.  Why does it exist?  What purpose does it serve?  How does it form a barrier between cultures?  Give examples of the harmful effects of ethnocentrism.  Can you think of ways that people can become more tolerant of the beliefs and values of others?

• Have students draw some generalizations from this investigation of culture and cultural values, such as:
  Cultural variations stem from finding different was of meeting universal human needs.
  A change in one aspect of a culture can influence other aspects.
  Ethnocentrism is a way of protecting one's own way of life, but it also contributes to cultural conflict.
  Better understanding of cultural diversity can help overcome value conflicts and ethnocentrism.

Other Possible Activities

Introducing an "alien" object, or totally different person (e.g., baby, a person from another culture, etc.) is another good way of getting the students to discuss their classroom as a "culture."  This reinforces the major ideas in their own lives so that talking about very different cultures can spring from their personal experience.

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