ASPECTS OF BRITISH CULTURE
Today I am going to talk about 2 elements of British culture, the class system, that differences between the working class, middle class and upper class people, & the canals in England.
To begin with though, what is culture? Can you answer this question with your partner? TRY NOW.
WHAT IS CULTURE?
"Culture is the "glue" that binds a group of people together."
(Douglas-Brown- 1994).
"Culture" is a broad concept that embraces all aspects of human life. It includes everything people learn to do. It is everything humans have learned. Culture shapes our thoughts and actions, and often does so with a heavy hand" (Seelye- 1984-1993).
Japanese culture is everything typical in Japan that makes Japanese people feel together. It is everything that binds (musubu) or joins British people together and everything that binds French people together, or any nation’s peoples.
THINGS THAT BIND PEOPLE TOGETHER ARE:
- Communication
(agreeing about things, the British love to talk about the weather, or football people like o talk about football, common meanings)
- Festivals
Sometimes the festivals are the same in Japan and Britain (birthdays??) Usually however the festivals are different in different countries. Christmas is very different in Britain and Japan.
- Behaviour/action
I think that she is a good example of a senpai
- Food
Would you miss sushi, the taste of Japan, and typical Japanese food if you go to Britain for a holiday?
Whatever the typical things are, which bind people together they are examples of CULTURE.
Big or Small?
Culture can be SMALL, like the culture of a university or a company (Todai culture, GPWU culture, TOSHIBA CULTURE) or a whole country Like Japan . Small scale or large scale.
Inherited
When sociologists refer to culture they are concerned with the aspects of human behaviour that are LEARNED NOT INHERTED
Japanese people learn to Bow in Japan, this is learned behaviour
Blinking is automatic, it is inherited behaviour
Visable & Invisible
Culture consists of intangible (invisible) aspects such as beliefs, ideas and values, which are the basis of culture,
‘I think eating McDonalds while walking along the street talking to my friend is ok’ is a belief. We cannot see people’s beliefs.
and
RULES and BEHAVIOUR which are tangible (visible).
‘You must queue when waiting to but things’ is a rule.
Queing to buy lotto 6 tickets is a rule. Many countries do not queue, but fight to get to the front.
THE CCC MODEL OF CULTURE
Culture is.............
convention,
connotation
conditioning.
1. Convention: this is what people think is normal. How people in a given culture typically behave in common, everyday situations. (=VALUES).
2. Connotation: these are the important meanings that are associated with words. (=COMMUNICATION).
3. Conditioning: this is the way people are made to behave. There are rules in countries or ‘NORMS’), and people are culturally conditioned.
Values and Norms
All cultures have ideas which are considered important, such as 'university education is good', the 'individual is more important than the group'. These are the values of society. Norms are the rules of behaviour which reflect (show) the values of a society. For example making students study hard at school or telling students that knowledge is valuable for life. Japan value politeness or hospitality very much and the social norms or rules of giving gifts ochugen, otoshidama etc. allow this to take place. Britain values individuality more than Japan, and the norms of behaviour, for example British university students would never speak to each other in terms of a senpai/kohai relationship. Some individuals or groups might not agree with these values and create their own small cultural groups, such as Yankees in Japan or the Hippies in Britain in the 1960-1970's in prefer a traditional religion, others might prefer modern religions.
Japan is a mainly homogenous society and it is easier to think about what is typically Japanese. HOWEVER, Britain, America, Australia are multi cultural countries and it is MUCH more difficult to say what is typically British. For example, if you were born in Britain and are British and your parents came from India maybe you speak Indian as your first language and eat Indian food more than ‘British’ food.
Changing Values and Norms
Is it acceptable to live with your boyfriend (dosei) before getting married? It is perfectly okay in Britain, and perhaps more so in Japan. But not fifty years ago. It would have been socially impossible in Britain fifty years ago. It is okay to live together now in Britain because people; values (what they think about this) has led to a change in behaviour (norms). Living together is an example of a changing norm. Norms and values can be altered by governments as well. The Nakasone government of 1986 began to question the value of group consensus in Japan with respect to the need for innovation, i.e. invention and individual thought in business and technology. A similar report by the Koizumi government of 2000 determined that in a Japan which is facing recession, rising crime, and unemployment that Japanese people needed to let go of some traditional values of conformity and inequality. The report concluded that there is an ‘excessive degree of homogeneity and uniformity’ in Japan (cited in Giddens, 2001).The government concluded that Japan needs to change its values in order to meet the changes of the 21st century. The intervention of the government is an example of a deliberate attempt to change social values and norms, or an example of social engineering.
It is not clear whether these moves towards individualism and independent thinking as proposed by the government and Monbukagasho (formerly Monbusho) are taking place in Japan. What do you think? What do your parents think? What do your friends think? Are Japanese people becoming more individual?
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