1 ♡ Introduction to Communication, Culture, & Society

“Culture is Communication and Communication is Culture”

Edward T. Hall

Edward T. Hall

• cultural anthropologist

• cross-cultural researcher

• developed

  • concept of proxemics

  • exploring cultural and social cohesion

  • how people behave and react

    • in different types of culturally defined personal space

• influential colleague of Marshall McLuhan and Buckminster Fuller

communication

• exchange of information and meaning

• constant communicating in a wide range of different contexts

  • with each other (interpersonal communication)

  • with different cultural groups or subgroups (intercultural communication)

  • to large audiences (mass communication)

“Communication is the transmission and interchange of facts, ideas, feelings or course of action”

Leland Brown

“One mind affecting another”

Claude Shannon

functions of communication

• education

  • to transfer knowledge for the progress of society

• information

  • to find and explain something new

• cultural promotion

  • to help foster social values

  • pass them from one generation to generation

• social contact

  • to help make enjoyable companionship

• integration

  • to create harmonious relationships among various social groups

• entertainment

  • to help pass time and enjoy life

• stimulation

  • to create interest and develop positive thinking

3 Ways to Relate to Culture

• confront

  • questions existing norms and traditions

• complain

  • identifies problems but may not offer solutions

• conform

  • people accept and follow the norms, values, and expectations of their culture

culture

• covers a wide range of perspectives

• represents the things we see, the tangible, as well as the intangible things

• how people think and behave

“Culture refers to that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”

Edward Tylor

elements of culture

• learned

• symbolic

• shared

• dynamic

• systemic

culture is learned

• we learn our culture as we grow up

• process is called enculturation

  • in school, by our parents, by the media

• ex. everyone needs to eat. but what we eat and how we eat? it is something learned from culture

culture is symbolic

• culture involves symbols

• symbols

  • stands for something else

• ex. national flag - stands for country

• shaking your head

  • in some cultures = YES

  • in some cultures = NO

  • in some cultures = NOTHING

culture is shared

• if…

  • a person thinks of acts a certain way: personal habit not a culture

  • most people in society do something, then it’s culture

• shared between members of a group.

• all think and behave the same way because they grew up in the same culture

culture is dynamic

• fluid rather than static

• changes all the time, every day, in subtle and tangible ways

• humans communicate and express their cultural systems in a variety of ways

• Albert Meharbian (1971)

  • 7% words, 38% tone (paralinguistic), and 55% body language (visual)

culture is systemic

• systems theory

• systems are interrelated, interconnected parts that create a whole

• patterns of behavior, deeply rooted structural systems, which are beneath the waterline

iceberg model of culture

• conceptual framework developed by anthropologist Edward T. Hall

• commonly used metaphor to describe culture

• great example for illustrating the tangible and the intangible

• tip of the iceberg

  • making up 10% of the object

  • language and customs

• rest of the iceberg

  • 90% of it, is below the waterline

  • beliefs, values, and thought patterns

• narratives that emerge from this cultural iceberg are

  • not merely stories

  • the lifeblood of our identities

  • shaping our perceptions, interactions, and collective consciousness

surface culture

• visible and tangible aspects of culture

• are easily observed and identified

• ex. language, dress, & food

shallow culture

• norms and rules

• not immediately visible but still generally known

• ex. concepts of personal space, etiquette, & social rituals

deep culture

• implicit beliefs and worldviews

• values, thought, and patterns

• ex. core values, religious beliefs, attitudes toward authorities, and relationships

stereotypes and generalizations

• things that can happen

  • in the context of discussing culture

stereotypes

• negative statements and interpretations

  • made about a group of people

• whether deemed positive or negative

• place people into boxes and categories and limit them to those specific perspectives

generalizations

• broad statements based on facts, experiences, examples, or logic.

• two kinds: valid and faulty

  • your role to determine which have validity behind them

• broad characterization of cultural groups can serve as a framework for cultural interactions