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Understanding Culture

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Culture encompasses the beliefs, values, customs, and behaviors shared by a society. It's divided into material and non-material culture, with the Iceberg Model illustrating its visible and invisible layers. Anthropologists use ethnographic methods to study culture, emphasizing cultural relativism. The text also discusses cultural expressions, subcultures, countercultures, and the impact of globalization on cultural dynamics.

Defining Culture: Concepts and Components

Culture is a complex framework of the shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of a society use to cope with their world and with one another. These shared patterns identify the members of a cultural group while also distinguishing those of another group. Culture is often categorized into material culture, which includes physical objects and artifacts created by a society, and non-material culture, which encompasses the ideas, attitudes, and beliefs of a society. Both aspects are integral to understanding the full scope of human culture, which is not static but constantly evolving as societies adapt and change.
Circle of people in colorful traditional clothing dancing or dining together, with joined hands and drum, surrounded by cultural artifacts.

The Iceberg Model of Cultural Understanding

The Iceberg Model, conceptualized by anthropologist Edward T. Hall, is a metaphor for the visible and invisible layers of culture. Above the waterline, the tip of the iceberg represents the observable aspects of culture, such as language, dress, and food. Below the waterline lies the larger, unseen portion, which includes the norms, values, beliefs, and thought patterns that deeply influence a society's behavior and interactions. This model illustrates that the most significant aspects of culture are often those that are less apparent and more deeply rooted in the collective psyche.

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00

Culture is a complex structure consisting of ______, values, customs, and behaviors that society members utilize to navigate their world.

shared beliefs

01

Iceberg Model Creator

Edward T. Hall, an anthropologist, conceptualized the Iceberg Model.

02

Observable Culture - Iceberg Model

Language, dress, and food are examples of the visible aspects of culture.

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