Unit 4 - Culture

Lecture Continued

One of things that this exercise should help you see is that no culture in the modern world is independent from other cultures. Various cultural processes operate to spread technologies and ways of knowing around the world. Diffusion, described by Volti in Chapter 5, is a cultural process.

“ The diffusion of technology is still essentially a learning process, through which the recipient gains an understanding of how the technology works, while at the same time adapting it to its particular needs. In this, the activities of skilled people are usually essential” (Volti, 2001: 78).

While his focus is on the various ways that technologies, both material and non-material, are spread through or between cultures, we need to keep in mind that other elements of culture, such as values, norms, beliefs, & social practices are also diffused. Often technology plays a role in this but not always. Television is a technology that has spread around the world. The very presence of television sets affects cultures as people change interaction patterns. And, the content of television programs has also affected the culture of many societies. A colleague of mine has studied how satellite television has changed traditional family interactions in Damacus, Syria, since the small dishes became available in the mid-1990s. People spend less time with their extended families than they did in the past as they stay home to watch favorite television programs. Programs like Baywatch and Friends change perceptions of the world and alter values and traditions. Women learn to want more freedom in dress and behavior. Both material and non-material elements have changed Syrian culture. Music is another form of non-material culture that spreads around the world and has the power to change culture. It has always diffused from one culture to another. Modern technologies simply mean that it spreads faster and that there is more feedback

The fact that so many people in American society think of science as the best or only way to collect knowledge gives us a clue about the power of culture over our lives and may be an appropriate place to raise the question of control over technology. Another way to phrase that question, since science and technology are a part of culture, is to ask if we are in control of our culture. Remember that culture consists of everything we produce – television shows, hamburgers, heart transplants, freeways, couch potatoes, diet programs, road rage – as well as the beliefs, values, and norms connected to those things. Before we can answer questions about the control of technology, we have to ask questions about our culture. Do we like our culture? Can we change it if we want to?

My answers to these questions are from a sociological perspective. We must like it. At least enough of us must like it to continue to reproduce it. We wouldn’t have four seasons of Big Brother or Survivor if nobody watched them. We wouldn’t have McDonalds hamburgers if nobody ate them. People do what their culture teaches them to do and to like. If you live in a culture where snails are considered a delicacy, you like them and eat them as often as you can. If you live in a culture that says snails are icky, you avoid eating them whenever possible.

If you live in a culture that requires you to live at your place of work, say a farm, you don’t commute to work. If you live in a culture that requires you to live away from your place of work, or to change jobs frequently, you probably need a car. The technologies available in a culture shape our lives and activities. Our activities in turn produce the culture. Changing such a system is difficult because it becomes part of us. Part of who we are, what we value and consider appropriate or “natural.”

It also becomes difficult because, as we shall see later, society is a system with interrelated parts and it is hard to change just one part. For example, many of us spend a lot more time in an automobile than we would like to. But, given the way our culture structures our lives, it is very difficult to give up having a car unless you live in the middle of large city. It is possible, of course, but very difficult for most people. So, we keep our cars. Then, having a car makes it possible to live miles from where we work, drive our kids to a variety of social activities, and shop all over town for the best bargains. And, because we need to get to work, the kids need to get to soccer practice, and we want the best prices on things, we need a car. Think about the additional consequences of this situation. Because we spend so much time in the car, we have, for example, less time to cook at home. So fast food becomes part of our culture. It is all connected and that makes it hard to find a place to start changing culture.

It seems easier to change our technologies but is that the result of what we want or what is available to us? Many of us like computers but most of us are also a little uncomfortable about the intrusion into our lives. Computers take time, distract our kids, and may invade our privacy. Can we get rid of computers now? I don’t think so. Doesn’t seem to matter whether we like them or not. They are here to stay. The technology will continue to change, and to change us, but perhaps not under our control.

There is a paradox here because we are the ones who create and use technology, who create and recreate culture. But at the same time culture and technology control us and our lives. We’ll return to this question later in the term. For now, it is enough to understand that both science and technology are a part of human culture and putting them in a social context requires an insight into cultureThere is a paradox here because we are the ones who create and use technology, who create and recreate culture. But at the same time culture and technology control us and our lives. We’ll return to this question later in the term. For now, it is enough to understand that both science and technology are a part of human culture and putting them in a social context requires an insight into culture.