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Running Head: What is Culture?

What is Culture?

Taylor Contento, 3 00196420 Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa ANT 1101 Social and Cultural Anthropology Professor Ari Gandsman January 28th, 2021

Running Head: What is Culture? Culture is a broad topic that covers different ideologies including traditions. Different cultures come with different practices, relations to ethnocentric, holistic, and cultural relativism views, as well as a larger meaning as to how they influence society as a whole. Traditions are passed on throughout families, and reflect the culture that has been integrated into the families behaviours. Each culture has a wide variety of habits and traditions that are passed on from generation to generation. Although my family personally doesn’t fully practice our culture as much as my grandparents and those before them, we still have traditions that have been passed onto us. A very prominent tradition that comes with being a part of an Italian family are the types of greetings. From a young age you are taught that a kiss on each cheek is a proper greeting. It is shown as a sign of love, respect, and proper acknowledgement. This is a tradition that is practiced through all of Europe. It is believed that this form of greeting may have derived from a ‘holy kiss’, and was passed on to become a form of everyday greetings. This practice actually came from christian beliefs, and would explain why this greeting became popular in many places that practice catholicism. (Brill, 2020) This tradition is a part of the cultural category of greetings, and depicts the differences between European culture and other cultures around the world. As someone who was born in Canada, I quickly grew to understand that the greetings I used with my family, were not the accepted greetings in public and new spaces, which was learned through socialization. This ideology can relate to cultural lenses, because most people do have one, and eventually understand social patterns that help them develop out of it. These behaviours have become an integrated part of my life, and have shaped how I have adapted to the specific cultures and in turn greetings I use. This will continue to be passed on through my family through the process of enculturation, as this is one of the appropriate behaviours that is

Running Head: What is Culture? taught to European families. The tradition of greetings directly ties to the concept of how culture is an integral part in understanding society. This ideology of greetings and how they differentiate between different cultures, shows the ways of life and how they compare to each other. The development of understanding the patterns and social ideas of greetings between the different cultures shows someone a different view on a cultural aspect they are used to. Although I’ve my own tradition to understand other cultures, there are limitations regarding a cultural lens. Using a cultural lens can lead to ethnocentric thoughts, and in turn limits the way one understands other cultures and traditions. (Gandsman, lecture 2021) The idea is understanding that your approach in greeting someone of your own culture may be different when greeting someone else of a different culture, and they shouldn't be expected to already understand your way of greeting. The limits to a cultural lens include blinding yourself to truly understanding another culture. Limitations of cultural lenses also include how diverse cultures in other places come together to be more ‘American’, which diminishes the presence of their culture. The idea of only one cultural view relates to ethnocentric views. To understand this “We must set aside our innate ethnocentric views in order to allow cultural relativism to guide our inquiries and interactions such that we can learn from others” (Brown, pressbooks) By setting aside the ethnocentric views and opening our minds to a holistic view, it can show how as a whole, humans have adapted to create known or common grounds when it comes to greetings. By taking a cultural relativism standpoint, one can understand others cultures from their views. For example, when learning how to greet those from a different culture, one could ask the appropriate greeting and meaning behind that form of greeting instead of automatically using their own. Culture is learned, as it not only is shaped by individuals but shapes individuals (Gandsman, lecture 2021)

Running Head: What is Culture? The topic of greetings, social patterns, and understanding different cultures from other points of view, all relate to an anthropological understanding of culture. The tradition of learning how to greet peers, family, friends, etc, is passed on between different families and is heavily influenced by their cultures.This goes to show that humans all see different ways to greet certain people, however common greetings have been developed. Although there are so many different cultures in Canada, there are different yet common ways of greeting acquaintances or newer people. This fits into the idea that people follow and understand patterns though they differ, which can be seen through “Each culture works in its own way, and beliefs and practices that appear strange from the outside make sense when contextualized within their particular cultural framework. More specifically, descriptive relativism holds that cultures differ substantially from place to place” (Fernando, 2015). The symbolic significance of my chosen practice is how a person’s culture is a deeply rooted part in their everyday life, and is a part of understanding others cultures. The practice of greetings shows how one’s culture is passed on through family, and that yes it can create a cultural lens, but also opens up the opportunity to cultural relativism which is understating others cultures by observing their forms of greeting for example. Greetings symbolize how each culture is different, but also how they connect. The way someone greets another, shows a bit of who they are as a person. Factoring culture into greetings and how they influence them, shows how different cultures play a role in interactions between people all around the world. From a holistic view, this is an interesting concept and way of understanding the greeting patterns between people. Overall greetings are an insight to where the person comes from, and the appropriate behaviours that are taught in that culture. Culture and traditions work hand in hand when it comes to interactions between people all around the world. The way people greet others is a reflection of their tradition and in turn

Running Head: What is Culture? their culture. Culture is a vast topic that can be understood from different points of views. Overall greetings are a reflection of interactions, cultural beliefs, and ways to view other cultures. Citations -

Nelson, Katie, and Lara Braff. "INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY" ["INTRODUCTION TO

ANTHROPOLOGY"]. Perspectives Press Books, perspectives.pressbooks.com/ chapter/introduction-to-anthropology/.

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"Holy Kiss" ["Holy kiss"]. Encyclopedia of Christianity Online, Leiden, Koninklijke Brill NV, 21 Mar. 2011, ocul-uo.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/

discovery/full display?docid=cdi_brill_reference_http_dx_doi_org_10_1163_2211_2685_eco_H247& context=PC&vid=01OCUL_UO:UO_DEFAULT&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Pr imo%20Central&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,holy%20kiss&offset=0. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021. -

Fernando, Mayanthi. "Cultural Relativism" ["Cultural Relativism"]. Oxford Bibliographies , 29 June 2015, www-oxfordbibliographies-com.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/view/document/

obo-9780199766567/obo-9780199766567-0003.xml. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021. -

Gandsman, Ari “Lectures” 2021

Running Head: What is Culture?...