Transcript Culture is
Alfred Louis Kroeber (1876-1960) Alfred Louis Kroeber (1876-1960) 1897—Course in American Indian languages at Columbia University offered by Franz Boas 1901—Completed dissertation on symbolism in Arapaho art in Montana First doctorate in anthropology to be awarded by Columbia 1901-1946—First instructor of newly created anthropology dept. at U C Berkeley Personal Life Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, June 11, 1876 Died in Paris, October 5, 1960 Parents upper middle-class Protestants of German ancestry Grandfather Kroeber came to United States when his son, Florence Kroeber, was ten years old Grandfather fought in the Civil War Kroeber's mother, Johanna Muller, was American born in a German family Education Schooled Private at home until age 7 or 8 tutor Sachs' Collegiate Institute, grammar and high school Columbia University in 1892 at the age of sixteen Introduction Kroeber played a major role in developing American anthropology from the rather random endeavors of amateurs and self-trained men to a coherent, scientific, and academic discipline Introduction Contributions to anthropology included: Extensive ethnographic investigations in California The Great Plains Archaeological Linguistic studies in Mexico and Peru research, especially in California Kroeber and Culture Lifelong goal-> Understand nature of cultural phenomena (i.e., culture) Cultural analysis should not use method of physical sciences Seek to determine causes and effects Also rejected a social science orientation To avoid problems of human welfare, which strongly oriented much social science at that time Boas’ Influence First, unrelenting empiricism Repudiated earlier anthropologists who arranged cultural data into existing categories & developmental schemes Second, stressed primary importance of intensive first-hand ethnographic field work Culture as Superorganic Kroeber's theory was: Superorganic Supra-individual Culture is greater than the individual Deterministic Events are caused by things that happened before them & people have no ability to make choices or control what happens No“great man theory” Culture as Superorganic Not interested in the: Effect of culture on the individual “Culture and personality” view Effect of the individual upon culture “Great man theory” of history Method for Studying Culture 1. Characterized cultures by means of culture element lists 2. Identified major styles, philosophies, and values The Element Survey Approach Kroeber wanted to quantify and explain cultural diversity (specifically the Native Americans of California) He He created the cultural elements list developed minimal units of culture that could be listed and gathered The Element Survey Approach Included the following questions of each group: Do they practice polyandry? Do they practice cremation? Do they use a sinew-backed bow? Sinew, the shredded fibers of animal tendon Do they use beaver-teeth dice? Beaver Tooth: A game played for centuries By “First People of the Pacific Northwest” Game includes a woven basket, four carved beaver teeth (dice), and a bundle of "counting bones" (bird bones) Simple, fast-paced, and fun: Depending on the fall of the carved teeth (dice) Players win counting bones Player with most bones at end of game wins Do they eat acorn mush? Acorns, the nut of the oak tree, has been a staple of California Indian diet for more than 4,000 years For many groups, the most important plant food Native Californians harvested 10 or more species Acorns are extremely nutritious containing up to: 18% fat, 6% percent protein 68% carbohydrate Vitamins A and C Many amino acids Acorn mush or bread usually eaten with meat for a balanced meal Do their young men drink hallucinogenic jimson weed mush? Flowers light blue or white on a purple stem All parts of plant are toxic: Leaf Root Flower Seed Jimsonweed used by Native Americans for drug-induced ceremonial and spiritual purposes Flaws in Element Survey Approach Reduces cultures into bits and pieces Assigns equal significance to each (beaver teeth dice and polyandry) Assumes an element has same meaning in other cultures Swastika is an ancient symbol used for over 3,000 years China, Japan, India, and southern Europe Until the Nazis used this symbol, it was used by many cultures to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck Benefits of Survey For all the flaws, as an exercise in salvage ethnology, it helped to document cultures under threat Culture and Society Kroeber distinguishes between culture and society. Society is just group life, even among bees and ants Essential Elements of Culture It is learned: Not genetic or racial Kroeber opposed racial determinism It is shared: Not any person’s individual province, or the creation of any one person It is patterned: Not a random assortment of elements, but a coherent whole It is meaningful The Historical Approach Culture’s past shapes the culture No other forces, like political instability or economic necessity, are determining factors To understand a culture, you must reconstruct its past Focus on Culture Definition: Culture consists of the set of attributes and products of human societies, and therewith of mankind, which are extrasomatic (i.e., outside & unrelated to the body) and transmitted by mechanisms other than biological heredity Focus on Culture Kroeber was concerned with: Reconstructing history through a descriptive analysis of concrete cultural phenomena Grouped into “culture types” that could be analyzed to reveal their histories The Superorganic Pertaining to the structure of cultural elements within society conceived as independent of and superior to the individual members of society Individuals have very little, if any, impact on culture’s development and change Culture plays a determining role in human behavior Culture has an existence outside of people and compels us to conform to patterns Organizing the information: The functional prerequisites of culture People Language Territory/Technology Alfred Kroeber Social Organization Ideology (belief systems) Kroeber and Ishi http://wn.com/alfred_l._kroeber There was huge variation in languages. Language Variation • Indian languages are extremely diverse. • 300 distinct languages • 2000 dialects California—at least 20 families West of Rockies—17 more Rest of the continent—20 more Today English is most commonly spoken language Many native languages are gone or soon will be Diverse Definitions of Culture 28 Topical: Culture consists of everything on a list of topics or categories, such as: Social organization Religion Economy Historical: Culture is social heritage, or tradition Passed from generation to generation . Diverse Definitions of Culture Behavioral: Culture is: Shared Learned human behavior A way of life Normative: Culture is: Ideals Values Rules for living 30 Definitions of culture Alfred Kroeber & Clyde Kluckhohn, published a list of 160 definitions of culture (1952.) Diversity in the concept of culture Anthropologist’s definition of culture may influence: Choice of research problems Methods Interpretations Views on public policy Studying Culture: Cultural Aspects of Dreaming Emphasis on dreams and beliefs about them differ across cultures. Different cultural views: Dreams are generally dismissed as unreal and irrelevant to the important concerns of day-to-day life. Dreams important sources of information-about the future, about the spiritual world, or about oneself. Dreams considered as a space for action, like waking life, or a means for communication with other people or with the supernatural. Cultural Aspects of Dreaming Certain societies attribute such importance to dreams that they have been designated (by Alfred Kroeber) “dream cultures.” Cultures in which dreams are taken seriously accumulate a depth of observations about their dreams. Their beliefs may be useful in understanding dreaming. Alfred Kroeber Understanding Culture as Superorganic Historical Approach Deterministic First American Textbook in anthropology (1923)