IDST 1002H Chapter 23: IDST 1002 Textbook Chapter 23 Culture and Development
14 Jun 2018
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From Textbook Chapter 23: Culture and Development
Introduction
• There is large misunderstanding around what is culture
• Western thought has been dominated by outlook that places faith in human reason
• Since Enlightenment in 18th-century Europe
What is Culture?
• Culture:
• a state or process of human perfection, in terms of certain absolute or universal
values
• Elitist
• A description of a particular way of life, which expresses certain meanings and
values not only in art and learning but also in institutions and ordinary behaviour
• Broad
• Pattern of meanings embodied in symbolic forms, including actions,
utterances and meaningful objects of various kinds, by virtue of which individuals
communicate with one another and share their experiences, conceptions and
beliefs
• Humans live in a world that is both objective and subjective
• Culture must be looked at in context to really be defined in that context
The Cultural Versus the Material
• Culture cannot be looked at without considering its linkages with economics (forces and
relations of production)
• Culture does not exist in a vacuum but is constantly shaped by material forces
• Ex. technology influences human relationships
• Cannot look at development or economic change without considering culture
• Economic sphere limits range of possible cultural outcomes but does not determine
them
Culture as Domination and Culture as Resistance
• Culture changes over time and is affected by relations of power
• Symbolic objects often reflect interests of dominant mode of development
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