Upon completion of this unit you shall be able to

• reflect on how you live culture
• know how culture is defined by you and others
• know some forms of how culture can be expressed
  
  

Introduction

Welcome to the module Cultural Awareness and Expression. In this module we will talk about arts and culture.
You will get a lot of opportunities to think about your approach to culture and we will have a lot of discussion groups and reflection stops.
First of all you will get accustomed with your trainer and the group of people you are working with.

Let’s get started.

 

The four corners of the seminar room are turned into the following four positions and are accordingly labeled:

• Cinema
• Concert
• Book
• Museum

Now everybody chooses the position he / she likes best. So, small groups are formed and their members discuss their approaches to the cultural expression they chose.The following questions should be answered:

• When did you last go to the cinema?
• What was the last book you read?
• Which concert was the best you've ever been to?
• How much did you like the last exhibition you have seen?

Now it’s time for introducing yourself to the whole group.
Please tell everybody your name and answer the following questions:

• If I were a film or book I would be a.....
• If I were a film or book, …………. would make me interesting.

Before you are going to get deeper into the topic, we would like to know what you and the other group members think of if you hear the word culture.
In order to do this you are going to be introduced to a very nice method for collecing ideas.

Brainstorming is a method for finding ideas. Brainstorming encourages the creation of new, unusual ideas in a group. How does it work? Everyone mentions everything that springs to their minds on a certain topic. A moderator takes notes of all ideas, proposals, opinions and objections – ideally somewhere where everyone can see it (whiteboard, flip chart etc.) There are no limits on the creation of ideas, everybody can react to anything someone else had said and can develop it further. Ideas can be combined to something new. Important: Judgements or comments are not allowed! The following rules apply: 5 to 15 participants Equality of all participants Duration of the session: 10 to 30 minutes Free flow of ideas Quantity before quality – the focus lies on the production of as many ideas as possible No criticism or deragatory comments The outcome can later be structured and worked on. The ideas are a first collection on a certain topic. Usually there are a lot of very good suggestions to work on. How can you use this method? for finding ideas for working on a complex issue for finding headings

 

 

You must take into account that…!

All ideas you created in the brainstorming session on culture are relevant. There is no „truth“ on the topics culture or arts - just opinions and views. In the following slides, we would like to present and discuss views and opinions which are widely used and which are shared by a lot of people. Your opinion on these theories is very important!

So, what is culture?

inherited and learned	Personality	Individual
learned	Culture	Group specific
inherited	Human Nature	Universal

Human nature means that we use our biological dispositions to do culture; for example using our hands to to greet someone, to paint pictures, to cook a meal,...

We learn how to do culture from the groups we are part of; ie how to eat, which instruments to play, how to greet someone.

Our own approach to culture is individually decided. What we like and dislike is personal and can not be transferred to others.

Any more definitions on culture?

• Culture is created by people.
• Culture equals civilisation.
• Culture unequals nature.

Culture	versus	Nature

Biology, nature and genetical dispositions are preset conditions in our lives.
The forms of culture we live are different for everyone. We can create culture on our own.
Usually we first create culture in a way we experienced it before (traditions). But we can change and modernise culture consciously and deliberately.
Arts are a deliberate way to create and express culture.

Civilisation means to create how people live together.

What does culture signify if you explain it as civilisation? Which practices in our human societies are meant:

• Education
• Personal and social development (manners – morale – religion)
• Rules (norms, laws, behaviour)
• Tradition and history

Education is the basis for any devolopment in a society.
Culture and education also facilitate the personal development.
Culture and religion of a country show us the values and rules on which the society works.
The values and rules are passed down from generation to generation (tradition) and are changed from time to time (modernisation).

Reflect upon that

If education is part of our culture what does our education system tell about our culture? ……………………………………………………………………………………......….…………………………………………………… Which traditions play an important part in our culture? Name a few. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Can you name a few rules that are important for one culture but not important in others (ie queuing in Great Britain)? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Cultural industry

Cultural industry is the utilisation of culture.
Culture is produced by artists in various forms (painting, statue, music) and is sold by the cultural industry.
The cultural industry enables everyone to get an access to arts and culture and a lot of artists make their living in the cultural industry.

What belongs to the cultural industry?

• Music CDs
• Cinema
• TV / Radio
• Publishers
• Design
• Crafts
• Fashion
• Culture facilitators (theater, cinema, concert halls,...)

Reflect upon that

If you think about the place you live – where can you see the cultural industry? ……………………………………………………………………………………......….…………………………………………………… Do you know someone who works in the cultural industry? Can you tell something about his / her job? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Would you like to work in the cultural industry? If yes, what would you like to do? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Scripture is a work of culture.
Only what we can describe exists for us. We can't communicate when there are no words for the things we want to express.
Different ways of type face and symbols create different ways of living and working together.
Internationally the European / American scripture and languages prevail – which has effects on our culture.

 

 

 

Cooking styles and table manners reflect a society and its religious and cultural influences.
Nowadays we get access to a lot of different cuisines in our region.
Cuisine is often a first and important approach to a different culture and a way of getting to know different styles of living.

American	Japanese	Italiano

Reflect upon that

Which different styles of cooking have you tried so far? ……………………………………………………………………………………......….…………………………………………………… Do you have any favourite “ethnic” cuisine? If yes, which one is it and why? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… What does your local cuisine tell about people? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

We all belong to different systems (family, organisations, countries, cultures). Everybody carries a lot of different cultures within himself / herself.
We all act according to our roles in the different systems. What we do now can be completely different to what we do in another role.
Cultural practices and styles of living connect and mix without stopping on national borders.

Living together in a multicultural society is a big challenge nowadays and it is invitable in a globalised world.
But culture is just behaviour. I can live my culture and I can change it whenever I want to. I can expand it without losing my roots.
We can get the best out of every culture and connect it. Diversity of cultures and people makes life richer and more exciting.

Reflect upon that

If you think about the place you live – are there many people with different cultural backgrounds? ……………………………………………………………………………………......….…………………………………………………… What do you like about their different ways of living? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… If you think about your country – are there different ways of doing culture in different  parts of the country (ie capital city, mountains, small towns, rural areas,..) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Judaism	Hinduism	Buddhism	Islam

Religions are means of culture. Based on religious beliefs different cultures and societies were developed. Different rules in living together apply according to different religions.
Religions lose their importance in Western societies. In other cultural backgrounds they still shape society.
Usually religion plays an important part in personal culture. That doesn't change when someone starts living in a different country.

 

 

 

Reflect upon this activity

After ten minutes you should stop the exercise.

What did you experience? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… How did you feel? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… What conclusions do you draw? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Here are our suggestions for the interpretation. They are only ideas from us and not the “absolute truth”. The group never stops. There is always movement. If I am in a relationship with someone, I move with this person. If someone relates to me, this person moves with me. The things I change have effects on others. What others change has an effect on me. There are negotiations in a group. If I want to be part of a group I have to adept. Culture is in constant change. We create culture. If someone else creates culture differently this also effects my culture. We influence others and they influence us. We need influence from others in order to make progress.

Culture is deliberately designing the way we live. Culture is created by people. The way people create culture is related to likes, traditions and possibilities. Culture shows in language, scripture, images, values and norms.

 

Reflect upon the following

What do you see as culture when you look around you? ……………………………………………………………………………………......….…………………………………………………… What is your personal culture? How do you live culture? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Maya pyramid:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kryziz/1356390078/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kryziz/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Nature:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/people/nicholas_t/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Tibetan script:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/izuengordelekua/2839677030/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/izuengordelekua/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Cyrillic:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lo_re_n_zo_/4180666295/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lo_re_n_zo_/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Hieroglyph:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlestilford/190276457/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlestilford/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Japanese
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/modomatic/2564077410/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/modomatic/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Runes
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/apperceive/3101920004/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/apperceive/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Arabic:
Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Muhammad-mit-ligatur-und-ohne.png&filetimestamp=20080424100440
by Baba66
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_CA

American food:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetonveg/4450198225/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetonveg/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Japanese food:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilker/280322873/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilker/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Italian food:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilker/349545044/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilker/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Shield of David:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeevveez/122688102/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeevveez/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Hinduism:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/76932422@N00/2858020858/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/76932422@N00/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Mosque:
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/1967956844/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Buddha :
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/2868822348/
By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/