Structural-Functionalism
Being well-schooled :-) in useless but interesting university facts has created in me a persona that ponders. Alot. I think about things that I find interesting and I wonder why cultures have taken on beliefs. I thought I found refuge in anthropology in university: the study of the whats and whys of other cultures.
Now, I am a culture junkie. Talk to me about life in the India or Asia and I am riveted: you go to the store for milk, you say??? Fascinating. As North Americans we are not comfortable simply accepting that other cultures are different from ours, we need to understand why. OK, maybe that is just me. That is why I have taken such a shining to one anthropological perspective: structural functionalism.
I cannot remember who created the theory but I remember the meaning: all cultural norms in life have a purpose, from somewhere. At some point there was a reason why a culture behaved a certain way and despite the need no longer being relevant, the behaviour has continued to exist. Take for example, the sacred cow of India. In India, the cow runs rampant and can be seen wandering the streets of Mumbai. Strange to Western thinking but, not long ago, cows were killers :-). They were filled with disease in Asia-Pac and people were warned to stay away from them lest they 'catch' what the cow was carrying. Even now, many of the wandering cows are diseased: ever seen a rabid, nasty, cud-chewing cow???
Anyhoooo.... there are still some things that I cannot explain but, my pondering brain, and my government job :-) will allow me to research some of these things in the near future. Stay riveted to your seats, now...
Australia --> mentioning the names of the dead
Jews and Muslims --> Eating pork
Arabs --> Displaying the soles of the foot, touching shoes, eating with the left hand
India -->Public display of affection, kissing in public, addressing elders by first names, smoking/drinking in front of one's elders
Chinese --> Public displays of affection, addressing elder by first names
Chinese women--> Appearing in public in late pregnancy, staying indoors for the first 100 days post-partum, planting at tree at the 100 day point
Japanese --> lowering your eyes when speaking with an equal or an elder
Mountaineers --> Stepping on climbing ropes, even when not in use
Now, I am a culture junkie. Talk to me about life in the India or Asia and I am riveted: you go to the store for milk, you say??? Fascinating. As North Americans we are not comfortable simply accepting that other cultures are different from ours, we need to understand why. OK, maybe that is just me. That is why I have taken such a shining to one anthropological perspective: structural functionalism.
I cannot remember who created the theory but I remember the meaning: all cultural norms in life have a purpose, from somewhere. At some point there was a reason why a culture behaved a certain way and despite the need no longer being relevant, the behaviour has continued to exist. Take for example, the sacred cow of India. In India, the cow runs rampant and can be seen wandering the streets of Mumbai. Strange to Western thinking but, not long ago, cows were killers :-). They were filled with disease in Asia-Pac and people were warned to stay away from them lest they 'catch' what the cow was carrying. Even now, many of the wandering cows are diseased: ever seen a rabid, nasty, cud-chewing cow???
Anyhoooo.... there are still some things that I cannot explain but, my pondering brain, and my government job :-) will allow me to research some of these things in the near future. Stay riveted to your seats, now...
Australia --> mentioning the names of the dead
Jews and Muslims --> Eating pork
Arabs --> Displaying the soles of the foot, touching shoes, eating with the left hand
India -->Public display of affection, kissing in public, addressing elders by first names, smoking/drinking in front of one's elders
Chinese --> Public displays of affection, addressing elder by first names
Chinese women--> Appearing in public in late pregnancy, staying indoors for the first 100 days post-partum, planting at tree at the 100 day point
Japanese --> lowering your eyes when speaking with an equal or an elder
Mountaineers --> Stepping on climbing ropes, even when not in use
posted by y-vonne at 7:26 AM
1 Comments:
Whistling in a theatre being bad luck - the origin is that whistles used to be used to signal changes in the flys.
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