NCH101

Session - Culture

‘Culture ... is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom,
and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.’
E.B.Tyler, British anthropologist defined culture,1870.

UNESCO defines culture as “the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional
features of society or a social group, that encompasses, not only art and literature but lifestyles,
ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs” (UNESCO, 2001)

Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population
that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for
an entire society." As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, art.
norms of behavior, such as law and morality, and systems of belief.
Cultural Relativism refers to the idea that the values, knowledge, and behavior of people must
be understood within their own cultural context.

This is one of the most fundamental concepts in anthropology, as it recognizes and affirms the
connections between the greater social structure and trends and the everyday lives of individual
people. Different cultural groups think, feel, and act differently. There are no scientific standards
for considering one group as intrinsically superior or inferior to another. Studying differences in
culture among groups and societies presupposes a position of cultural relativism. It does not imply
normalcy for oneself, nor for one's society. It, however, calls for judgment when dealing with
groups or societies different from one's own. Information about the nature of cultural differences
between societies, their roots, and their consequences should precede judgment and action.
Negotiation is more likely to succeed when the parties concerned understand the reasons for the
differences in viewpoints.

The concept of cultural relativism as we know and use it today was established as an analytic tool
by German-American anthropologist Franz Boas in the early 20th century. In the context of early
social science, cultural relativism became an important tool for pushing back on the ethnocentrism
that often-tarnished research at that time, which was mostly conducted by white, wealthy,
Western men, and often focused on people of color, foreign indigenous populations, and persons
of lower economic class than the researcher.

Ethnocentrism is the practice of viewing and judging someone else's culture based on the values
and beliefs of one's own. From this standpoint, we might frame other cultures as weird, exotic,
intriguing, and even as problems to be solved. In contrast, when we recognize that the many
cultures of the world have their own beliefs, values, and practices that have developed in
particular historical, political, social, material, and ecological contexts and that it makes sense
that they would differ from our own and that none are necessarily right or wrong or good or bad,
then we are engaging the concept of cultural relativism.

Cultural Diffusion describes the way cultures merge and spread around the world. Ideas can
spread within a culture or from one culture to another. Sometimes people use the phrase
transcultural diffusion to call out an idea spreading across cultures instead of within cultures.

One of the most obvious examples of cultural diffusion is the spread of food items and cuisine
around the world. For instance, Italian pasta and pizza, Chinese stir fry, and Indian curry have all
become popular in the United Kingdom and other countries (Whiten, Caldwell, & Mesoudi,
2016).

Few types of cultural diffusion are; Relocation Diffusion, Expansion Diffusion, Contagious
Diffusion, Hierarchical Diffusion, Stimulus Diffusion, Maladaptive Diffusion etc.
Multiculturalism describes the manner in which a given society deals with cultural diversity.
Based on the underlying assumption that members of often very different cultures can coexist
peacefully, multiculturalism expresses the view that society is enriched by preserving, respecting,
and even encouraging cultural diversity. In the area of political philosophy, multiculturalism
refers to the ways in which societies choose to formulate and implement official policies dealing
with the equitable treatment of different cultures.

Acculturation is a process through which a person or group from one culture comes to adopt the
practices and values of another culture, while still retaining their own distinct culture. This
process is most commonly discussed regarding a minority culture adopting elements of the
majority culture, as is typically the case with immigrant groups that are culturally or ethnically
distinct from the majority in the place to which they have immigrated.

However, acculturation is a two-way process, so those within the majority culture often adopt
elements of minority cultures with which they come into contact. The process plays out between
groups where neither is necessarily a majority or a minority. It can happen at both group and
individual levels and can occur as a result of in-person contact or contact through art, literature,
or media.

Acculturation is not the same as the process of assimilation, though some people use the words
interchangeably. Assimilation can be an eventual outcome of the acculturation process, but the
process can have other outcomes as well, including rejection, integration, marginalization, and
transmutation.
Heritage is what we have inherited from the past to value and enjoy in the present and to preserve
and pass on to future generations. Heritage is often used to discuss a cultural aspect or tradition
that has been passed down through generations.

Classification of heritage:

As of April 2024, a total of 1,199 World Heritage Sites (933 cultural, 227 natural and 39 mixed
cultural and natural properties) exist across 168 countries. With 59 selected areas, Italy is the
country with the most sites; followed by China with 57, then France and Germany with 52 each.
 “Cultural Heritage,” heritage doesn’t consist of money or property, but of culture, values, and
traditions. Cultural heritage implies a shared bond, our belonging to a community. It represents
our history and our identity, our bond to the past, to our present, and the future.
Cultural Heritage isn’t limited to concrete objects. It’s also the customs, traditions,
and values shared by groups of people.

Cultural heritage has a diversity of values including symbolic, historic, artistic, aesthetic,
ethnological or anthropological, scientific and social significance. Cultural heritage comprises a
broad spectrum of tangible and intangible facets that reflect a society's identity, values, and
traditions. It acts as a bridge connecting past, present, and future, shaping collective memory and
fostering a sense of continuity and belonging. This notion has evolved over time, influenced by
shifting value systems and historical dynamics. At its core, cultural heritage encompasses
physical artifacts such as monuments, buildings, artworks, and landscapes, as well as intangible
elements like languages, customs, rituals, and knowledge systems. These elements carry symbolic
significance and contribute to shaping both individual and collective identities.

Origin and background

In 1954, the government of Egypt decided to build the new Aswan High Dam, whose resulting
future reservoir would eventually inundate a large stretch of the Nile valley containing cultural
treasures of ancient Egypt and ancient Nubia. In 1959, the governments of Egypt
and Sudan requested the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) to assist them to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and
sites.

In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched the International Campaign to Save the
Monuments of Nubia. This International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia resulted in
the excavation and recording of hundreds of sites, the recovery of thousands of objects, as well
as the salvage and relocation to higher ground of several important temples. The most famous of
these are the temple complexes of Abu Simbel and Philae. The campaign ended in 1980 and was
considered a success. To thank countries which especially contributed to the campaign's success,
Egypt donated four temples; the Temple of Dendur was moved to the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York City, the Temple of Debod to the Parque del Oeste in Madrid, the Temple of
Taffeh to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, and the Temple of Ellesyia to Museo
Egizio in Turin.
The project cost US$80 million (equivalent to $295.83 million in 2023), about $40 million of
which was collected from 50 countries. The project's success led to other safeguarding
campaigns, such as saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan,
and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. Together with the International Council on
Monuments and Sites, UNESCO then initiated a draft convention to protect cultural heritage.

UNESCO defines world heritage as “the designation for places on Earth that are of outstanding
universal value,” and defines culture as a set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and
emotional features of a society or a social group. These features can be expressed as art, literature,
lifestyles, ways of living together, traditions and beliefs. World heritage sites were first
designation under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and National
Heritage, which UNESCO adopted in 1972 and formally came into effect in 1975 after being
ratified by 22 countries. This convention laid out our current framework for the preservation and
stewardship of major cultural heritage sites across the globe. It also provides a possible
infrastructure through which to consider what “cultural heritage” is in the first place. Under the
three types of designated sites under the UNESCO convention, monuments, town sites,
archaeological sites, and works of art are classified under “cultural heritage sites.” Based on the
draft convention that UNESCO had initiated, a single text was eventually agreed upon by all
parties, and the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. The
convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of May 2023, it has been ratified by 195
states: 191 UN member states, 2 UN observer states, including the Holy See and the State of
Palestine, and two states in free association with New Zealand, including the Cook
Islands and Niue. Two UN member states, Liechtenstein and Nauru, have not ratified the
convention.

Preserving and conserving cultural heritage has become increasingly crucial in light of challenges
such as urbanization, globalization, environmental degradation, and conflicts. Efforts to
safeguard cultural heritage often involve collaboration among governments, organizations,
communities, and individuals at various levels, from local to international. Concepts like
"outstanding universal value" and the belief that cultural heritage belongs to humanity as a whole
reflect a growing recognition of the necessity for global cooperation in heritage preservation.
Initiatives such as UNESCO's World Heritage program aim to identify and safeguard sites of
universal significance, fostering cross-cultural dialogue and mutual appreciation. National
heritage also plays a significant role, with many countries establishing museums, monuments,
and agencies dedicated to preserving and promoting their cultural legacies.