Culture

Below, two approaches to the concept of culture are presented. One explains why we often think of culture as static and immutable, while the other illuminates why cultures are continuously changing. Together these perspectives offer us insight into what culture is, how it affects us, and not least, how we can create new culture.

Codes in the back of our mind

A common way of thinking about culture is that it is something belonging to a people, with physical boundaries and which has been built on the past. The underlying idea is that people in respectively China, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Norway, the USA, or any other country develop particular common traits because they live in the same place and share a historical heritage. Culture can thus be understood as a type of model the individual has in their mind, with unwritten rules for how to behave, how to greet each other, eat, celebrate and what to see as right and wrong. These rules that we learn by being members of a specific society have been called “codes in the back of our mind" by the Norwegian researcher Øyvind Dahl.

People who share a culture have a common understanding – a shared key – of how to interpret things, which outsiders do not necessarily understand. Some cultures are accustomed to female politicians, divorce and bringing your own packed lunch to school or work, while others may find these aspects strange. When people travel to another country they bring their “codes” with them. They may shake hands when meeting someone, not rubbing noses, or kissing three times on each cheek, as people from respectively New Zealand and France do. Similarly, tourists, refugees and immigrants bring their cultural codes with them when they come to a new place.

We are all culture carriers in our encounters with others. Small groups in a society may carry their own “codes in the back on their mind”. Such subcultures often have common traits and values which bond the members together. Examples may be a motorcycle-club culture, scout culture, congregation culture, minority culture, sports culture and so on. We can belong to the majority culture and subcultures at the same time. These “codes in the backof our mind” explain why we often are a bit conservative. We are attached to the culture, do things as we are used to doing them, and may be culturally slow in new ways of organising relations. The young are often more open to change than the elderly. But these codes are not immutable. Contact between people can lead to the development of new codes. An example is the “high five”, which was not common in many countries 20 years ago, but which is widely used today. Then we are approaching a more dynamic concept of culture.

Culture is dynamic

All culture is influenced and changed by communication and contact with the outside world. Such a dynamic approach to the concept of culture should also be explored. In our contemporary time globalisation, science, technological and economic progress, the entertainment industry, fashion and trends, in addition to the millions of travellers, bring new experiences, knowledge and traditions into our lives. When cultures change it is natural that values and traditions are considered in a new light. New knowledge and new attitudes impact and develop society. Over the last two centuries, ideas about freedom and human rights have slowly but inexorably gained a foothold. Women and men have become more equal, and discriminated groups have been given better protection. Harmful traditions which earlier were common have been prohibited or are in dramatic decline. Binding the feet of women, castration of men, child labour, child marriage, forced marriage and female genital mutilation are only some of the many examples of harmful traditions that are now being rejected.

What do human rights say?

International human rights are an important reason why states and societies in our time have developed legislation banning discrimination and harmful traditions. Women and children have gained better protection under the UN Convention on Women’s Rights (1979) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). States that ratify these international treaties are committed to eliminating discriminatory legislation and working to promote respect and improved conditions for women and children.

(English translation by John Anthony)