A Critical Approach to Youth Culture: Its Influence and Implications for Ministry
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A Critical Approach to Youth Culture: Its Influence and Implications for Ministry
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Overview
"Adolescent culture is always changing, making it difficult for youth pastors to keep up. Even college students who are a few years out of high school find it challenging to stay current with the changing culture of teens. However, when equipped with tools that help them think critically about culture on a broad scale, youth ministry students can be prepared for a strategic ministry to teens that effectively addresses the youth cultural context. This academic resource uses a multi-disciplinary approach to understand culture by exploring the nature, theology, ecology, and ethnography of culture, then combining these different perspectives to develop a critical approach to youth culture."
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780310395928 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Zondervan |
| Publication date: | 08/10/2010 |
| Sold by: | HarperCollins Publishing |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 240 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
A Critical Approach to Youth Culture
Its Influence and Implications for MinistryBy Pamela Erwin
ZONDERVAN
Copyright © 2010 Pamela ErwinAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-29294-4
Chapter One
What Is Culture?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
When you've finished this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of what culture is
2. Consider how culture shapes who we are
3. Apply the concept of culture to the social practices in which young people are engaged
4. Discuss some of the ways cultural experiences shape people
5. Articulate the seven different senses of culture
Culture. The word culture is common in our everyday vocabulary. We talk about pop culture, youth culture, and American culture. We use the word culture to explain our differences. For example, I'm from Minnesota. Minnesotans treat people with respect. We have a culture of niceness. We call it "Minnesota nice." We also use culture to explain what's important to us—what we believe in: "In America anyone can pursue the 'American dream.' Our culture makes it possible for anyone to succeed as long as they're willing to work hard." While these are ideological statements that may not be reality for every individual in the United States, these ideas exist as cultural beliefs that shape and form how Americans view themselves and how they view others.
But what is culture? As is often the case with a commonly used word, the definition is assumed. But when you dig deeper, you find that people may have given little thought to what the word really means or may have completely different understandings. What does it mean to say that youths have a culture? Does culture refer to what teenagers do? What they wear? What they buy? What they produce? What they think about—the ideas they have? Is youth culture some combination of all of these or none of these?
If there is such a thing as "youth culture," how do we define it? Obviously, youth culture has something to do with "youth" and with "culture." Though we could spend time discussing exactly what youth is, and we may do so later on in the book, I believe we should begin by clearly defining what culture is. Then we can talk more specifically about youth culture. So ... culture. What is it? What does it look like? How does culture act? How do we know culture when we see it? A good place to start is by looking at the history and development of the word culture.
hisTORiCAl uNDERsTANDiNgs Of CulTuRE
The word culture comes from the Latin cultura or cultus, meaning "cultivation or the state of being cultivated" (Freilich 1972). Even today, a lesser-known synonym of the word culture is tillage, meaning "to prepare the land or soil in preparation for growing" (Merriam-Webster). Inherent in the notion of culture is that it's being nurtured—that human activity helps it to grow and develop. Whatever culture is, it is not static, nor stagnant.
For early Germans, kultur meant the cultivation (nurture or development) of a "complex inner life" (Freilich 1972)—a life of knowledge in the arts and philosophy. This eventually came to be an understanding of culture in the larger society. So, for example, societies were considered cultured if they developed and participated in the development of the arts—literature, visual arts, and musical arts (what's sometimes referred to as "high culture").
Even today, a common understanding for the word culture is the collective consideration of a society's art, music, literature, and related intellectual activities. And to be a cultured person is to be someone who is intimately familiar with the artistic forms of a society. A closely related definition is one in which culture is considered a product of education and an accumulation of knowledge. Within this definition is an understanding of sophistication, in which a person or a society expresses a widespread knowledge and refinement.
Beginning in the late 1800s, as the field of anthropology (the science and study of human development) was in its infancy, anthropologists debated about how to define culture. Since that time, as they've worked to define the breadth and parameters of their own scientific discipline, they've endeavored to establish the parameters for understanding culture—both what it is and how one may adequately analyze it. This anthropological discussion will prove helpful for us as we begin our study of youth culture. In this first chapter, we'll begin to frame an explanation of culture by incorporating an analysis of Ward Goodenough's definitions of the seven senses of culture.
As we discussed earlier, culture isn't stagnant or static—it grows and develops. And growth and development mean change. Therefore, culture might be best imagined as a river. As you step into it, you are in the river; but even as you continue to stand at that same spot in the river, you're no longer standing in the same place that you first did. Everything around you has changed, from the silt under your feet to the microorganisms in the water around you—even the water coursing around your legs isn't the same.
Likewise, culture is a broad, constantly changing flow of social influences. The more complex a society becomes, the greater the complexity of these social influences and the greater the pace of change.
Simple Definition of Culture
Writing in 1870, E. B. Tylor set forth the first anthropological definition of culture. He said 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" (Goldstein 1957). Referring back to our discussion of the historical understandings of culture, Tylor suggested that only those peoples and societies that had developed sophistication in the arts and intellectual pursuits, as well as the social organization necessary to attain this development, had culture. Culture, in his estimation, was synonymous with civilization.
This assertion has been widely refuted over the years, but Tylor's general definition of culture is often touted as a solid beginning. For Tylor the total way of life of a people included the ways in which they thought and acted as a community. The response to this definition within the anthropological community has been a fruitful and intense discussion. Though by no means a thorough explication of this discussion, the following will provide a simple platform for our discussion of youth culture.
ThE sEvEN sENsEs Of CulTuRE
Ward Goodenough, an anthropologist writing in the mid-twentieth century, identified seven "senses" or ways of visualizing culture (1989). Like a person's natural senses, our senses of culture operate independently yet simultaneously. One sense may take priority at certain moments, but there is the constant interplay of all the cultural senses.
For example, when a person enters a restaurant, the smells, sights, and sounds assault her senses. The sense of touch may be less engaged, but all of the senses help a person fully appreciate the experience. Ultimately, it's the sense of taste that carries the greater weight. However, as one begins to partake of the meal, the other senses contribute to the pleasure (or displeasure) of eating.
Moreover, some senses may be more highly developed than others. But all are important to helping a person navigate her daily experiences, thereby shaping how she perceives them. Similarly, a person's sense of culture is a broad array of understandings, and it typically deepens as one develops greater abilities of cultural perception.
1. Systems of Standards
For Goodenough, the first sense of culture is a system of standards that frames a person's expectations for perceiving, believing, evaluating, and performing (1989). These expectations serve as guiding mechanisms and offer a basis for judging what are appropriate thoughts and actions. So, for example, a person in the United States would be expected to dress and act a particular way if he were attending a family barbecue. It's unlikely that he'd wear a suit and tie to the gathering. And he'd most likely interact informally with his family and friends in the backyard.
On the other hand, if this same person were attending his grandmother's funeral, there would be a different set of expectations for how he should dress and act. He might wear a suit and tie, but he'd certainly dress in a more formal manner than he would at the barbecue. His conversations and behavior would also be governed by the social practices for funerals. If he behaved outside of those social customs, his behavior would be viewed as inappropriate, perhaps even shameful.
In the same way that a child learns to integrate all of her physical senses to make judgments about life experiences, as she grows and matures, she'll develop a sense of the different systems of standards in the various arenas of her life. These senses will serve to help her make judgments about what she values and what behaviors she chooses.
2. Assigned Character Traits
In this second sense of culture, culture refers to specific attributes associated with or assigned to groups based on personal experiences with members of that group (Goodenough 1989). For example, I recently heard a travel writer, who's spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, discuss tourism and tourists in Thailand. In talking about the numbers of tourists he'd observed, he made this comment: "You can always tell the American tourists. They are the ones in baggy shorts, ratty T-shirts, and flip-flops. Americans are slobs." His experience with American tourists had led him to conclude that all Americans dress like slobs. Furthermore, he'd assigned this character trait to American culture as a whole.
Two points should be noted here. First, these kinds of conclusions are just generalizations and certainly cannot be applied to all people within a group. However, in a general sense, this writer had learned something about American culture—that Americans tend to have a more casual style of dress. This leads us into the second point: This sense of cultural understanding is understood in contrast to one's own experience. This journalist perceived Americans as casual dressers because he experienced a more formal style of dress in his own culture or with people from other cultures.
It must be acknowledged that with this sense there is the danger of stereotyping people groups or individuals from a particular group, especially when we use our own cultural value to assign worth or when personal experience precludes our ability to see beyond generalizations. In this example the journalist placed a lower value on American tourists because they didn't dress as he thought was appropriate. His cultural standards led him to assign a negative stereotype to the cultural traits he observed in Americans and to act in an ethnocentric manner.
3. Operating Culture
Goodenough calls the third sense operating culture (1989). Like an operating system loaded on our computers, operating culture consists of those standards or systems that a society chooses to guide its own thoughts and actions or the standards a person chooses to judge another person's behavior. Without getting mired in a discussion about whether one's operating culture is consciously or subconsciously chosen, or whether it's merely imposed by others, it's important to note that a choice of operating culture is ongoing and influenced by one's own psychological and cognitive development, as well as an awareness of the breadth of possible choices.
So, for example, a person who's lived in one community for 50 years, rarely traveled beyond its borders, and had few social relationships outside of that context will have far less awareness of the great variety in potential worldviews. On the other hand, another person of a similar age who's spent a significant amount of time living in a variety of different cultures will have a greater reservoir of ways of perceiving, believing, evaluating, and performing.
Several years ago, I counseled with a young woman who'd been physically and emotionally abused by her mother. After a couple of years of living in a healthier family context, she made this comment to me:
When I used to live with my mom and she would beat me, I thought that's what moms did. I thought all moms beat their kids. Then, I got out of it and realized that all moms didn't beat their kids. I realized that beating your kids wasn't normal. I thought it was.
This young woman had learned a new way of perceiving—a new possibility for what was appropriate. She'd developed a stronger sense of cultural standards. Though freedom to choose is not absolute, individuals and societies are in a fluid process of choosing a set of standards that will govern their lives.
4. Public Culture
The fourth sense of culture Goodenough calls public culture (1989). Public culture refers to those specific forms of thoughts and actions that are expected in the public social arenas of society. For those of us involved in youth ministry, there are two readily identifiable arenas of public youth culture—school and church or youth group. Youth workers often observe students acting one way at church and another way at school. At a very broad level, what we're observing is students adjusting their thoughts, actions, and behaviors to conform to the expectations of a specific public culture.
Goodenough speaks of how public culture limits the behavior of people within a specific group. For example, in some Arab cultures, public culture severely limits the behavior and actions of women. Women in Saudi Arabia aren't allowed to go out in public unless a male family member accompanies them. They aren't allowed to vote or drive, are barred from certain professions, and cannot be treated in a hospital without the permission of an adult male family member (Eltahawy 2007). In this example, so different from the experiences of women living in Westernized cultures, it's easy to see how behaviors are limited. Less apparent is how these restrictive laws shape and limit the thoughts of men and women within Saudi Arabia. Cultural behavioral expectations for women shape how they view themselves and how others view them.
Public culture not only limits behavior, but also promotes certain behaviors. Behaviors that are acceptable—even encouraged—in some countries wouldn't be tolerated and might even be considered illegal in others. For example, in a number of countries, if a woman (but typically not a man) is suspected of engaging in premarital sex, "the males of her family may punish her, beat her, or even kill her" to protect the family's honor (Arnett 2007). Even the suspicion of a woman's wrongdoing can be considered grounds for violence toward her, including death (Eltahawy 2007).
These stark examples show how culture can be a negative influence in shaping thoughts, actions, and behaviors. But this dynamic isn't limited to countries outside the United States. One need spend only 20 to 30 minutes watching the latest sitcom or listening to music from the latest Top Ten lists to recognize the prevalent negative messages regarding sexuality, morality, and a host of other human behaviors.
A culture's influence in limiting and promoting behaviors, however, isn't always negative. Culture can also be a positive force in promoting good behaviors and restricting and limiting harmful ones. The work of Christian Smith and others shows that young people in the United States who are consistently involved in a church or youth group exhibit more positive behaviors and fewer negative behaviors. Therefore, we might conclude that the cultural influence of the church and youth group promotes positive behaviors and restricts less healthy thoughts and actions (Smith and Denton 2005).
5. A Set of Public Cultures
In most societies there are multiple public cultures. Goodenough describes this fifth sense of culture as "a set of public cultures that are functionally equivalent and mutually apprehensible. Each public culture in the set is a subculture" (1989). The idea here is that people within a society have access to a variety of public cultures (subcultures) that provide the same functions—limiting and promoting ideas, behaviors, and actions. Individuals within a particular society move in and out of these public cultures, evaluating and establishing a cultural hierarchy. "In this sense, culture is to subculture much as language is to dialect" (Freilich 1989).
I've lived in many regions of the United States during my life, and I've become familiar with a few of the American public cultures: Midwestern, Western, and Southern. As a southerner by birth, I'm most familiar with this public culture by far. It's my cultural inheritance. As a product of the South, much of the way that culture has limited and promoted certain ideas and behaviors has been, at least in the early years of my life, unconscious. My ideas of what was appropriate or "normal" were learned at an early age and without any awareness of other possibilities.
But as I began to mature, and especially as I moved to different regions of the country, I learned about new public cultures and different ways of being appropriate or normal. I learned there were different ways of thinking about the world and participating in society that were still American—but very different from America in the South. Each region has a different way of communicating about the same thing.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Critical Approach to Youth Culture by Pamela Erwin Copyright © 2010 by Pamela Erwin. Excerpted by permission of ZONDERVAN. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments....................7Introduction....................13
PART ONE—THE NATURE OF CULTURE....................15
Chapter 1 What Is Culture?....................27
Chapter 2 What Makes Culture "Culture"?....................35
Chapter 3 Expressing Culture: Signs, Symbols, Rituals, and Language....................53
Chapter 4 Youth Culture: Is It Subculture?....................61
PART TWO—ETHNOGRAPHY OF CULTURE....................63
Chapter 5 The Need for Sharper Vision....................67
Chapter 6 The Why and What of Ethnography....................77
Chapter 7 Emic and Etic: The Eyes of an Ethnographer....................91
Chapter 8 Being Ethical Youth Pastor-Ethnographers....................103
PART THREE—ECOLOGIES OF CULTURE....................105
Chapter 9 The Need for an Ecological Understanding of Adolescent Development....................107
Chapter 10 An Ecological Model of Adolescent Development: The Influence on Culture and Experience....................117
Chapter 11 The Cultures of Adolescent Relationships....................147
Chapter 12 The Culture of Church and Religious Affiliation....................159
PART FOUR—THEOLOGIES OF CULTURE....................161
Chapter 13 Paul Tillich: Religion and Culture....................169
Chapter 14 H. Richard Niebuhr: On Christ and Culture....................181
Chapter 15 Karl Barth: Bearing Witness to Culture....................193
Chapter 16 Kathryn Tanner: A Postmodern Response to a Theology of Culture....................199
Chapter 17 Contextual Theology: Theology That Starts with Culture....................211
Conclusion A Practical Approach to Understanding Youth Culture....................219
Terms and Definitions....................225
Bibliography....................234