(based on the lectures of Professor Dr. Ramesh Raj Kunwar)
Theories of Culture
1. Evolutionism: Charles Darwin is considered as the father of modern anthropology. In his book Selection of the Species, he talks about the concepts of "survival of the fittest",; species that can adapt with the changing environment are entitled to survival.
In Tylor's book there are three kinds of human life.
Savagery life: half naked or full naked people survived with bow and arrow. No permanent residence and no permanent family.
Barbarism: 10,000 BC to 4,000 BC : Human beings invented fire and settled at the riverside and started agriculture and animal husbandry.
Civilization: Modern man, communication, invention of writing
Tylor: Unilinear evolutionism : This theory does not talk where or when culture was born.
2. Diffusionism
British, German and American scholars tried to find the roots of the culture in the beginning of the 20th century. Then the theory of diffusionism emerged. This theory talks about where culture was started and how it spread. This theory provides three school of thoughts.
British School of Thought: British archeologists used the science of earth to find out the hidden underground studies in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt at that time was divided into two cultural zones which are
Cairo: Highly civilized people
Outside Cairo: They were not civilized and were hunters and gatherers, naked and very primitive people.
Culture originated in Cairo and people of Cairo travelled to other places and carried their culture with them. Thus other people burrowed this culture. Mummy and pyramids were studied.
German School of Thought:
Germans used museum methodology and confined their studies within museums. They studied the artifacts and objects that were stored in the museum which were brought from different parts of the globe. According to GST, people were migrating to similar neighboring geographical areas. For example, Mongolians came up to Tibet and Tibetans came to Nepal's hill and Himalayas. Indians came to lower part of Nepal. Thus, culture was born in single country and it diffused through migrants.
American School of Thought:
Americans found 6 major cultural areas and 84 subcultural areas in Northern America. 84 sub-cultural areas were emerged through the migration from major cultural areas. In the beginning of 20th century, the culture was diffused from place to other.
3. Functionalism
Branislaw Kasper Malinowski: He studied in Papua New Guinea for 22 months and developed the concepts of epistemology, ontology and methodology. Malinowski defined culture as its inherited artifacts, tools and technological process, beliefs and ideas. Every society will have two different cultures.
Material or tangible culture
Non-material or intangible culture
Culture is important to human as it shows human problems. Culture should be studied through integrated whole.
Integrated whole: Culture was uncountable cultural traits when all those cultural traits are active it is called the culture of that society. Each cultural trait has interconnectivity with others. Each and every cultural trait is important. If one cultural trait is not activated all the other cultural traits willl be paralyzed (inactive). Thus trends of the society will be changed.
According to Malinowski, change means the society is going to get in troubles as it is going to create not functional period. Thus culture is an institution which should be always functional and permanent.
4. Structural Functionalism: (A. R. Radcliffe Brown)
He studied in Andaman Islands from 1906-1907. He presented a paper on social structure in 1914. He argued that Malinowski theory is fake because it does not shed light in the society. Brown proposed that if someone wants to study human and his society then one should have to concern about the structure of the society too. To know the social structure we have to know the "structure". Structure is the arrangement of the parts, closely relatd with each other in a larger unit. Eg. House: house is composed of roof, room, wall, corridor, windows, doors etc. In the absence of one part the house does not exist. Every society has something important and it should relate to the larger level. Small structure of the family comprises with the roles and such and everybody has to maintain their roles to ensure the existence of the family or the family will split. Then it creates the problem in that family. This theory does not talk bout the exchange of roles. When Brown retired from the university his students found his diaries where it was written "I am not far away from Malinowski". Thus, Brown's students developed the theory of structural functionalism.
5. Cultural Ecology:
The theory of cultural ecology as a model and research agenda was developed by Julian Steward (1995-1996). Without studying the ecology no one will understand the culture. He studied the hunters and gatherers. He showed that culture is always interactive with the nature. There is always a close relation between people and nature only then people can survive.
Ecology: Science of collection: Ecology studies the collection of living organisms and non-living organisms. Nature influences the culture and culture exploits the nature. Nature is basically flora, fauna, biotic and abiotic. Some cultural ecologists blame the hunters and gatherers are destroying the nature. Culture is developed in multi-lineal way not from one stage to the other.
In addition to this, Symbology and Globalization are other theories around culture.
