Theological Matrix:“Worldviews Exposed”
Tiffany Buchananwww.stateofformation.org
What If I See Your Thoughts?
What is Culture?
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Culture
• Culture: the ways of thinking, ways of acting and the material objects that together form a people’s way of life.
• Common Cultural Elements:>symbols>languages>values>norms
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Culture• Symbol: anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people
who share a culture.
• Language: a system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another.
• Values: culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good and beautiful and that serve as broad guidelines for social living.
• Norms: rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members. (rewards and sanctions)
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Culture• Mores: (also called taboos), norms that are widely
observed and have great moral significance.>distinguish between right and wrong.
• Folkways: norms for routine or casual interaction.>distinguish between right and rude.
Gestures & Meanings
“Mores and folkways are the basic rules of everyday life.” (Macionis, 2010)
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Causes of Cultural Change
• Invention• Discovery• Diffusion
So How Does Culture Get “in” Us?
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“Socialization” is the Transmitter of Culture
Socialization = Social Learning
• Socialization influences and shapes how we come to understand our society and the world around us.
• It teaches us how to think, perceive, understand and be what our communities tell us we are.
• Socialization is the process in which people within a culture learn to conform to their society’s norms, values and roles; this is an on-going life long process.
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Socialization Expanded
What are some of the socializing institutions?
• Family• Media• Schools• Religious Organizations
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(5) Characteristics to the Process of Socialization:
• Pervasive• Consistent• Self-perpetuating• Invisible• Reflexive (Circular)
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What are Worldviews?
Worldview Systems
Cosmology
Epistemology
Ontology
Axiology
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• Cosmology: cultural view determining the structure of the universe.
• Epistemology: cultural validating process for knowledge and what is real.
• Ontology: cultural interpretation of the unseen metaphysical universe.
• Axiology: cultural mores for day-to-day interpersonal interactions.
They all overlap, interconnect and reinforce each other.
How is Thinking Cultural?
Cosmology
The Colonial Worldview:
• Believes that the universe is created in closed-category dichotomized pairs.
• Examples: win or lose; religious or scientific, black or white, male or female.
The African Worldview:
• Believes that the universe is composed of complimentary opposites.
• Examples: masculine and feminine, good and evil, strength and weakness.
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Epistemology
The Colonial Worldview:
• Believes that the only real knowledge that exists can be discovered by rationalizing it’s existence through separation, domination and control of the “thing” that is to be understood.
• Example: the scientific method is the only true way to interpret and understand the social world.
The African Worldview:
• Believes that some knowledge can be understood through rational means while other knowledge can only be attained through an experiential experience.
• Example: Believes that there is value in objective science but also values the subjective, experiential understanding of reality.
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Colonial Epistemology at Work
Quantitative Research
Qualitative Research
ColonialResearch
African Research
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Ontology
The Colonial Worldview:
• Adheres to the fact that the core to all existence is material.
The African Worldview:
• In contrast, asserts that the core and center to all reality is spiritual.
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Axiology
The Colonial Worldview:
• Believes that anything and anyone unlike the “self” is considered “other,” which affirms and supports an individualistic approach to interpersonal relations.
The African Worldview:
• Believes that “I am because we are” which supports a communal way of existence that argues that for me to exist we need to be one and in harmony.
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