culture, subculture and counterculture - Facultatea de Litere

HOW POPULAR CAN THE NOVEL GET?
MICHAELA PRAISLER, STELUŢA STAN
“Dunărea de Jos” University of Galaţi, Romania
The many studies on culture that get published today are symptomatic of the
growing concern with finding the common ground (at least theoretically) of the
numerous ideologies and world views that define people and peoples around the
globe, with the probable aim of creating the best possible frame for intercultural
communication.
An otherwise problematic notion, culture has been defined in many ways,
but the following characteristics seem to converge towards its deeper
understanding (in Kottak 1996: 21-36):
• Culture is learned. Two processes are observable in this respect: social
situational learning (ritual creating) – specific to all creatures, and cultural
learning proper, or the ability to use and decode symbols – specific to hominids.
• Culture is symbolic. Semiotic signs, symbols are detectable at all levels:
language uses them to escape narrow denotation and allow for plural
connotation; non-verbally, they take the form of gestures, objects, places, even
people (thus turned into heroes).
• Culture seizes nature. The way in which nature is managed is part of the
cultural environment; norms and conventions intervene: if a natural tree may be
climbed, a cultural tree (inside a building, for instance) may not.
• Culture is general and specific. One speaks of Culture as common to all
hominids, and of culture as specific to certain societies. Within the latter, one
may distinguish between various subcultures, associated with subgroups and
originated in region, ethnicity, class, religion or taste.
• Culture is all-encompassing. It cannot be resumed to refinement,
sophistication, education etc, but needs to be viewed as inclusive of that which
sometimes is regarded as vulgar, trivial, unworthy of serious study, popular
culture in short.
• Culture is shared. It is related to individuals only as members of groups,
communities, societies. Differences between people fit perfectly the
kaleidoscopic picture under the umbrella of culture.
• Culture is patterned. The beliefs, morals, knowledge, art, law, custom that
define culture(s) are interrelated, forming an integrated system; changes in one
trigger changes in all.
• Culture is used creatively. The sets of norms and rules to be observed within
a particular cultural context are, at times, overlooked, denied or fought back;
such attitudes are generative of countercultural manifestations.
• Culture is adaptive/maladaptive. Biological and symbol-based behaviour
patterns are subject to change in keeping with environmental issues, and the
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