First Key Takeaway: Notions of Culture

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Notions of culture.
Scholars over the years acknowledge that culture is difficult to explain and define. The main reason for the complexity is that culture is a multifaceted phenomenon that makes it harder to make an absolute case. However, culture-related research has exploded since the 1970s drawing inspiration from different disciplines to develop approaches and definitions of culture that make sense. This essay focuses on articles by Werner Delanoy and James W. Carey to analyze the similarities they share in their perspective of culture.
The term culture has been used to describe human life, from animal husbandry to self-realization of religion. Events such as industrialization and romanticism created different perspectives of culture in the respective societies. James W. Carey proposed the ritual view of communication that represents a symbolic reality that adapts to society's shared beliefs. This theory views communication as an essential element that triggers and implements societal transformations. Carley attributes the success of communication to sharing, association, participation, and fellowship. Such qualities are crucial to forging communion and commonness that will define the culture of a society.
The transmission view of culture is the most common in modern societies, particularly industrial cultures. This form of communication is defined by attributes such as sending, transmitting, or imparting. It is heavily dependent on metaphors on geography and transportation since the start of industrialization. The movement of goods and information are considered identical processes, with both falling under the description of communication. The main idea revolves around human obsession to increase the speed and impact of information transmissions. This can be seen from the unification of upper and lower areas in ancient Egypt to telegraphing. The dynasty oversaw the monopolization of writing and mass production of writing materials (Carey #). Consequently, the message is transported by messengers who managed to bridge the gaps of geographical location. In the 21st century, the basic orientation on communication remains grounded despite sending messages across the globe within seconds.
This sentiment is echoed by Werner Delanoy, who views culture as a signifying system that is linked to communication. According to Delanoy, communication can create, stabilize and contest culture. The theory expounds on the role of expansionists programs that increase the need for intercultural communication. In modern society, this need ha...