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ENCULTURATION
Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2009
Enculturation is the process by which the values and norms of
a society are passed on to or acquired by its members.
Enculturation-A Reconsideration
Nobuo Shimahara
Current Anthropology, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Apr., 1970), pp. 143-154
Abstract: The concept of enculturation has not been given its articulate definition.
Therefore, it has been used inconsistently in anthropology as well as in other fields.
Various anthropologists have tended to regard enculturation as consisting of such
processes as socialization, the acquiring of culture, and cultural internalization,
excluding an innovative process of enculturation. Herskovits' definition, however, is more
elaborate, and, furthermore, includes a process of novel change and inquiry. Two phases of
enculturation, according to him, can be distinguished: the "unconscious" stage
of early years in human growth, where the individual "unconsciously"
internalizes his culture; the "conscious" stage of later years, which involves
innovations initiated by individuals. He contends that these two phases constitute the
total process of enculturation. The problem inherent in Herskovits' arbitrary separation
of the early years from the later in human learning and teaching lies in that this
separation is contradictory to psychological findings, existential, Gestalt, and
"personological." In these findings, it is evident that the cultural learning of
childhood (both formal and informal learning) is also reflective and conscious, although
it must be admitted that a greater or lesser degree of cultural internalization does go on
"unconsciously" in individuals and cultures. It is necessary to reduce the
cleavage between the two phases and to emphasize the continuity that develops throughout
the entire process of human life. The assumption that most individuals in a given culture
successfully achieve the uniform internalization of that culture yielding its microcosm in
the personality structures of individuals is also questionable. Wallace's argument
(1961:1-44) against the traditional culture and personality school proves this. It is
proposed that enculturation be defined as a construct, and a process in a behavioral
sense, that delineates transmission and transmutation of culture throughout human growth.
Cultural transmission is a process of acquiring the existing culture; cultural
transmutation, on the other hand is a process of psychosocial mutation through deliberate,
reflective, functional, yet occasionally incidental processes of teaching and learning.
Enculturation, thus,involves innovation and inquiry which is a particular type of
epistemological sensivity to culture. It is a bipolar process and a universal function of
education in a culture. - jstor.org
Moving toward Cultural Pluralism, Part l: The Process of
Enculturation.
Authors: Llanes, Jose R.
Abstract: Culture is viewed from a sociological perspective through presentation of a case
study of social consciousness in San Francisco. Referring to the work of Milton Gordon,
the author discusses two theories of social integration. The first theory of assimilation
is defined as a process of social and psychological adherence to a core society. The
second theory of pluralism is defined as a compounding of different activities and values
to make up a group spirit. The enculturation of people in San Francisco is discussed in
terms of four composite psychological characteristics--concern, tolerance,
internationalism, and pluralism. These characteristics are related to the social process
factors of immigration, minority assimilation, ethnic communality, and economic
predominance. Vietnamese immigrants are an example of a group which is assimilated
linguistically, racially, and sociopolitically into Asian- and French-speaking groups in
San Francisco. Reasons given for this assimilation include the desirability of joining a
thriving and self-sustaining cultural group, the wish to share linguistic and cultural
preferences, and common values. The differences between identification assimilation and
enculturation are described. The need for further research into the coexistence of
cultures in pluralistic settings is noted. References are included. - eric.ed.gov
ENCULTURATION INTO SECRECY AMONG JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS
DON E. MERTEN
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 28, No. 2, 107-137 (1999) DOI:
10.1177/089124199028002001 © 1999 SAGE Publications
Abstract: Secrecy has long been recognized as an important, and at times problematic,
aspect of social life. While much has been written about the functions that secrets play
in society, how individuals learn to use secrets remains relatively unexplored. Girls'
accounts of their enculturation into secrecy reveal how they treated secrets as social
objects and often depersonalized secrets when using them as social currency. Also, the
absence of a well-developed concept of privacy contributed to the instrumental use of
secrets. Moreover, using secrets to shape friendship and enhance social position was part
of the larger process whereby secrecy became a vehicle for developing subjective reason
and an exchange perspective among these girls. Thus, enculturation into secrecy involved
much more than learning whom to tell which secrets under what circumstance. Girls were
also learning fundamental, but largely tacit, aspects of mainstream American culture as
they learned to use and interpret the meaning of secrets. -
jce.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/2/107
GOING-WITH - The Role of a Social Form in Early Romance
DON E. MERTEN
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 24, No. 4, 462-484 (1996) DOI:
10.1177/089124196024004004 © 1996 SAGE Publications
Abstract: Romance is an especially rich and complex theme in American culture. This
article explores how a particular social form, going-with, shapes the experiences of early
adolescents as they begin their enculturation into romance. Examining going-with as a
social form rather than as merely an activity illuminates some of the problems created by
this social form as it constitutes the context in which individuals are obliged to pursue
their attraction to each other. Exploring this social form also shifts the focus away from
the emphasis on individual characteristics as the source of romantic difficulties. The
contention here is that the way this social form is constituted and construed in this
junior high school results in patterns of interaction and meanings that negatively affect
the realization of romance. - jce.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/24/4/462
The Dynamics in the Enculturation and the Work in the Assistant Principalship
Catherine Marshall, Vanderbilt University
William Greenfield, Louisiana State University
Urban Education, Vol. 22, No. 1, 36-52 (1987) DOI: 10.1177/004208598702200103 © 1987 SAGE
Publications
Abstract: Enculturation of assistant principals tends to result in "custodial,
nonrisk-taking, noninstructional" orientations of potential educational leaders. -
uex.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/1/36
Incomplete Enculturation: The Role of Hearing
Grace Keyes, St. Mary’s University
Abstract: This paper examines how hearing loss impacts an individual’s enculturation.
Even mild hearing loss impacts children growing up in a hearing world, yet anthropologists
have ignored how such a factor affects enculturation. This paper presents a case study to
examine and illustrate how hearing loss leads to misinterpretations that negatively impact
social interaction upon which enculturation is grounded. -
anthroglobe.ca/docs/keyesg_enculthearing_060709.htm
Sport, Socialization and the School: Toward Maturity or Enculturation?
Authors: Schafer, Walter E.
Source: OSSC Bulletin, v17 n5 Jan 1974
Abstract: This paper is intended to contribute to the reexamination of the proper role of
sport and its actual relationship to the educational enterprise of which it is a part. Two
polar views of the proper purpose of schooling are discussed first: education for maturity
and education for enculturation. The opinion is then set forth that American public
schools approach more closely the enculturation rather than the maturity ideal.
Interscholastic sports are held to be an important mechanism for fostering enculturation;
they contribute only in a limited way to the maturity of the participant or spectator.
Several implications of this analysis for educational policy toward sport are drawn. It is
felt that sociologists of sport can and should actively contribute to a more humane system
of school athletics by addressing themselves to policy-related questions and by helping to
plan, implement, and evaluate new models of sport and physical education. - eric.ed.gov
Multidimensional enculturation: The case of an EFL Chinese doctoral student
Author: Li, Yongyan
Source: Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, Volume 15, Number 1, 2005, pp. 153-170(18)
Abstract: The present paper examines the disciplinary enculturation experience of a
Chinese doctoral student. I first refer to Lave and Wenger’s (1991) concept of
legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) as the theoretical background of this study. I
then present the case of Fei, a doctoral student of physics in a major university in East
China, focusing on his interactions with specialist texts, the supervisor, and the
research community. In the discussion of the findings, I cast Fei’s experience in the
light of LPP. I conclude by emphasizing the value of naturalistic case studies in
extending English educators’ scope of vision of academic enculturation. -
ingentaconnect.com
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