Sep

Cultural Heritage Below the Water Line

by Sheron Long on September 12, 2013

An iceberg above and below the water line, serving as a metaphor for the cultural iceberg in which the visible tip of surface culture belies the "deep culture" vastness hidden below the surface.

Culture is like an iceberg where the visible tip belies the vastness hidden below the surface.

What’s a Cultural Iceberg?

The culture or cultures you grow up in affect your deepest attitudes and beliefs, giving you your sense of what’s good or right, what feels comfortable, what behavior is acceptable, and conversely what’s not. What other people see may be only those things “on the surface”—for example, the way you talk or act, what you eat and how you dress.

That’s why culture is often represented as an iceberg. Ten percent is the “surface culture” that shows above the water line and 90%, known as “deep culture, ” is hidden below.

The Cultural Iceberg, showing aspects of surface culture and deep culture that stem from your cultural heritage. (Image © OIC Books)

The attitudes and beliefs in deep culture affect what shows on the surface.
© OIC Books

The hidden part of the iceberg influences everything you do and yet you may not even realize it. Ask yourself, for example, “Does it feel right when things come in threes or fours?

The Rule of 3

If you are from western cultures, the threes probably have it:

You get three wishes.
The third time’s the charm.
Speeches are written to make three points.
Favorite characters in fairy tales and songs come in threes—the three little pigs, the three blind mice.
Races start with “Get ready. Get set. Go!” Slogans are more memorable to westerners when they’re in threes: “Snap! Crackle! Pop!”

The Significance of 4

To native peoples of the Americas, however, the natural world matters most. There is sacred significance in the Four Directions—North, South, East, and West, and the number four is culturally ingrained:

The medicine wheel used for health and healing is divided into the Four Directions.

Things come in fours, such as the elements of nature (fire, air, water, earth) or aspects of life (spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical).

Many native legends and creation myths, passed from generation to generation, tell of four brothers or four winds or four ancestors.

In ceremonies, the number four and its multiples figure prominently. For example, historical records and accounts show that, in the initiation ceremony of the Chipeway magicians, candidates entered a lodge of four poles where four stones lay before the fire. They stayed there for four days and participated in four feasts.

Comfort based on certain numbers is just one of countless ways that cultural heritage influences your approach to daily life.

Look into the “deep culture” part of the cultural iceberg above and find some attitudes and beliefs you hold. How do these aspects of your cultural heritage affect what you do “on the surface”? For example:

Consider your concept of time and how it affects when you arrive at appointments and events.
How prompt do you feel you have to be to be considered on time?
Would people from other cultures agree?

Try a few more examples. Did anything make you say, “Oh, I see”?

Comment on this post below.

Image © iStockphoto

Sheron Long 17 Comments

Cultural Diversity/Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Cultural Symbols

Sep

Daily Cultural Encounters at Conflict Kitchen

by Janine Boylan on September 9, 2013

A cultural encounter with Venezuela at Conflict Kitchen. (Image © Conflict Kitchen)

Venezuelan takeout
© Conflict Kitchen

Sharing a Meal with Our “Enemies”

What do you really know about the people in Cuba? Iran? Afghanistan? Venezuela? North Korea?

Jon Rubin and Dawn Weleski expect that you will be a lot more informed after lunch at their restaurant.

Conflict Kitchen, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to encouraging cultural encounters and promoting dialog about countries with which the United States is in conflict.

Every few months, the restaurant completely changes its storefront and its menu, featuring one country at a time. It has served foods from Afghanistan, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba and is planning to feature North Korean cuisine next. The menu is simple, often only offering a handful of items, but the conversation that accompanies the food is meant to be full of “Oh, I see” moments.

A cultural encounter with Afghanistan: takeout menu. (Image © Conflict Kitchen)

Afghan menu
© Conflict Kitchen

Starting the Conversation

Rubin and Weleski co-founded Conflict Kitchen about three years ago as an art project. They chose food as their medium because, Rubin told the Los Angeles Times, “. . . we use it to get people to open up and talk to strangers.”

They have found that their customers often don’t know much about the country they are featuring. But they are eager to learn more.

Conflict Kitchen hosts a cultural encounter with Tehran through a webcam dinner. (Image © Conflict Kitchen)

A webcam dinner with Tehran
© Conflict Kitchen

Beyond its daily takeout service, the restaurant also hosts performances and events, such as a live, webcam-connected dinner party between people in Tehran and customers in Pittsburgh. For this meal, the same menu was prepared in both countries so the guests enjoyed the same conversation and food. The result was a comfortable, but eye-opening, cultural encounter for everyone with conversation that meandered from dating to politics to, of course, food.

The Wrappers

On a typical day at Conflict Kitchen, customers receive their takeout food wrapped in colorful paper printed with interviews from people of the featured culture.

“We need to create conversations that are much more first person, and more direct, and more humane.” Jon Rubin told the BBC.

Conflict Kitchen's Cuban wrapper, showing a cultural encounter. (Image © Conflict Kitchen)

Cuban wrapper
© Conflict Kitchen

The wrappers are direct messages from people about their culture. The quotes give insight about their lives, values, and beliefs.

From an Afghan: Hospitality is the ultimate equalizer, and that’s how Afghans define themselves culturally. Even now. They live through this hardship of war and being tormented with poverty. Still, when you go to the market, you say hi to the guy who is just a small store owner. If it’s lunchtime, he has a little plate of potatoes and beans with a piece of naan in front of him. And he will say, “Come on. Have some food with me.” He sincerely wants you to have the food. That’s a characteristic that’s been there for generations and still exists.

A cultural encounter with Afghanistan through Conflict Kitchen. (Image © Conflict Kitchen)

Afghan takeout at the original Pittsburgh location
© Conflict Kitchen

From an Iranian: All Persians are poets. They memorize poetry and quote it often. They consult Hafez every day to see what their fortune is. Sometimes it takes the form of a bird being released and a poetic fragment being given in exchange for some money. Many poems have turned into idioms, so every day an Iranian uses a number of [phrases from poems] even if they are not aware.

A cultural encounter with Iran at Conflict Kitchen. (Image © Conflict Kitchen)

Iranian takeout at a new location in Pittsburgh
© Conflict Kitchen

From a Venezuelan: People in Venezuela are very warm with a great sense of humor. They can make lemonade out of a lemon storm. Venezuelans would consider the noise of the falling lemons as a song and would invent a lyric for it while dancing to the rhythm.

From a Cuban: I’m the only one of my friends that stayed in Cuba. I stayed because I fell in love; for my family; because I found a sense of purpose here. This is my country. My kids are 12 and 5 and, when they are adults, they’ll do the best they can whether it’s here in Cuba or wherever.

A cultural encounter with Cuba at Conflict Kitchen. (Image © Conflict Kitchen)

Breaking Stereotypes

Researcher Margo Monteith explains that media, society, and family all play a role in shaping how we think about others. Negative stereotypes run deeper than we might think and changing them can be hard. But recognizing the wrong perceptions we have and gradually changing the habit of the prejudiced response can help reduce and reverse our thinking.

Eating a meal and sharing an enlightening conversation about a culture is a positive step toward changing our views.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “The best way to destroy your enemy is to make him your friend.” Conflict Kitchen is helping its customers do just that.

Bring a little or a lot of Conflict Kitchen to your table with our free download of their Cuban recipes!

Visit Conflict Kitchen’s Facebook page for recent photos and upcoming events.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Janine Boylan 2 Comments

Cultural Encounters/Making a Difference

Aug

Art Goes Across Cultures in “Tribute to Mandela”

by Sheron Long on August 15, 2013

How is it that a Belgian emerging artist, working with Chinese seals, honors South African activist and former President Nelson Mandela with a monumental portrait in the streets of Shanghai?

The inspiration that comes from going across cultures is, at least, part of the answer. In this video, seal artist Phil Akashi, shows his creative process.

If the video does not play, watch it here.

Mandela, An International Hero

Nelson Mandela (1918– ) celebrated his 95th birthday on July 18, 2013.

Nelson Mandela, subject of Phil Akashi's "Tribute to Mandela," a portrait created with Chinese seals and illustrating the art of going across cultures

His vision of equal rights for the citizens of South Africa led to resistance against apartheid policies and to his imprisonment for 27 years.

After his 1990 release, he and President FW de Klerk negotiated an end to apartheid for which they won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

At age 77, Mandela voted for the first time in the 1994 elections, in which he became South Africa’s first democratically elected President.

Sheron Long 2 Comments

China/Crossing Cultures/South Africa/The World's Art & Design

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