Culture sphere

The neologism culture sphere is a composition of the term culture as well as the geometrical body sphere and is due to Herder. Herder also refers to this illustration model as the „sphere model of cultures“. The Latin word cultura means „care, cultivation“ (cf. Metzler Lexikon 2007, 407). The word culture was first used as a scientific term in the 18th century in distinction to nature and denotes „any kind of human training, activity, and production that goes beyond what is given by nature and produces new artifacts, skills, meanings, and symbols“ (Metzler Lexikon 2007, 407).

Civilization

In France, the term culture was used as a synonym for civilization (cf. Metzler Lexikon 2007, 408) to describe facts, human abilities, and achievements that were based on a certain degree of education and to distinguish it from barbarism. Nowadays, the term is used in a similar way, so that culture in a narrower sense is understood as performing arts, visual arts, music, theater, film, literature, or architecture (kulturglossar.de 2019).

However, the meaning of the term expanded over time, so that nowadays, according to the everyday, non-scientific understanding, the term culture means the characteristics of people and their common ancestry. It stands for „the living world in which we move, which we and through our coexistence have created and constantly recreate, and in which we usually move unreflectively (shared values/views)“ (kulturglossar.de 2019). This includes, among other things, customs, values, norms, and languages.

The sphere model of cultures

Herder’s spherical model of cultures „attempts to encompass all human expressions of life“ (Kohl 2013, 23). He assumes cultures are self-contained, homogeneous systems that, like a sphere, have a center or center of gravity. The center of gravity can be defined by ethnicity or membership in a people and the commonly shared language. Herder’s spherical model and his conception of a homogeneous, self-contained culture can be explained by the idea of the nation-state that emerged in the 18th century and found an attempt at a normative radical implementation during National Socialism (Welsch 2010, 8 ff.) However, it is criticized by contemporary research. It ignores the fact that „ethnic mixing“ (Kohl 2013, 24) can take place and that this has always taken place through migration processes. As an example in this context, the migration of peoples and the flight of politically persecuted people in the 20th and 21st centuries should be mentioned.

Sub- and youth cultures

In addition, it is criticized that, according to this view, an individual may not deviate from his culture, but must behave according to the social values of this culture. In this context, the definition of the social values of culture already proves to be problematic, since differences in the level of education, financial situation and political orientation can also exist within a society designated as a culture. Often, numerous subcultures and youth cultures develop in a society, which can also rival each other. An example of this would be the popper and punk movements of the 1980s.

Literature

Burgdorf, D./ Fasbender, C./ Moennighoff, B. (eds.) (2007): Metzler Lexikon Literatur. Terms and definitions. 3rd ed. Stuttgart, Weimar: J. B. Metzler.

Welsch, W. (2010): Standing legs must not become club feet. Wolfgang Welsch in conversation about a transculturally oriented society – and how music can bring people together. In: Musikforum. Beyond Borders. Ways into transcultural worlds. Issue 1. January-March.

Schönhuth, M. (n.d.): The Cultural Glossary. http://kulturglossar.de/html/k-begriffe.html#kulturbegriff_eng [03 Dec. 2019].

Kohl, P. (2013): Revaluation and identity in transcultural space. Diverging receptions of two Mannheim city neighborhoods. Wiesbaden: Springer.