Understanding and Exploring Cultural Context

The following extract is drawn from PETAA Book A Literature Companion for Teachers, 2nd Edition, by Dr. Lorraine McDonald, published in 2018.

Definitions for the term 'culture' are diverse, yet it is generally recognised that culture is the shared practices, customs, attitudes and beliefs of a particular time and place, and that these are learned behaviours and values passed on through generations (Baumeister, 2005). Culture is often considered in terms of its geography, such as the culture of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. However, while people's lives within a particular culture are influenced by its locale, culture is overwhelmingly a human activity - it is the language, values, norms and customs that comprise daily living (Rogoff, 2003).

Reading for cultural context means reading for what counts as 'normal' for the group and what customs, values and language are practised and shared. Culture is evident in the way of life represented in the literary text: when the culture presented is 'outside' that of the reader, then cultural markers are easy to discern; when readers are members 'inside' the culture, the way of life is taken for granted and cultural markers are transparent. As with historical context, exploring cultural context extends into a consideration of who 'benefits' from the portrayals of culture, who is silenced or ignored, and what alternative interpretations are possible. The reader's experience of the cultural context is a further significant topic for discussion.

Reflecting a modern Australia, literature for young people often projects a 'multi'-cultural view, rather than a 'mono'-cultural world. Questions that guide discussion about recognising how culture is constructed in a text can lead students to reflect on the influences of culture in their lives.

Cultural Context: A Teaching and Learning Experience

• Select a picture book (one that displays a non-Anglo-European culture if possible) and with the students, list the cultural items, characters' activities and relevant use of language in the illustrations and verbal text.
• If appropriate, follow this with a discussion of any knowledge, experience or history the students have of these. Together, summarise what is valued in the daily lives of the participants, and therefore what is valued in the culture.
• Using a digital app, or pen and paper, have students sketch a scene from their lives that include three to six cultural items and activities and, if appropriate, compose a verbal text that extends the scene.
• Select a scene from another picture book or novel that the students are familiar with and review the scene (the opening pages of a novel are usually relevant to this task).
• Present students with some of the following questions:

a) What culture does the scene/story/illustrations portray - is it part of the reader's experience, knowledge or history?
b) What cultural items from the past or the present are included and why might they be included? What do they mean? How are/were they used?
c) What values, attitudes and beliefs about culture does the writer/illustrator want the reader to consider?
d) Are there any negative representations of culture? Why might the writer/illustrator include a negative aspect?
e) Who benefits from these portrayals?
f) What sort of cultural knowledge is needed to understand this text?

• When your students are confident, place them in groups to examine a selected image (such as a web-based image, a painting, a photo) for evidence of its cultural context, drawing on the suggested questions above. Have them present what they have found through labelling the image in a digital presentation, or in another digital form.