We are continuing our series focused on the Seven Capitals – Natural, Social, Financial, Political, Human, Cultural, & Built. Bob Riley Jr. is my esteemed co-host for this series and we’ve had some very interesting and inspiring discussions so far.
Just to re-cap, our goal with this series is to dream of a post-Covid aspirational world where we emerge as better versions of ourselves, both as individuals and as communities. Our guests have shared their experiences and insights for each of the capitals discussed and the conversations have been encouraging and hopeful.
We have already discussed Natural, Social, Financial, Political and Human capital. Today we focus on Cultural Capital. As defined in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Agricultural Economics article, “Cultural capital includes ethnic festivals, multi-lingual population, traditions, heritage, or a strong work ethic. It influences what voices are heard and listened to, which voices have influence in what areas, and how creativity, innovation, and influence emerge and are nurtured.”
Our guest today is Dr. Mimi Kammer, Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts, Associate Professor of Theatre, and Women’s and Gender Studies Faculty at Simpson College.
Bob started off our discussion by noting that he has a deep affection for cultural capital and described it as the ‘mood’ of a society, throughout all levels. He went further to explain that we have individual cultural capital as well as socio-societal cultural capital. He vividly illustrated our individual culture as our ‘river of habits’. Mimi went on to explain all that goes into our societal culture and the continuing re-mixing of the mosaic of all these cultures. She stressed that just because something becomes a hybrid, doesn’t mean that the original disappears. Just because things are combined, doesn’t mean they are lost. For example, adaptations of Shakespeare. We also talked about the biomimicry in cultures; adaptation versus extinction, and how we can learn and apply lessons from nature. It was a fascinating conversation and some of the thoughts shared are below.
Key Takeaways:
- We need to make sure culture is honored and seen as a necessity in society
- Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
- Adaptations are a constant, but it is best to allow adaptations time to evolve
- You can trace the history of anything via how it gets censored
- Everyone is part of culture; we are all part of multiple cultures
- Let another culture thrive; it’s not going to diminish yours
“Cultural difference should not separate us from each other,
But rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength
That can benefit all of humanity.”
~ Robert Alan
“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
“Culture is the arts elevated to a set of beliefs.”
~ Thomas Wolfe
Thank you for listening to today’s discussion. Let’s continue to engage and learn from each other.