What is Cultural Analysis?
In short, cultural analysis gives a rich explanation of human cultures and people's everyday lives, mainly relying on qualitative methods. It grew out of cultural anthropology - the study of humans, how they go about their lives, interact with the world around them and with other people. It understands culture not only as art, theatre, or music but in a much broader sense: as people’s worldviews, ways of thinking, behaviours and habits that are seen as "natural" in every society. It also portrays the cultural variation - a diversity in cultural practices and lifestyles that different people exhibit around the world.
Before and Now
Originally, anthropology was engaged in describing "exotic" indigenous cultures to learn more about the early history of humankind. But it gradually switched to the study of contemporary Western societies and the various aspects of daily life there, trying to catch the well-known in a new light and to “exoticize” the mundane. With a focus on the everyday, cultural analysis discloses how society works, and how small matters are connected to larger social issues. It also relies on theoretical concepts to interpret the everyday in the light of contemporary social and cultural theories.
This is how cultural analysts describe these trivial routines that shape people’s everyday life:
Methodology
“Not everything that counts can be counted" (c)
Cultural analysis mainly uses qualitative techniques for collecting information on social life.
The qualitative approach helps to comprehend larger issues in society through smaller cases and phenomena.
Unlike quantitative approaches that mostly give a general overview of a problem, cultural analysis goes in-depth and tries to answer the questions why? and how? This way we can explore different cultural phenomena more thoroughly and understand the ways of thinking and values of the people studied, as well as the premises for their actions and beliefs.
Research Methods
The most common methods we use in cultural analysis and anthropology include participant observation; in-depth interviews; internet ethnography, mental maps; cross-cultural comparative analysis; cultural history; go-alongs; life histories; audio- and video-recording; analysis of documents; focus group interviews; semiotics, discourse-, visual and narrative analysis, etc.
Ethnography: Ethnography is a qualitative research method used to study the culture of a particular group of people. Ethnographers immerse themselves in the culture being studied to learn about people's beliefs, values, practices, and behaviors. This involves participant observation, where the ethnographer lives within the community and participates in their daily activities to understand their culture from an insider's perspective. Ethnographers use field notes and interviews to document their observations and insights.
In-depth interviews: In-depth interviews are a qualitative research method used to gather detailed information about a specific topic or phenomenon. In cultural analysis and anthropology, in-depth interviews are conducted with individuals who are considered to be experts or key informants on a particular cultural practice or topic. These interviews are typically open-ended, allowing for the participant to share their perspectives and experiences in their own words. In-depth interviews are particularly useful for understanding the nuances of cultural practices and beliefs.
Focus group interviews: Focus group interviews are a research method used to gather data from a small group of people. In cultural analysis and anthropology, focus group interviews are used to explore the attitudes and beliefs of a specific group of people about a particular cultural practice or topic. This method is very useful for understanding how cultural practices and beliefs vary across different demographic groups.
Cultural history: Cultural history is a research method used to study the historical development of a particular culture. This method involves examining primary and secondary sources to examine how cultural practices, beliefs, and values have evolved over time. Cultural history is good for understanding how certain cultural practices and beliefs are shaped by historical events and social, political, and economic factors.
Semiotics is a research method used to analyze the meaning of signs and symbols in cultural texts. This method focuses on understanding how signs and symbols are used to communicate cultural meanings and values. Semiotics can be applied to various forms of cultural expression, including art, fashion, and advertising. By analyzing the signifiers and signifieds in cultural texts, semiotics can help researchers to identify the underlying cultural assumptions and values that shape cultural practices and beliefs.
Key Features of the CA Approach
“They are activities that seem unimportant and are rapidly forgotten: a passing feeling, something caught at a glance, things hardly noticed. Whether waiting for a bus, vacuuming the apartment, or daydreaming in class, when nothing seems to be happening, a lot is actually going on. There is an invisible world at the end of your nose: objects you no longer see, words you no longer hear, tastes that are overfamiliar, tasks that have turned into mere reflexes” (Ehn at al. 2015)
Bricolage
Cultural analysts collect and integrate a variety of materials and information sources. A typical cultural analytic project may include materials as diverse as go-along interviews, soundscapes, youtube videos, magazine articles, photos, songs, Facebook discussions, etc. This allows us to generate a more comprehensive account of a problem than limiting ourselves to just 1 or 2 data sources.
Insider view
We rely on the study of people within their familiar environment and cultural context when the researcher is personally present in the field. We seek to establish personal, intimate contact with informants, as it helps to derive the natives’ perspective from the inside and to better understand the context of their lives. The close relationship allows us to see the implicit things, which cannot be registered in a short survey or interview but can only be observed and comprehended through a long-term engagement, empathy and attention to detail.
Serendipity
Cultural analytic research is similar to exploration. It relies on intuitive insight and serendipity (or “anthropological imagination”): the ability to draw deep conclusions from random observations, to find something that was not intentionally sought. That's why we often neglect hypotheses and try to remain open to new insights. This helps to avoid confirmation biases and outdated perspectives and leaves a lot of room for surprise.
Holism
An important feature of anthropology and cultural analysis is that it uses the so-called holistic approach, i.e. studies the context of human life in all its guises: from economic to family life, from education to how people spend their free time. This is important because it is believed that all aspects of human life are interwoven, and in order to understand one of them (e.g. social media usage or marriage rituals), you need to understand all other aspects. Cultural analysis thus seeks to yield the fullest possible account of people’s lives and displays seemingly distinctive or individual cases of human experience as part of a general social trend.