Customer Reviews

Building Character and Culture

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On the eve of the millenium Hutcheon, a sociologist, observes that this is a troubling time in industrial nations worldwide; that they are in a destructive downward spiral; and that this is contributing to a crisis of character. This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of the human socialization process based upon social-scientific evidence. The unifying conceptual framework should enable us to identify the directions for change and to attempt a workable step-by-step plan for reform

Hutcheon begins by examining the power of culture - a world of images and artifacts, of ideas and customs, of shared memories and of visions projected into the future. The result is a people-created environment that is self-generating but that interacts with the outside environment in a constant feedback process. Institutions are built upon the needs of individuals and of groups and form the infrastructure of culture. Institutional functions include the family, methods for acquiring and defending territory, organizations for making and administering policy decisions, systems for producing and distributing resources, and formal means for socializing the young, to mention a few.

Where does character come from? Socialization, Hutcheon argues, begins early in life and is the one factor amenable to human interaction. Social entities (family, mass media, peer group, school, place of worship and other community organizations) determine the context in which the young learn and the habits, ideals, beliefs and values they acquire. Several chapters explore influential cultures that envelop out lives: violence,poverty and affluence, pluralism, tribalism and fantasy. The role of media in transfering values is emphasized, in particular, the consequences of five decades of steadily accelerating deluge of violence. But as socialization is a lifelong and evolving process, Hutcheon also looks at methods available in modern societies for replacing destructive behaviors and attitudes in the later stages of life.

Underlying the problems plaguing modern democracies, Hutcheon believes, is a lack in the public at large, of critical thinking and of the capacity to make wise choices, an observation recently confirmed by Nobelist Leon Lederman. This, she attributes in large part to inappropriate or failed socialization. But it is noted that there are no magical or ideological shortcuts to positive cultural evolution, which must begin early in life.

Hutcheon's attempt to provide a conceptual framework relating to character and culture and directions for change is an ambitious one. Her scholarly work challenges us and if we wish to further pursue the ideas and concepts, she has provided an extensive bibliography. Heuristic and effective as a teaching tool, Building Character and Culture is recommended to all who seek insight into our contemporary society and especially to those who help mold young minds.

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Pat Duffy Hutcheon's newest book, Building Character and Culture, offers a powerful reinterpretation of modern cultural values. This is groundbreaking work, which skilfully and sensitively addresses a range of issues and problems in modern western society, and which offers a rational and eminently sensible framework for dealing with these concerns.

Basing her work on sociological principles, Hutcheon offers a convincing thesis that culture, and the values of that culture, are fundamental to an understanding of the human condition. Her examination of genes and memes is particularly thought-provoking, and establishes a context for the significant issues which are subsequently addressed.

Throughout the book, there is a strong emphasis on socialisation, and on the formal and informal learning and development of children and adolescents. This would be of particular interest to teachers and parents, and of great importance to those working in faculties of education which are preparing the teachers of the future.

A few chapters merit particular attention.

The chapter entitled "The Culture of Violence: Creating the Monsters among Us" should be required reading for all those involved in public policy making. Clear evidence is provided (and this is substantiated in an important appendix by a very impressive annotated bibiography)that children raised, and socialised, in a culture of violence cannot escape unscathed. Those of us horrified by the recent school violence in America, including the incident in Denver, will not in a hurry forget the insights into these phenomena provided by Hutcheon.

I have some reservations about Hutcheon's analysis of the role of government in modern society. Those of us appalled by the "downsizing" of government, with its attendant social pain, might argue for a continued, even enhanced, governmental role, supported by an effective tax base. Hutcheon rejects the ideological assumptions of both left and right, but I suspect that interventionist government has more of a future than she concedes. Time will tell!

Finally, the chapter on pluralism and tribalism is in my view highly relevant to our current plight. Hutcheon systematically and convincingly demonstrates the dangers of tribal loyalties within modern societies, and argues that social cohesion, and indeed the continued existence of society, is fundamentally endangered by the postmodern acceptance of cultural relativism and social fragmentation.

Hutcheon concludes her book with an examination of faith and doubt, positing that doubt rather than faith is the key to the future ... "our only hope for developing the wise and reasonable people needed to create and sustain a self-governing civic society."

This is a book which will challenge ingrained assumptions, and which may significantly affect the way in which you view the world. Any book capable of achieving such a goal is nothing short of inspirational.

(Dr) Gordon Baker School of Education The Flinders University of South Australia

This timely book urgently reminds us of our personal and collective responsibility for the culture of which we are all an integral part and for the manner in which it continues to evolve. Pat Duffy Hutcheon articulates the ongoing interaction and reciprocal stimulation between genetic evolution and cultural development; between genes and memes.

As in her previous book "Leaving the Cave" she stresses the imperative of applying sound scientific principles more effectively and consistently to the social sciences, in particular to her own field of sociology.

In her latest book Duffy Hutcheon provides a thorough, thoughtful and well-researched overview of the nature of human socialization and argues persuasively for reasoned, informed and compassionate intervention to alleviate the profound problems in contemporary culture that have resulted from our inadequate understanding of our culture-building propensities.

"Building Character and Culture" starts with an overview of the broader culture and its inevitable influence on human character development and an elaboration on what distinguishes us from the other animals as well as what we have in common with them. It notes the importance of the development of language and the uniquely human capacity for introspection flowing from this and precipitating our search for meaning and purpose.

This is followed by a discussion of the social entities, such as family, schools and mass media that determine the context within which we learn as well as the values we acquire. Children learn as a result of natural curiosity, imagination, creativity and socialization and develop character from the values imparted to them.

The important point here is that we are not impotent in changing ourselves for the better. Our character is not fixed in the genes. The individual choices we make in the process of moral development become all the more relevant.

Humans are builders of culture and character and we cannot simply disregard our responsibility for the untenable rate of violent crime committed by too many young people in North America, in particular the increasing abuse of children by children.

At this point Duffy Hutcheon wades firmly into the controversial field of free speech relating to the pervasive and gratuitous violence portrayed particularly in the electronic media and brushes aside unwarranted concerns about censorship. The book offers an appendix with an elaborate annotated bibliography of studies on this issue. Another potentially controversial area deals with a socio-economic analysis of factors contributing to character and culture.

First Duffy Hutcheon explodes the conservative myth of genuine competition and the alleged benefit of unrestrained free markets and she berates the tax structure that militates against the vast majority of average income earners. On the other hand she dismisses the equally untenable liberal myth of the benefits of universality of social programs and government administered entitlements to achieve genuine equality of opportunity and reminds us of the hazards of ever accumulating debt.

Duffy Hutcheon warns of the inherent instability of a culture of poverty causing those trapped in a substantial underclass to become increasingly alienated from the larger culture.

Another subcultural system affecting character and culture is the troubling one of tribalism that most recently raised its ugly head in the tragedy in the Balkans. Duffy Hutcheon examines the biological and cultural origins of the troubling re-emergence of tribalism in its many guises and argues persuasively against the siren call of blood and belief in favor of an integrated pluralism that is necessary to maintain civil order in a society containing so many diverse ethnic groups. The book concludes with an assessment of the culture of fantasy and the danger in moving beyond the mere provision of a cushion against the harsh realities of the world that we inhabit. Such extension can cripple the reasoning capacity of significant segments of the population and impede their ability to distinguish fact from fiction. Duffy Hutcheon argues for the development of a conjectural conceptional stance or an approach of being in the world that readily recognizes cause and effect. An appropriate socialization process will move individuals to a stage where the conjectural mode of interpreting events becomes habitual. At the earlier stages of socialization the aim would be to do more than merely satisfying curiosity and meeting a need for certainty and move the individual beyond magical or needlessly repetitive explanations. Duffy Hutcheon is optimistic that we can accomplish the daunting task of developing citizens of good character provided by a containing culture imparting the necessary attributes of such character and using our evolved moral and intellectual capacities to affect the socialization process in a more positive and rational manner than before.

"Building Character and Culture" makes a profound contribution to this effort and provides a stimulating and informative overview of what must be done to redirect a process that has gone sadly wrong.

In addition to the appendix regarding studies on the impact of violence in the media is an appendix providing a splendid series of guidelines for moral education developed by the author.<P