Starting with Culture

Structural culture is a powerful force that shapes and defines people's ways of seeing the world, but within any society, there are many different groups with unique values that interact with each other.  These different groups are not the focus of this particular book, but it is important to understanding what co-cultures and micro cultures are and how they interact with the dominant or structural culture to avoid confusion in future communication classes.

In addition to a dominant culture or structural culture, most societies have various co-cultures that exert influence on groups of people.  In section 2.2, there was a discussion about the transactional study of culture.  Co-cultural and microcultural theory evolved from the transactional study of culture and communication.

Co-Cultural Communication

A co-culture is a group of people whose values, beliefs, and behaviors set it apart from the larger culture, which it is a part of and with which it shares many similarities.  Dominant cultures may have many co-cultures that thrive within them.  Co-cultures can be regional, economic, social, religious, ethnic, LGBTQIA+ and more.  Some co-cultures develop among people who share specific beliefs, ideologies, and life experiences.  Co-cultures can also bring a unique sense of history and purpose within a dominant culture through their holidays and traditions.  It is quite common for dominant cultures to co-opt parts of a co-culture and adopt it.  Examples from the US could be Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick's Day which have become reasons to drink and have lost their historical and religious beginnings.

Interactions between dominant and co-cultures are directly related to the abilities of the co-cultures to negotiate power and relevance through formal and informal institutions of the dominant cultures.  During the negotiation processes, some co-cultures gain more power, and some remain underrepresented.  Studying and understanding these processes can be accomplished using co-cultural theory (Orbe, 1998), and is explored in great depth in other wonderful communication classes with a transactional approach to the study of culture.

Microcultural Communication

Different than a co-culture, a microculture is sometimes called a "local" culture and refers to cultural patterns based on a specific locality or within a specific organization.  The importance of microcultures goes back to Maslow's hierarchy of needs or the need for belonging.  We all feel the need to belong, and these microcultures give us a sense of belonging on a localized level.

Lots of research has been done on classrooms as microcultures.  Depending on the students, the teacher, the time, and the physical space of the classroom, you can end up with very different experiences even if the content of the class is the same.

Another well-researched microculture is the Disney theme parks.  Cast members (called employees in the outside world) go to Disney University which is run by the Disney Institute and learn the "Disney Traditions".  Disney intentionally creates a very specific microculture.