52 pages • 1 hour read
Edward T. HallBeyond Culture
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1976A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “Contexts, High and Low”
Hall urges readers to begin studying culture anywhere. Hall begins with the law to expand on contexting, calling law a “low-context edifice in which it is extraordinarily difficult to guarantee that the proceedings can be linked to real life” (106), while emphasizing that people aren’t equal under the law due to power, ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, and more. Hall describes the law as ordinary, contrary to lawyers’ belief, because low-context culture has made the system “open to manipulation” (107). In contrast, French courts are high-context and aim to better understand the human being(s) involved in the case.
Hall claims that Japanese and French systems and culture are difficult for Americans to access because they include both high-context and low-context institutions and situations. Hall offers the example of the “Girard incident,” in which the American soldier William S. Girard was tried in a Japanese court for shooting and killing a local woman who was collecting spent shell casings near a US military base. Girard, who was on duty at the time, claimed that the killing was accidental and that he only shot at her as a joke. He acted pompously in court rather than with contrition, failing to recognize the high-context setting that demanded the crime be placed in context and that the criminal see the consequences of his act. He was found not guilty of murder, but the deeply affronted Japanese requested he be barred from re-entry into Japan ever again. Hall concludes, “[P]eople raised in high-context systems expect more of others than do the participants in low-context systems” (113).
Similarly, Japanese literature, a high-context product, is ripe with nuance. Hall offers the examples by Nobelist Yasunari Kawabata, such as his The House of Sleeping Beauties (1961), in which the protagonist, an old man, goes to an establishment where women are drugged and men pay to sleep next to them without touching or violating them in any way. The novella relies on the “drugged nakedness of woman” to elucidate man’s memories and identity (115).
Chapter 8 Summary: “Why Context?”
Internal contexting allows individuals to correct “distortions” and omissions in situations. Hall offers studies conducted by Richard and Roslyn Warren, a psychologist and zoologist, in which syllables were omitted from recorded audio tapes. The studies showed that listeners mentally added the missing syllables in and understood meaning accurately. The process of contexting is deeply embedded in sight and hearing due to biology: The neocortex, responsible for these functions, is highly developed in humans. Hall delves into the structure of the human eye and fields of vision, emphasizing that human retinas also allow for sight “simultaneously in many different ways” and the advantage of peripheral vision (120). In contrast, other organisms are easily fooled by mimicry, like fish fooled by fly ties.
Hall laments the “ignorance and controversy” that still surrounds studies about the human visual system and the tendency of taxonomists to focus on the process of classification rather than the organisms themselves (122). Hall credits biologist Carl Linnaeus with founding the taxonomic classification system and the subsequent obsession with details rather than holistic understanding. Hall questions where one can find an “overview” and “integrative systems of thought” in Western thought and argues that contexting should be an integral process in research. For Hall, using low-context methods to investigate high-context topics, like behavioral responses, fails to properly context the research in the majority of studies; one should not become involved with a high-context culture unless properly contexted, as it presents opportunities for misunderstandings and even danger.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Situation—Culture’s Building Block”
Hundreds of “situational frames” comprise culture, from meeting and greeting to socializing and governing: “Frames contain linguistic, kinesic, proxemic, temporal, social, material, personality, and other components” (129). Framing facilitates analysis and learning of a new culture. As proof, Hall discusses students who learn a language in a classroom only to struggle with the language when immersed in the country of its native speakers; people study parts and combine them rather than contexting language for situations and appreciating the “total complexity” of any culture. Learning a language as an outsider should entail learning “new situational dialects” (133), and Hall cautions against faking situational dialects, which is condescending and inauthentic.
Hall expands, arguing that the failure to recognize these needs has impacted the way humans live and even develop personality traits: Sex pervades society rather than being situational. Play has morphed into work, garnering billions for industries, and time “alienates” individuals from themselves. Population crowding creates common behavior and thought patterns that suppress diversity and foster aggression. This is not strictly an American problem: No culture has “developed a perfect balance of man’s situational needs” (139).
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
Hall’s discussion in these chapters revolves around the concept of Contexting as a Catalyst for Cross-Cultural Understanding. Hall emphasizes the importance of studying culture from various perspectives, evidenced by his analysis of a Western and Eastern law system in Chapter 7. He illustrates the challenges Americans face in comprehending French and Japanese systems, which incorporate both high- and low-context elements, leading to misunderstandings in legal proceedings, as in the case of Girard in Japan. Girard’s case demonstrates the dangers of ethnocentrism and ignorance that accompany imposing one’s cultural norms and behaviors on another. Hall’s conclusion, contrasting the high expectations of others that high-context cultures (like Japan) have with the minimal expectations of others that low-context American culture has, brings Hall’s critique of Western—particularly American—norms into sharp focus. If one can properly context, which Girard failed to do, they might better understand themselves and others and behave with more respect for others’ norms. Only then, Hall implies, can one avoid cross-cultural misunderstanding, tension, and affronts. By cultivating cross-cultural understanding, people can be better versions of themselves while promoting global cooperation.
Hall continues to merge two central themes, weaving the power of contexting into bettering individuals and the world throughout Chapter 8. Throughout the chapter, Hall’s discussion and anecdotes illustrate the misunderstandings that accompany applying low-context methods to high-context topics. Hall’s analytic lens narrows in Chapter 9, suggesting that knowledge about culture-specific situational frames, like time, play, and work, reveals people’s thought patterns, behaviors, and values. Situational frames, therefore, allow for a nuanced cross-cultural understanding by highlighting the connection between situational needs and behavior or even personality. For Hall, the skill of contexting within specific situations is crucial for personal growth and fostering global cooperation.
Studying how one lives entails examining how the human is designed rather than simply analyzing the products one creates, like extensions and culture. Hall relies on biology to emphasize the significance of contexting further, particularly in understanding human vision and hearing. By delving into the structure of the human eye, the fields of vision, and the intricacies of the human visual system, Hall highlights the biological foundations that influence how individuals perceive and interpret the world. By incorporating biological insights, Hall underscores the deep-seated nature of contexting within human cognition and sensory experiences. This biological perspective serves to reinforce his argument that contexting not only is a cultural or social construct but also is deeply embedded in human biology, influencing how individuals make sense of their surroundings.
Hall pays tribute to various influences on his work beyond biology, demonstrating his multidisciplinary approach to understanding culture and context. By incorporating elements from law, literature, psychology, zoology, and taxonomy, Hall enriches his analysis, providing a broader perspective on the complexities of human behavior and cultural patterns. Drawing upon legal systems and court proceedings to illustrate cultural differences in Chapter 7, for example, Hall illuminates how power dynamics and cultural differences impact the perception of justice; in doing so, he effectively demonstrates that Unconscious Differences Create Cultural Complexity. Hall’s study of literature from a high-context culture like Japan demonstrates how cultural nuances are embedded in artistic expressions. He balances his humanities-based examples with empirical research, such as the studies in psychology and zoology, adding a scientific dimension to his discussion on internal contexting and reinforcing the interdisciplinary nature of anthropology. Hall’s embedded critique of the taxonomic classification system highlights his deep engagement with the history of scientific thinking and its implications for cultural understanding: Culture cannot be adequately understood through a singular lens but requires a comprehensive and integrative approach.
Similar to Hall’s homage paid to various ologies for influence, he draws upon myriad rhetorical strategies to enhance the effectiveness of his points and the accessibility of his ideas. As in earlier chapters, Hall relies on rhetorical questions to engage readers, like when he asks where one can find “integrative systems” in Western thought, prompting the reader to reflect on the limitations of Western thought patterns and the importance of context. Hall’s penchant for binary systems remains throughout these chapters and the remainder of the text, allowing him to contrast low-context Western systems (like the US legal system) with high-context systems (like the legal systems in France and Japan). By relying on anecdotes and case studies in his discussion of law, language, and more, Hall conveys his abstract ideas through real-world examples. This storytelling approach humanizes his theoretical content, making it more accessible to a wide audience of readers.
