Cultural system and Hoosier: Difference between pages
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{{ otheruses4|the use of the term "Hoosiers"|the small town in Indiana|Hoosier, Indiana|the English indie pop band|The Hoosiers}} |
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A '''cultural system''' may be defined as the interaction of different elements of [[culture]]. While a cultural system is quite different from a [[social system]], sometimes both systems together are referred to as the [[sociocultural system]]. |
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'''Hoosier''' ({{pronEng|ˈhuːʒɚ}}) is the official [[demonym]] for a resident of the [[U.S.]] [[State of Indiana]]. Although residents of most [[U.S. state]]s typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., ''Indianan'' or ''Indianian'', natives of Indiana prefer to avoid these demonyms. The State of Indiana adopted the nickname "[[Hoosier State]]" more than 150 years ago.<ref>[http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/www/ihb/emblems/hoosier.html Indiana State Emblems] Indiana State Library</ref> "Hoosiers" is also the mascot for the [[Indiana Hoosiers|Indiana University athletic teams]] and the title of an award-winning 1986 movie ''[[Hoosiers]]'' starring [[Gene Hackman]], based on the story of the [[Milan High School]] basketball team and its road to winning the state championship. The word Hoosier is sometimes used in the names of Indiana-based businesses. In the [[Indiana High School Athletic Association]], seven active athletic confereces and one disbanded conference have the word Hoosier in their name, the conferences names are [[Hoosier Athletic Conference|Hoosier Athletic]], [[Hoosier Crossroads Conference|Hoosier Crossroads]], [[Hoosier Heartland Conference|Hoosier Heartland]], [[Hoosier Heritage Conference|Hoosier Heritage]], [[Hoosier Hills Conference|Hoosier Hills]], [[Mid-Hoosier Conference|Mid-Hoosier]], and [[Northeast Hoosier Conference|Northeast Hoosier]] with Northwest Hoosier being the disbanded conference. In other parts of the country, the word has been adapted for other uses (see [[Hoosier#Other_uses|Other uses]]). |
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==Social theory of cultural systems== |
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A major concern in the social sciences is the problem of order. One way that social order has been theorized is according to the degree of integration of cultural and social factors. |
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== |
==Origin== |
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According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the [[etymology]] of the word is unknown, but it has been in use since at least [[1826]]. According to [[Bill Bryson]], there are many suggestions for the derivation of the word "Hoosier," but none is universally accepted. |
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Talcott Parsons, a major figure in sociology, who was the main originator of [[structural functionalism]] in the early 20th century, based his sociological theory of [[functionalism]] on four social action systems which express four functional imperatives: adaptation, goal-attainment, integration, and pattern maintenance. The hierarchy of systems are, from least to most encompassing system, respectively, behavioral organism, personality system, social system, and cultural system. Ritzer and Goodman (2004) summarize Parsons view, "Parsons saw these action systems acting at different levels of analysis, starting with the behavioral organism and building to the cultural system. He saw these levels hierarchically, with each of the lower levels providing the impetus for the higher levels, with the higher levels controlling the lower levels." |
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It first came into general usage in the 1830s. John Finley of [[Richmond, Indiana]] wrote a poem, The Hoosier's Nest<ref>[http://www.waynet.org/facts/hoosiersnest.htm ''The Hoosier's Nest'']</ref>, which was used as the "Carrier's Address" of the ''Indianapolis Journal'', [[January 1]], [[1833]]. As it came into common usage, the debates about the term's origin began.<ref>[http://www.indianahistory.org/pop_hist/people/whatis.html#Hoosier Indiana Historical Society]</ref>. |
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===System and social integration=== |
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The British Sociologist David Lockwood argued for a contrast between social content and social transmission in his work on social [[structure and agency]]. Noting that social systems were distinct in structure and transmission. Lockwood's conceptual distinction influenced Jurgen Habermas' discussion in the classic ''Legitimation Crises'', who made the now famous distinction between system integration and social integration of the lifeworld. |
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[[Jacob Piatt Dunn]] was the most serious historian to look into the origin of the term "Hoosier" as a term used to describe the citizens of Indiana.<ref>[http://www.indianahistory.org/pop_hist/people/whatis.html Indiana Historical Society<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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===Cultural and socio-cultural integration=== |
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Margaret Archer (2004) in a revised edition of her classic work ''Culture and Agency'', argues that the grand idea of a unified integrated culture system, as advocated by early Anthropologists such as [[Bronisław Malinowski]] and later by [[Mary Douglas]], is a myth. Archer reads this same myth through [[Pitirim Sorokin]] influence and then Parson's approach to cultural systems (2004:3). The myth of a unified integrated cultural system was also advanced by Western Marxist's such as by Antonio Gramsci through the theory of [[cultural hegemony]] through a dominant culture. Basic to these mistaken conceptions was the idea of culture as a community of meanings, which function independently in motivating social behavior. This combined two independent factors, community and meanings which can be investigated quasi-independently (2004:4) |
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===Some folkloric etymologies=== |
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Archer, a proponent of [[critical realism]], suggest that cultural factors can be objectively studied for the degree of compatibility (and that various aspects of cultural systems may be found to contradict each other in meaning and use). And, social or community factors in socialization may be studied in the context of the transmission of cultural factors by studying the social uniformity (or lack thereof) in the transmitted culture. Cultural systems are used (and inform society) both through idea systems and the structuring of social systems. To quote Archer in this regard: |
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====Frontier banter==== |
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:"logical consistency is a property of the world of ideas; causal consistency is a property of people. The main proposition here is the two are logically and empirically distinct, hence can vary independently of one another. Thus it is perfectly conceivable that any social unit, from a community to a civilization, could be found the principle ideational elements (knowledge, belief, norms, language, mythology, etc.) of which do display considerable logical consistency -- that is, the components are consistent not contradictory -- yet the same social unit may be low on causal consensus. " (2004:4) |
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This idea suggests the term was a greeting. When approaching a man's home in those early frontier days, you shouted from afar, "Hello, the cabin!" to avoid being shot. The inhabitants would then shout back "Who'sh 'ere?" (who's there). As it got slurred together over time, the country folk came to be called Hoosiers. |
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A variant of this story combines "Who's" and "your", such as in "Who'sh yer 'pa?". Additionally, the poet [[James Whitcomb Riley]] facetiously suggested that the fierce brawling that took place in Indiana involved enough ear biting that the expression "Whose ear?" was common enough to be notable. |
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Archer notes that the opposite may be the case: low cultural logical consistency and high social consistency. Complex societies can include complex sociocultural systems that mix of cultural and social factors with various levels of contradiction and consistency. |
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====Pugilistic boatmen==== |
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==Research== |
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Indiana rivermen were so spectacularly successful in trouncing or "hushing" their adversaries in the brawling that was then common that they became known as "hushers." |
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According to Burrowes (1996), in two recent approaches to the study of culture, in the 1980-1990s, the "cultural studies" and "cultural indicators" approaches, investigators explored the traditionally functionalist concern of "cultural systems integration." These two approaches could be synthesized in the investigating cultural systems. Burrowes (1996) writes, "If functionalism offers to this cross-fertilization a focus on the normative orders of society, the cultural indicators approach provides a rigorous methodology and cultural studies cautions a greater sensitivity to social hierarchies." Constrained by Merton's [[middle range theory]] [note: to be discussed here], the specification of cultural elements and social structures makes possible the investigation of specific cultural and social systems and their interaction. |
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====Mr. Hoosier's men==== |
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[[Image:Picture 1650.jpg|thumb|right|300px|One possible origin of the term "Hoosier" comes from the construction of the [[Louisville and Portland Canal]]]] |
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* Archer, Margaret S. 2004. Culture and Agency: The Place of Culture in Social Theory, Revised Edition. New York and Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]]. |
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A contractor reportedly named Samuel Hoosier preferred to hire workers from Indiana during the construction of the [[McAlpine Locks and Dam|Louisville and Portland Canal]] (1826-1831) in [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]]. His employees became known as "Hoosier's men" and finally just "Hoosiers." |
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* Burrowes, Carl Patrick. 1996. From Functionalism to Cultural Studies: Manifest Ruptures and Latent Continuities, ''[[Communication Theory]]'', 6(1):88–103. |
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* Geertz, Clifford. 1966. "Religion as a Cultural System," in M. Banton (ed.), ''Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion''. New York: Praeger, pp. 1-46. |
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* David Lockwood. 1964. “Social Integration and System Integration,” in G. Zollschan and W. Hirsch (eds.), ''Explorations in Social Change''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. |
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* Ritzer, George and Douglas J. Goodman. 2004. "Structural Functionalism, Neofunctionalism, and Conflict Theory," in ''Sociological Theory'', sixth edition. [[McGraw-Hill]]. |
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This story is reported by [[Dunn]] (1907:16-17) as being told in 1901 by a man who heard this story from a Hoosier family member while traveling in southern Tennessee. However, Dunn’s research could find no-one in southern Tennessee who had heard the story, nor could he find any family of that name in any directory in the region. In spite of Dunn’s skepticism, this version has been accepted by [[Evan Bayh]], who has served as Indiana governor and senator, and by Senator [[Vance Hartke]], who introduced this story into the ''Congressional Record'' (1975), according to Graf. |
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A similar story involves the [[National Road]], which began in [[Cumberland]], Maryland, and slowly extended westward, reaching Indiana in 1829-1834. As plans were made to extend the highway to [[Richmond, Indiana]], the call went out for laborers. Knowing that the federal government would pay "top dollar," the employees of a contractor in the [[Indiana Territory]] reportedly named Robert Hoosier asked their boss if they could go work for this higher wage in the neighboring state of [[Ohio]]. Mr. Hoosier gave his consent, asking them to return to work for him when this section of the road was done. |
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Just as in the Sam Hoosier story, the crew of Indiana workers proved to be industrious, conscientious, and efficient. The federal foreman referred to the group as "Hoosiers" meaning they were workers that Robert Hoosier had allowed to join the national work crew. It wasn't long before people along the National Road used the term to describe the folks living in the territory to the west. |
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This story is not mentioned in Dunn’s or Mencken’s research, but if there were such a contractor and such events, they would have taken place after the term “Hoosier” was already well established in Appalachia and was becoming attached to Indiana. |
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====Hussars==== |
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In this story, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars, Col. John Jacob Lehmanowsky, settled in Indiana later in life and gave lectures on the “Wars of Europe” in which he extolled the virtues of the [[hussar]]s, which his audience heard as “hoosiers.” Young men wishing to identify with these virtues called themselves Hoosiers, enough of them that eventually all Indianans were called Hoosiers. |
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Weaknesses of this story include the unlikely mispronunciation of hussar as Hoosier and the fact that Lehmanowsky did not come to Indiana until 1833, by which time the term was already well established. |
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==Other uses== |
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A [[Hoosier cabinet]], often shortened to "hoosier", is a type of free-standing kitchen cabinet popular in the early decades of the twentieth century. Almost all of these cabinets were produced by companies located in Indiana. The name is derived from the largest of them, the Hoosier Manufacturing Co. of [[New Castle, Indiana]]. |
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In [[St. Louis, Missouri]], the word is used in a derogatory fashion in similar context to "[[white trash]]".<ref> J. Graf [http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/internet/extra/hoosier.html The Word Hoosier] Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington </ref> |
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Thomas E. Murray carefully analyzed the use of "hoosier" in St. Louis, Missouri, where it is the favorite epithet of abuse. "When asked what a Hoosier is," Murray writes, "St. Louisans readily list a number of defining characteristics, among which are 'lazy,' 'slow-moving,' 'derelict,' and 'irresponsible.'" He continues, "Few epithets in St. Louis carry the pejorative connotations or the potential for eliciting negative responses that hoosier does." He conducted tests and interviews across lines of age and race and tabulated the results. He found the term ecumenically applied. He also noted the word was often used with a modifier, almost redundantly, as in "some damn Hoosier." |
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In a separate section Murray speaks of the history of the word and cites Baker and Carmony (1975) and speculates on why Hoosier (in Indiana a "neutral or, more often, positive" term) should remain "alive and well in St. Louis, occupying as it does the honored position of being the city's number one term of derogation." A radio broadcast took up where Murray left off. During the program, "Fresh Air," Jeffrey Lunberg, a language commentator, answered questions about regional nicknames. He cited Elaine Viets, a Post-Dispatch columnist (also quoted by Paul Dickson), as saying that in St. Louis a "Hoosier is a low-life redneck, somebody you can recognize because they have a car on concrete blocks in their front yard and are likely to have just shot their wife who may also be their sister."<ref> J. Graf [http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/internet/extra/hoosier.html The Word Hoosier] Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington </ref> |
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Other Indiana businesses use Hoosier in the name of their company: |
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1) [[Hoosier Racing Tire]], manufacturer of racing tires; and 2) Hoosier Bat Company, manufacturer of wood baseball bats. |
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As the mascot of [[Indiana University]], the Hoosier is the subject of debate, primarily concerning the term's meaning and origin. As there is no physical embodiment of a Hoosier, IU is represented through their letters and colors alone. |
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The [[RCA Dome]], former home of the [[Indianapolis Colts]], was once known as the '''Hoosier Dome''' before 1994, when [[RCA]] paid for the [[naming rights]]. The RCA Dome was replaced by [[Lucas Oil Stadium]] in 2008. |
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==Famous references== |
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*The fellowship felt among Hoosiers was referred to in [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s book, [[Cat's Cradle]]. Vonnegut was himself a Hoosier and a graduate of [[Shortridge High School]] in [[Indianapolis]]. |
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*[[Serial killer]] [[Carl Panzram]]'s last words were reportedly, "Hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could hang 10 men while you're fooling around!" |
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<references/> |
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==See also== |
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{{portal|Indiana|Indiana state flag detail.jpg||150px|break=no|left=no}} |
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*[[Hoosier Hysteria]] |
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*[[Hoosier Group]] |
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==External links== |
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*[[Indiana Historical Bureau]] article entitled [http://www.in.gov/history/2681.htm What is a Hoosier?] |
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*[http://www.indiana.edu/~alumni/fun/hoosier.html Article on the name "Hoosier" from the Indiana University Alumni Association] |
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*[http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier/docs/history/hoosier_name.htm Hoosier National Forest "What is a 'Hoosier'" Web page] |
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*[http://www.indwes.edu/Faculty/bcupp/Indiana/Hoosier/Hoosier.Barry.htm Article: ''Explanation of "Hoosiers"] by [[Dave Barry]] |
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[[Category:Pejorative terms for people]] |
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Revision as of 21:19, 13 October 2008
Hoosier (Template:PronEng) is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. State of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., Indianan or Indianian, natives of Indiana prefer to avoid these demonyms. The State of Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150 years ago.[1] "Hoosiers" is also the mascot for the Indiana University athletic teams and the title of an award-winning 1986 movie Hoosiers starring Gene Hackman, based on the story of the Milan High School basketball team and its road to winning the state championship. The word Hoosier is sometimes used in the names of Indiana-based businesses. In the Indiana High School Athletic Association, seven active athletic confereces and one disbanded conference have the word Hoosier in their name, the conferences names are Hoosier Athletic, Hoosier Crossroads, Hoosier Heartland, Hoosier Heritage, Hoosier Hills, Mid-Hoosier, and Northeast Hoosier with Northwest Hoosier being the disbanded conference. In other parts of the country, the word has been adapted for other uses (see Other uses).
Origin
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word is unknown, but it has been in use since at least 1826. According to Bill Bryson, there are many suggestions for the derivation of the word "Hoosier," but none is universally accepted.
It first came into general usage in the 1830s. John Finley of Richmond, Indiana wrote a poem, The Hoosier's Nest[2], which was used as the "Carrier's Address" of the Indianapolis Journal, January 1, 1833. As it came into common usage, the debates about the term's origin began.[3].
Jacob Piatt Dunn was the most serious historian to look into the origin of the term "Hoosier" as a term used to describe the citizens of Indiana.[4]
Some folkloric etymologies
Frontier banter
This idea suggests the term was a greeting. When approaching a man's home in those early frontier days, you shouted from afar, "Hello, the cabin!" to avoid being shot. The inhabitants would then shout back "Who'sh 'ere?" (who's there). As it got slurred together over time, the country folk came to be called Hoosiers.
A variant of this story combines "Who's" and "your", such as in "Who'sh yer 'pa?". Additionally, the poet James Whitcomb Riley facetiously suggested that the fierce brawling that took place in Indiana involved enough ear biting that the expression "Whose ear?" was common enough to be notable.
Pugilistic boatmen
Indiana rivermen were so spectacularly successful in trouncing or "hushing" their adversaries in the brawling that was then common that they became known as "hushers."
Mr. Hoosier's men
A contractor reportedly named Samuel Hoosier preferred to hire workers from Indiana during the construction of the Louisville and Portland Canal (1826-1831) in Louisville. His employees became known as "Hoosier's men" and finally just "Hoosiers."
This story is reported by Dunn (1907:16-17) as being told in 1901 by a man who heard this story from a Hoosier family member while traveling in southern Tennessee. However, Dunn’s research could find no-one in southern Tennessee who had heard the story, nor could he find any family of that name in any directory in the region. In spite of Dunn’s skepticism, this version has been accepted by Evan Bayh, who has served as Indiana governor and senator, and by Senator Vance Hartke, who introduced this story into the Congressional Record (1975), according to Graf.
A similar story involves the National Road, which began in Cumberland, Maryland, and slowly extended westward, reaching Indiana in 1829-1834. As plans were made to extend the highway to Richmond, Indiana, the call went out for laborers. Knowing that the federal government would pay "top dollar," the employees of a contractor in the Indiana Territory reportedly named Robert Hoosier asked their boss if they could go work for this higher wage in the neighboring state of Ohio. Mr. Hoosier gave his consent, asking them to return to work for him when this section of the road was done.
Just as in the Sam Hoosier story, the crew of Indiana workers proved to be industrious, conscientious, and efficient. The federal foreman referred to the group as "Hoosiers" meaning they were workers that Robert Hoosier had allowed to join the national work crew. It wasn't long before people along the National Road used the term to describe the folks living in the territory to the west.
This story is not mentioned in Dunn’s or Mencken’s research, but if there were such a contractor and such events, they would have taken place after the term “Hoosier” was already well established in Appalachia and was becoming attached to Indiana.
Hussars
In this story, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars, Col. John Jacob Lehmanowsky, settled in Indiana later in life and gave lectures on the “Wars of Europe” in which he extolled the virtues of the hussars, which his audience heard as “hoosiers.” Young men wishing to identify with these virtues called themselves Hoosiers, enough of them that eventually all Indianans were called Hoosiers.
Weaknesses of this story include the unlikely mispronunciation of hussar as Hoosier and the fact that Lehmanowsky did not come to Indiana until 1833, by which time the term was already well established.
Other uses
A Hoosier cabinet, often shortened to "hoosier", is a type of free-standing kitchen cabinet popular in the early decades of the twentieth century. Almost all of these cabinets were produced by companies located in Indiana. The name is derived from the largest of them, the Hoosier Manufacturing Co. of New Castle, Indiana.
In St. Louis, Missouri, the word is used in a derogatory fashion in similar context to "white trash".[5] Thomas E. Murray carefully analyzed the use of "hoosier" in St. Louis, Missouri, where it is the favorite epithet of abuse. "When asked what a Hoosier is," Murray writes, "St. Louisans readily list a number of defining characteristics, among which are 'lazy,' 'slow-moving,' 'derelict,' and 'irresponsible.'" He continues, "Few epithets in St. Louis carry the pejorative connotations or the potential for eliciting negative responses that hoosier does." He conducted tests and interviews across lines of age and race and tabulated the results. He found the term ecumenically applied. He also noted the word was often used with a modifier, almost redundantly, as in "some damn Hoosier."
In a separate section Murray speaks of the history of the word and cites Baker and Carmony (1975) and speculates on why Hoosier (in Indiana a "neutral or, more often, positive" term) should remain "alive and well in St. Louis, occupying as it does the honored position of being the city's number one term of derogation." A radio broadcast took up where Murray left off. During the program, "Fresh Air," Jeffrey Lunberg, a language commentator, answered questions about regional nicknames. He cited Elaine Viets, a Post-Dispatch columnist (also quoted by Paul Dickson), as saying that in St. Louis a "Hoosier is a low-life redneck, somebody you can recognize because they have a car on concrete blocks in their front yard and are likely to have just shot their wife who may also be their sister."[6]
Other Indiana businesses use Hoosier in the name of their company: 1) Hoosier Racing Tire, manufacturer of racing tires; and 2) Hoosier Bat Company, manufacturer of wood baseball bats.
As the mascot of Indiana University, the Hoosier is the subject of debate, primarily concerning the term's meaning and origin. As there is no physical embodiment of a Hoosier, IU is represented through their letters and colors alone.
The RCA Dome, former home of the Indianapolis Colts, was once known as the Hoosier Dome before 1994, when RCA paid for the naming rights. The RCA Dome was replaced by Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008.
Famous references
- The fellowship felt among Hoosiers was referred to in Kurt Vonnegut's book, Cat's Cradle. Vonnegut was himself a Hoosier and a graduate of Shortridge High School in Indianapolis.
- Serial killer Carl Panzram's last words were reportedly, "Hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could hang 10 men while you're fooling around!"
References
- ^ Indiana State Emblems Indiana State Library
- ^ The Hoosier's Nest
- ^ Indiana Historical Society
- ^ Indiana Historical Society
- ^ J. Graf The Word Hoosier Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington
- ^ J. Graf The Word Hoosier Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington
See also
External links
- Indiana Historical Bureau article entitled What is a Hoosier?
- Article on the name "Hoosier" from the Indiana University Alumni Association
- Hoosier National Forest "What is a 'Hoosier'" Web page
- Article: Explanation of "Hoosiers" by Dave Barry