Culture Introduction: Lincoln Home-Brewers Culture

I want to look at a cultural group native to Lincoln for this project. This group might not seem like what one would think of as a culture immediately but I hope to show how important of a local culture this is through this project. I will be reporting on the culture of home-brewers within Lincoln.

A cultural group is defined by the shared behaviors of the members of the group. "Culture is learned patterns of behavior and attitudes shared by a group of people"(Martin & Nakayama, 2012). The local group of home-brewers in Lincoln share the tradition of beer brewing with others interested in this long lived tradition. Many areas of the world have this minority cultural group, and I hope eventually see how these groups from all around the world come together in this traditional hobby.

The home-brewers around Lincoln is certainly dominated by the white middle aged, middle class man. It is a group of intellectuals brought together by a love for creative activities, chemistry, and social interaction. By creating something from raw materials, these people come to respect and master a time honored process of brewing beer. Humans have been brewing beer for thousands of years, and it is one of the first prepared beverages of human history. It provides a way people of many different backgrounds can come together and work on a common goal as many more have done before them.

From watching this film clip we can see how this laborious activity can act as a medium for intercultural interaction. Throughout the process people work together to create something they enjoy. At the end of the process they can sit together and enjoy the product they labored together to produce. The enjoyment comes from creating something you enjoy with a good friend.

My method of research into this cultural group will be to interview members of the local brew club here in Lincoln. I might have an opportunity to observe the process and partake in the fruits of the labor. I would also be interested in participating in the labor myself. I will be specifically be interested in documenting other sorts of intercultural communication taking place via this cultural activity. While anyone can become a home-brewer, I feel through this project I can surface some of the culture of the American white man.

Sources Cited

 

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2012). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.