Mohamed Aldhanhani

1120 18 0001
Introduction to Anthropology
Final Report

Giving Symbols power

Anthropology examines many subjects that are believed to be an essential link that connects all people

around the globe, ones that are inept in defining our existence, in addition to telling us what makes

humans humans. Symbols by themselves in face value are not of real effect. Flags are colourful cloths,

paintings are ink on paper and hand signs are just as contrived. But that is not how we humans see them.

Humans are able to give symbols power, granting huge impact and meaning that the symbol does not

inherently have. Knowing this prompted many to have interest in the studies of symbols, learning about

them will indeed get us a step closer in learning about what makes humans unique.

Symbols are an example of social phenomenon, since it exists in almost all parts of societies, by

examining how symbols are functioning in society, how did they come into being. Many believe that

symbols are the result of social constructivism, meaning that the ideas and meanings of certain symbol

has been learned and slowly became integral common knowledge in society. Just like how Beaumie Kim

states ‘Historical developments inherited by the learner as a member of a particular culture. Symbol

systems, such as language, logic, and mathematical systems, are learned throughout the learner's life.

These symbol systems dictate how and what is learned. The nature of the learner's social interaction with

knowledgeable members of the society is important. Without the social interaction with more

knowledgeable others, it is impossible to acquire social meaning of important symbol system’. Through

being part of a society one gets to know the norms, social values and symbolic meaning, such as country

flags, national anthems, familial relations and titles. In Constructivism there are two major elements that

ultimately makes up the philosophy, a direction and the directed. The direction is constant, it is something
real, physical that is supposed to be directed at something. But the things being directed at differs

completely from place to another, depending on how the society collectively chose to give its meaning.

Indeed, different cultures have different symbolisms and meaning to them, but it is that the ability of

giving them meaning that makes us connected, just as Elizabeth Bates and Brian MacWhinney explain ‘a

symbol is a sign that comes to stand for its referent simply because a community of users has agreed to

use the sign in this way. There is no “natural,” discoverable link between a symbolic sign and its referent,

and if the community of users that established such conventions should disappear without a trace, the

probability that another community would assign the same sign to the same meaning is astronomically

small. In other words, symbolic signs are completely arbitrary’ Because there are no natural link between

the direction and the meaning being directed it, it is up to humans to come up with the meaning based on

their interactions with each other and the world around them. The process of giving meaning to mere

objects, colours and symbols is a complex procedure that is only possible by humans an one of the things

that makes us unique in comparison to other life forms

Symbols are all around us, they became very integral in our everyday communication, especially with the

use of symbols in texting, they are called 絵文字（emoji）which are an effective tool for us to see some

universality in symbols around the world, Ann Arbor from the university of Michigan reported “ “Emojis

are everywhere. They are becoming the ubiquitous language that bridges everyone across different

cultures,” said Wei Ai, a doctoral student at the U-M School of Information and one of the lead authors of

this study.’ Those Emojies are used because they are easy to understand by most cultures, it is well

known that a smile symbolizes happiness, a frown symbolizes sadness and so on. Here arises the issue of

cultural relativism, and if there indeed exist a complete universal symbol or not. Some argued that all is

relative and in order to understand others we have to only judge and try to communicate from their own

perspective. In terms of symbol this is an anti-thesis to the idea of an existing universal symbols as Dr.

Caleb explained ‘If people are going to be successful in today's multicultural, information, world society,

they will need to develop a culturally sensitive frame of reference and mode of operation. It is the purpose
of this presentation to help people move from an ethnocentric, exclusive mindset to a culturally sensitive

modus operandi, by clarifying what is meant by ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, how each operates,

and what are the steps that move a person from one perspective to the other’ which might sound oblique,

since it supports the idea of how different we all are as humans of different cultures and backgrounds.

While indeed there are many national symbols and specificities that are only understood by the people of

certain tribe or society. There are also an abundance of symbols that are used universally, such as aching

to symbolize pain, laughing to symbolize joy. By looking at it humans can immediately understand the

others, without having to be concerned about cultural relativism. Another example of symbols being used

mundanely are gestures, they are not the same around the globe, and different gestures have different

meanings, but this adds up to the constructive thesis. Since gestures are similar to a language, a non-

spoken language that can be identified and have it’s meaning reached provided that the receiver

understands it, just as Lia Marky explained ‘Another aspect that truly differentiates gesture from other

languages or media is that is sensorial. It is not only the viewer of the gesture that receives the message

or experiences a new idea or sensation but the gesturer herself as well. How does the person making the

gesture feel? It is not only an expression of the mind like that in spoken or written language (although we

do make gestures with the mouth or with the hand in those instances) but an expression of the body and

perhaps the soul. Barash evokes Leon Battista Alberti's words in On Painting (1435) to demonstrate that

gestures are perceived as emotional signifiers: "These movements of the soul are made known by

movements of the body. Gesture within its multiple forms is the most primal and yet one of the most

complex media for communicating ideas and emotions to others and the self’

The idea of giving symbols power has enabled them to be subject to be changed. Power can be greanted

to a symbol, it can also be taken away in addition to have its meaning changed completely. As pre-

mentioned, the power of the symbol does not solely lie on the one projecting it. However, it is how the

symbol is received, the meaning that it projects to the people getting in contact with such symbol. One

example of a symbol that had it’s meaning completely changed throughout time is 卍; the swastika.
Originally coming from Hinduism, this symbol meant peacefulness and tranquility, just as Mukti Jain

Campion explained “The swastika is a cross with its arms bent at right angles to either the right or left. In

geometric terms, it is known as an irregular icosagon or 20-sided polygon. The word is derived from the

Sanskrit "svastika" and means "well-being". In Indo-European culture it was a mark made on people or

objects to give them good luck. It has been around for thousands of years, particularly as a Hindu symbol

in the holy texts, to mean luck, Brahma or samsara (rebirth). It can be clockwise or anti-clockwise and the

way it points in all four directions suggests stability. Sometimes it features a dot between each arm’ . This

symbol had been in use for centuries in that religious context. However, this symbol have a complexly

different image nowadays, it has been given more power, different to what it previously had. During and

after world war 2 the swastika was seen as a symbol of fear, Aryan supremacy and the flag of a regime

that under it over 12 million people were massacred , Mukti Jain followed ‘The Nazi use of the swastika

stems from the work of 19th Century German scholars translating old Indian texts, who noticed

similarities between their own language and Sanskrit. They concluded that Indians and Germans must

have had a shared ancestry, with the Aryans the cultural descendants of the German people. They

hijacked the sign as a symbol of the Aryan master race. The Nazi party formally adopted the swastika -

what they called the hakenkreuz, the hooked cross - in 1920. The black straight-armed hakenkreuz on the

distinctive white circle and red background of the Nazi flag would become the most hated symbol of the

20th Century, inextricably linked to the atrocities committed under the Third Reich’. These examples are

a significant tool that shows how symbols re not about what they inherently mean or even supposed to

mean, but it is all about the power that they are given through the deeds of humans. Although the

Swastika was made as a good luck charm, a symbol of fortune and rebirth, it is now completely banned in

Germany, alongside any Nazi symbolism. The reason being that indeed humans are giving power to those

symbols, but the opposite is also true, as Sarah Wildman reported ‘ In 1945, the conquering Allied powers

took control of Germany and banned the swastika, the Nazi party, and the publication of Mein Kampf,

Hitler’s famously anti-Semitic text, historian Jean-Marc Dreyfus explained to me.

“There was a thorough effort to get rid of Nazi stragglers and Lost Cause supporters,” adds historian

Gavriel Rosenfeld.

In 1949, the new West German government legally codified the banning of Nazi symbols and language,

as well as propaganda. As Middlebury College professor Erik Bleich explained in a 2011 article for

the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies on the development of hate speech and hate crimes laws,

even the “Heil Hitler!” salute was officially banned’ there were banned because they unite people, give

them power and legitimacy. Which in this case it is undesired after the fall of the Third Reich. Symbols

can indeed unite people who have the same mentality, goals or political views. Furthermore, uniting

people of the same ideology will give them strength, this as an essential use of symbols. For instance, on

a school assembly saluting the flag. There is also a modern method helps people of the same political

ideology coming together, that is through internet memes. Heidi E. Huntington explained ‘In our modern

media environment characterized by participatory media culture, political internet memes have become a

tool for citizens seeking to participate actively and discursively in a digital public sphere. Although

memes have been examined as visual rhetoric and discursive participation, such political memes’ effects

on viewers are unclear. This study responds to calls for research into effects of internet memes.

Specifically, this work represents early, foundational research to quantitatively establish some media

effects of internet memes as a form of political, user-generated media. This study focuses on memes’

influence on affect, as well as perceptions of internet memes’ persuasiveness to look for evidence of

motivated reasoning in consuming political memes.’ Those are very powerful tools in the 21st century,

while originally used to make people laugh. Now they can be weaponized to manipulate consensus and

show off power. Because the spread of a certain symbol is a sign of it growing power, giving those

supporting it more legitimacy. One example is Pepe the frog, inherently it was just a picture of an

amusing looking frog who was drawn dramatically, but his picture kept showing in far-right extremists

memes. The original artist of the character never intended for it t be used in this way but symbols are not

about how they are inherently. It is about the power people give them. Huntington says about Pepe
‘Perhaps most importantly, current research on memes reveals they do appear to have influence in a

process that reflects Mansbridge’s (1999) conceptualization of a cycle of influence of everyday talk.

Popular memes get attention from other news media sources and become part of the larger public

conversation around some of these events (e.g. Milner, 2013; Shifman, 2014). For example, during the

2016 presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton addressed the so-called alt-right

movement and its use of memes like Pepe the Frog as a racist hate symbol, gaining the attention of news

outlets like National Public Radio, which then traced Pepe’s journey from meme to hate symbol in

discussing the rise of the alt-right (Friedman, 2016)’. Although the frog was never intended to be a

symbol of intolerance and hate, it was still brought up to question, as if it should qualify as a hate symbol

just like the swastika. Because when it comes to symbol it inherent looks or natural meanings matters not,

however it is the power it gains and how human use and view symbols. Consequently, large debates

might occur on the meaning of certain symbols, since opinions, might be split. There is no right answer,

because even if symbols are made with certain intent, we always go back to the thesis that this matter not,

but how people receive and remember it. The legacy which it leaves behind. One example of a polarizing

symbol is the flag of the confederate states. There are still ongoing debates regarding the meanings that

this flag projects. Many desire it to be barred and removed from every state, because it symbolize

prejudice and inequality as a result of the fugitive slave act, which the confederacy fought relentlessly to

protect. Others view it as a symbol of Southern pride, symbolising the positives of being part of the

southern parts of America, columnist Jason Pressberg said ‘The Confederate flag is still a symbol of

southern pride. Visiting Wal-Mart, you'll find it on bumper stickers, hats and t-shirts of the local Elon and

Burlington customers that shop there. Many Elon students also have Confederate flag bumper stickers and

paraphernalia.

Ask anyone who has this symbol, and they'll most likely tell you it has something to do with "southern

pride." But if you're a Northerner like me, you might become uneasy by this.
No matter where you grew up, you will very likely receive an extremely biased education, especially

regarding the Civil War. The New York public school district that I was taught in left me with the

impression that it was a battle between the North, the good guys, and the South, the bad guys. The

Northerners were abolitionists, fighting from the good of their hearts to end slavery. The Southerners

were the cruel masters of the slaves, fighting to keep their wicked slavery ideals’. This is one example

where symbols act as a divisive tool, people are split on the meaning of the Confederate flag. But this is

because we can form meaning out of these symbols, as humans. Having these differences does make it

sound like humans are divided for having different meanings and ways to look at many symbols around

the world. But what makes us all human in the end, is that very ability to form meanings and feelings out

of mere symbols.

Symbols are indeed an essential part of our lives, and the ability to give them meanings, are essential to

what makes us all humans. Without them, simple mundane activities could not be done. We need to find

meanings in all we do. Weather it is the people around us, the gestures we give each other, the flags we

raise and the faces we make. It is evident how much power, symbols have, but it is humans who give it

this power. No matter how different cultures might be, how contrasted symbols or meanings to them,it is

always the same process of humans giving meaning and power to a mere symbol. Mark Redmond

explained how without us having symbols in our lives.‘Your first thought might be, there’s nothing left to

read on this page; there would be no book, because there would be no words. There would also be no

book because the people who created the book would never be able to coordinate the production of the

book—they would have no way to convey ideas, no way to coordinate their activity, no way to actually

even connect. As a matter of fact, they would literally have no ideas. We need symbols to coordinate,

connect, and to have ideas. The importance of symbols to the development of humans both as individuals

and collectives is at the heart of symbolic interaction theory. Symbolic interactionism is essentially about

how the presence of symbols is fundamental to the existence of societies, our self-concepts, and our
minds’. It is a fundamentality of human society. The ability of granting them power, is an essential

process in what makes us all humans.

Sources:

Mukti Jain Campion,2014, BBC News. How the world loved the swastika - until Hitler stole it
http://mrdivis.yolasite.com/resources/Origins%20of%20the%20swastika.pdf
Dr. Caleb Rosado,1998, The web of culture , Cultural relativism
https://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/80-241/guided_inquiries/articles/cultural_rel.html
Prof. George E. Hein, 1991, Lesley College. Massachusetts USA, Constructivist Learning Theory
https://www.exploratorium.edu/education/ifi/constructivist-learning
Lia Markey ,2002 , University of Chikago, Gesture
http://csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/gesture.htm
Beaumie Kim,2012 The University of Georgia, Social Constructivism
http://cmapsconverted.ihmc.us/rid=1N5QXBJZF-20SG67F-32D4/Kim%20Social%20constructivism.pdf
Mark V. Redmond 2015, University of Iowa, Symbolic Interactionism
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=engl_reports
Debing Su, 2012, University of Michigan, emojis? So does the rest of the world

https://news.umich.edu/emojis-so-does-the-rest-of-the-world/
Elizabeth Bates and Brian MacWhinney ,1989, In Macwhinney & Bates Functionalism and the
Competition
Modelhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/230875840_Functionalism_and_the_Competition_Model

Sarah Wildman, 2017 Vox, Why you see swastikas in America but not Germany
https://www.vox.com/world/2017/8/16/16152088/nazi-swastikas-germany-charlottesville
Heidi E. Huntington, 2017, For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Colorado State University, THE
AFFECT AND EFFECT OF INTERNET MEMES: ASSESSING PERCEPTIONS AND INFLUENCE
OF ONLINE USER-GENERATED POLITICAL DISCOURSE AS MEDIA
https://dspace.library.colostate.edu/bitstream/handle/10217/183936/Huntington_colostate_0053A_14303.
pdf?sequence=1
Jason Pressberg,2005 , D.E.E.P., Diversity Emerging Education Program., Historic meaning of the
Confederate flag still strong
https://www.elon.edu/e-web/pendulum/Issues/2005/04_07/opinions/flag.xhtml