Culture - some definitions

•         learned, shared behavior that is held in common by a group of people, empowering them with a "way of life"

•         systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people

•         learned behavior of a group of people, generally considered to be the tradition of that people, transmitted from generation to generation

So many definitions, so much confusion

these definitions have a few things in common:

•         "groups of people"

•         "learned knowledge"

•         "shared behavior"

•         "held in common"

•         "traditions"

•         "transmitted from generation to generation"

What is learned, and how?

•         speech

•         religion

•         livelihood

•         value systems

•         technology

•         housing

•         foods

•         music

•         and on, and on, and on..

Let's narrow it down to a few elements

•         language

•         values, norms, and beliefs

•         social activity and interaction

•         arts and sciences

Language

•         a set of symbols used to assign and communicate meaning

•         spoken words

•         written symbols

•         these enable us to name or label the things in our world so we can think and communicate about them 

This is language.                              이것은 언어입니다.

 Este es el lenguaje.                   यह भाषा है.

   這是語言。                  Ceci est la langue.

(English, Korean, Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, French)

Values, norms, and beliefs

Values:

•         democracy

•         capitalism

•         education

Norms:

•         how society should conduct its business

•         how individuals in society should behave

•         norms have the "should" idea

•         what is "normal" ? 

Beliefs:

•         religion

•         faith

•         family

Social activity and interaction

groups, organizations, institutions

•         Ravens fans

•         the Republican Party

•         war veterans

•         German-Americans

•         the Lost Boys of Sudan

•         social studies teachers

•         the Methodist Church

•         marathon runners

•         the Directors Guild of America

•         Facebook members

Arts and sciences

literature

•         novels

•         poetry

•         plays

performing arts

•         dance

•         music

•         film, television

visual arts 

•         drawing

•         painting

•         photography

•         iconography

Video
I understand culture as a treasure that is a part of our collective memory, of our perception of ourselves.

Culture is us
We make it
We shape it as we love it to be

The more we know about the cultures of others, the more open minded tolerant and global we become.
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Our cultural traits, value and beliefs are different and diverse.