I asked three people that I am fairly close to what their definition of culture was. The responses that I received are all different and in some respects I suppose that they are accurate. The responses I received were: 1) where you come from as in your roots, 2) the things that you believe in and your race and religion, and 3) all of the things that make us individuals such as our beliefs.
I found that the three people that I asked all had different answers, but that they all had some truth to them. Religion and race are two things that we have talked about in this course as being important to culture. Many of the resources that we have read and the videos we have watched mention that it is what we believe. Some of the things that were omitted from the definitions that I received that I was sure would be mentioned were gender, class, age and ethnicity. My Hispanic friend is the person who said that it was our roots, and in some ways I suppose that these things would figure in to that category, but they were not specifically named as I thought they would be.
I never considered how broad of a topic culture is until this course. I do not think that that is a negative thing, but I do feel that there some what of a misconception about culture as well. Parts of our culture are heredity and/or genetic, but many aspects of our culture we have freedom to choose for ourselves. I think that it is interesting that two of the people I asked related culture to religion. I believe that you can have culture without being a part of a religious faith, but most people have a religious affiliation that they feel connects them to a larger cultural group.
Jamie,
ReplyDeleteYou speak of a Hispanic friend, is that not her ethnicity??
Barbara
Hi Jamie,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that I also, had never considered how broad of a topic culture was until this course! I do not know, however, if it is a misconception as it is just the knowledge of "surface" culture or lack of knowedge period. I also would agree with you that all three definitions you received had truth to it. I hope that your discussions with them opened up their eyes to a broader definition....Thank you for sharing!
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteIt is, but it is not something that she said she felt describes her. In our talk, her view of culture seemed to be along the lines of the things that she learned when she was younger from her family. She did not grow up in what she called a "traditional" Hispanic home.
Culture is an exceptionally broad topic. I had some idea that it was broad but I think these assignments are what drew so much attention to that for me. In the definitions that you received I'm surprised that no one mentioned the classic definitions regarding ethnicity, gender, and class but this was very similar to the experience that I had as well.
ReplyDelete