Conley defined culture in many forms in chapter 3. Culture is utilized to rationalize many human behaviors and descriptions of all sorts of individuals and patterns. In other terms, Conley stated that culture can be considered a set of beliefs, traditions, and practices. It is also the sum total of the social categories and concepts we hold in addition to beliefs or viewpoints, practices, and behaviors. Based on my reflections on the various definitions of culture discussed by Conley, the one that makes sense the most is Material versus Nonmaterial culture. According to Conley culture is created by individuals and it is a way of life. It can be separated into Material culture and Nonmaterial culture. Material culture is basically everything
that is part of human’s constructed, physical environment, as well as technology. Mount Rushmore for example is part of our culture. Other examples are the food we consume, books, fashion, cars and modern furniture. Nonmaterial culture is composed of beliefs, social norms, values, and behaviors. There is a relationship that exists between Material and Nonmaterial culture. A portable computer for example was an invention that was an idea before it turns into a material product. Technology can also generate values and beliefs, concepts and ideas. For example the invention of emoticons which are used now in text messages to express mood or feelings (Conley pg 78-79). Cultural icon is a social symbol that can be an image, logo, picture, name, face, individual, building, etc. It is very easy to recognize. It represents an idea or object with great cultural significance to group of people. A cultural icon is an artifact that is recognized by individuals of a culture or sub-culture as representing some characteristics of cultural identity. One example of cultural icon in the United State is the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was originally built in France by sculptor named Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Reference Conley, D. (2013). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (3rd ed.). New York: W.W. Norton.
Culture has been defined numerous ways throughout history. Throughout chapter three of, You May Ask Yourself, by Dalton Conley, the term “culture” is defined and supported numerous times by various groups of people. One may say that culture can be defined as a set of beliefs (excluding instinctual ones), traditions, and practices; however not all groups of people believe culture has the same set of values.
How does one define what culture is? Culture is defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with, their world and with one another - transmitted from generation through learning. This is particularly meaning a pattern of behavior shared by a society or group of people; with many things making up a society’s ‘way of life’ such as language, foods etc. Culture is something that molds people into who they are today. It influences how people handle a variety of situations, process information and how they interact with others. However, there are events when one’s own culture does not play a significant role in the decisions that they make or how they see the world. Despite
Culture by definition is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices, as well as customary beliefs, social forms and material traits that characterize a racial, religious or ...
What is meant by the word culture? Culture, according to Websters Dictionary, is the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. These patterns, traits, and products are considere...
“Only one “white” was listed.” * In 1976 a suit regarding nearly 16,000 acres of land went to the federal court in Mashpee. The trial set out to determine whether the group, called the Mashpee Indians, constitutes an Indian tribe. James Clifford’s The Predicament of Culture includes a section on this trial. This Mashpee section provoked questions in my mind about identity, authenticity, race, and ethnicity.
In Clyde Kluckhohn's passage, adapted from his book, Mirror for Man, we are given an illumination of anthropology on the concept of culture. He explains that culture is not only derived by "the way we are brought up," but also personal past experiences and the biological properties of the people concerned. As humans we have learned to adapt to our own personal surroundings and have conditioned ourselves and our life styles to revolve around such surroundings by the most comfortable means possible.
In his essay, “What is Culture?”, Kluckhohn explains the differences and similarities amongst world’s peoples. To support his explanation of the differences and similarities he provides the concept of culture. It is difficult to give this concept a precise definition because the word “culture” is a broad term. Kluckhohn allows the reader to understand the concept of culture by providing examples of cultural differences along with some anthropological evidence to support his views.
When we think about culture everyone has their own definition of what it means and what it should be like, depending on their background and where they came from. This will be a short description of what I think culture means, along with other information’s such as, which cultures I belong to and how they have influenced me. one person can belong to a lot of different cultures based on he/she’s race, ethnicity, music taste…etc., I have selected two of the major cultures that I belong to and tried to describe how they have influenced me along with other information’s about those cultures.
Anthropologists define the term culture in a variety of ways, but there are certain shared features of the definition that virtually all anthropologists agree on. Culture is a shared, socially transmitted knowledge and behavior. The key features of this definition of culture are as follows. 1) Culture is shared among the members of that particular society or group. Thus, people share a common cultural identity, meaning that they recognize themselves and their culture's traditions as distinct from other people and other traditions. 2) Culture is socially transmitted from others while growing up in a certain environment, group, or society. The transmission of cultural knowledge to the next generation by means of social learning is referred to as enculturation or socialization. 3) Culture profoundly affects the knowledge, actions, and feelings of the people in that particular society or group. This concept is often referred to as cultural knowledge that leads to behavior that is meaningful to others and adaptive to the natural and social environment of that particular culture.
Every human is unique because of the genetic diversity, and also their culture. Culture does not necessarily define a person, but it does influence one’s beliefs and values. Culture can be defined as shared patterns of behaviors, ways of thinking, and interactions that are learned through socialization. Your genetic make up, most likely, will not change, unless you are somehow introduced to radioactive substances. Culture, however, because it is learned, it can vary and it can change over time. When analyzing culture, people tend to focus on certain aspects such as religion, music, language, diet, and education. Culture seems to have a definitive and infinitive meaning. This means that while culture can focus on certain aspects of ones life, it is not confined to one particular definition. Culture can vary. My definition of culture is that it is a learned behavior due to family history, environment, and social interaction.
Culture has a variety of meanings in our daily lives. Culture is defined as objects created by a society as well as the ways of thinking, acting, and behaving in a society (Macionis). Culture has a variety of elements that is important in understand. To grasp culture, we must consider both thoughts and things. Culture shapes not only what we do, but also what we think and how we feel.
“ I grew up in yellow country but my parents are blue. I’m blue or at least that’s what they told me” -Colors by Whitni Thomas (1991).
What is culture? Culture is identity; it’s the indigenous or non-indigenous ideology, habits, customs, appearances and beliefs that people are either raised by or adapt to from different nations surrounding. It is a network of knowledge shared by a group of people. Culture consists of configurations, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior obtained and spread by symbols establishing the distinctive achievement of human groups including their embodiments in artifacts; the vital core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values. Culture systems may, on one hand, be considered as products of action, and on the other, as conditioning influences upon further action.
What is culture? Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.