Transcript What is Culture File

What is Culture?
ABC’s of Culture
“The ABCs of Culture”
What is the definition of culture?
Could be stated as:
A groups shared beliefs and behavior.
“The ABCs of Culture”
What is cultural borrowing?
Could be stated as:
Borrowing (sharing) between cultures to
create a more multicultural environment.
“The ABCs of Culture”
What is cultural diffusion?
Could be stated as:
Improving communication between cultures
to break down barriers between those
cultures.
“The ABCs of Culture”

To simplify the elements of culture, let’s
put them into a format, which is easy to
remember.
“The ABCs of Culture”
Appearance: clothing
•
The colors that are popular
•
Jewelry such as wedding rings, earrings,
lapel pins
•
Type of material used (bought, handmade, imported)
•
Hair styles (in Peru married women
wear two pigtails, single women wear many
pigtails)
“The ABCs of Culture”
Belief System: religion
•
Superstitions (step on a crack, don’t
walk under a ladder)
“The ABCs of Culture”
Communication: language
•
Gestures
•
Body language (shrugging shoulders)
•
Hand shakes
•
Words having different meanings (Do
you mind if I borrow the car?)
“The ABCs of Culture”
Dates: history
•
Heritage
•
Ancestors
•
Holidays
“The ABCs of Culture”
Entertainment: art, music and songs, crafts,
dance, sports, traditional stories
Food: spices, special occasion foods,
preparation, fasting
Government: political systems, laws
“The ABCs of Culture”
Housing: style of houses
•
Building materials
•
Use of rooms
“The ABCs of Culture”
Information: education
•
Formal (type of school)
•
Informal (home school, life
experiences, influence of families)
“The ABCs of Culture”
Jobs: economic systems
•
Ways of making a living
•
Currency
•
Technology (transportation,
communication)
“The ABCs of Culture”
Kind of Environment: geography
•
Location
•
Climate
•
Geographical features
•
Vegetation