Weebly



Culture EssayCulture is a very powerful word that many people believe in and follow throughout their lives all around the world. People can be very proud and stern about the culture they originate from and others’ culture goes by the waist side. Culture can be passed on from generation to generation or can be started right now. There are many different opinions and definitions of culture, but I believe that they all come from a common framework.“Culture is a combination of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior patterns that are shared by racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups of people” (Kozleski & Zion, 2005). This quotation represents the most common definition of culture to me, because it is very broad and covers a very large spectrum. When I look at this definition, two words jump off the page at me, and they are beliefs and values. Families who have strong cultural backgrounds tend to believe in the same beliefs and values as one another. For example, all Islamic families believe that Allah is the creator of all creatures. I think this is true because all children that are raised in Islamic families are around these beliefs all of the time and their families instill these beliefs in them. A child looks up to their elders, and if their elders are strongly committed to certain beliefs, then the child is going to follow in their footsteps. There are some definitions that do not cover as much as the previous definition, but hit important pieces of culture in my opinion. “Culture is the characteristic of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts” (Zimmermann, 2012). Within this definition, I really liked how she talked about language and cuisine being a large part in making up culture. A cultures language and cuisine are very important to me because it gives them a unique feature that others may not have or heard of before. For example, every holiday my grandparents bring over pierogi, which is a Polish cuisine that my grandparents have eaten their entire lives. Now I always look forward to them bringing it over because it is something different. I believe cuisine and language are very important when talking about important pieces that go into someone’s culture.When I try to create and think about my own definition of culture, I include the key points that I talked about from the previous two definitions and a few key points from the following definitions. The first definition says, “Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge and experience” (Li & Karakowski, 2001) and the second definition says, “Culture can be defined as the cultivated behavior that is socially transmitted” (“Cultural Definitions and Types,” 1997). I believe these two definitions are important in defining culture because starting a culture does not start over night and social influence is what helps carry it along. I believe a culture is created by cumulative knowledge, which helps get rid of ideas that are less important and strengthen the ones that are important. I also believe that culture is carried on by social influence, whether it is a person’s family or friends because those are the outside sources that influence you the most. All in all, I believe culture is a very deep and meaningful word with a wide variety of different definitions and characteristics. I believe traditions, beliefs, and values are the most important points that make up my definition of culture, but I’m sure someone would disagree. That is why culture is so powerful because it encompasses so much and everyone looks at it from a different perspective.ReferencesCulture Definitions and Types. (1997). Definition of Culture. Retrieved from S., & Karakowsky M. (2001). Do We See Eye-to-Eye? Implications of Cultural Differences for Cross-Cultural Management Research and Practice. The Journal of Psychology, 501-517.Zimmermann, K. A. (2012, July). What is Culture? Definition of Culture. Retrieved from . S., & Kozleski, E. B. (2005). Understanding culture. Denver, CO: National Institute for Urban School Improvement. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download