Many people may think of being "cultured" as attending plays, reading distinguished literature, or visiting museums with timeless art pieces. From an anthropological stand point culture is none of these. It is the characteristics of a group of people that make them a society. Take the Aboriginal people for example, the way they dress, what they eat, their means of transportation, their entertainment is all aspects of their culture. Culture is created by the people of a society. It's a self constructed concept that is now used to identify different groups.
This concept is what has created many of the world's conflicts. When one culture clashes with another, war breaks out. Southern Sudan became a country because of culture clash. One can easily forget how big of a role culture plays in our lives.
I would align my opinion of this term with Aime Cesaire's:
" Culture is everything. Culture is the way we dress,
the way we carry our heads, the way we walk,
the way we tie our ties -- it is not only the fact of
writing books or building homes."
Like I have said before, every aspect of our lives can be used to define the culture we live in. The commonalities of a group of people is what makes up their culture. I'm from New England. There is a completely different culture in Southeastern Connecticut than in Texas. Culture does not have to be an international concept, it is close to home and can be used to describe our most mundane and what we believe to be routine activities and behavior.
This is my anthropology based definition of culture. How does it compare to yours? What does culture mean to you?
I agree with your definition of culture and it does not have to be an international concept. Culture is unique to every society and every time period. Our culture is what people will remember and what makes us who we are.
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