FREE ESSAY ON WHAT IS CULTURE?

WHAT IS CULTURE?

What is Culture?
With a diverse population existing in the United States today, our country is a melting
pot of different cultures, each one unique in its own respect. Culture, distinguishing
one societal group from another, includes beliefs, behaviors, language, traditions, art,
fashion styles, food, religion, politics, and economic systems. Through lifelong and ever
changing processes of learning, creativity, and sharing, culture shapes our patterns of
behavior and thinking. A culture's significance is so profound that it touches almost
every aspect of who and what we are. "Culture becomes the lens through which we perceive
and evaluate what is going on around us" (Henslin, 1993).
Trying to define the complex term of culture with varying elements of distinguishable
characteristics is a difficult task. Perhaps, a description of a culture would be easier
to explain. For instance, an Iranian woman has just appeared in your office for services
and it is immediately evident that her culture is very different than yours. First, her
dark colored clothing covers her entire body from head to toe, including a black veil
over her face. Secondly, as she speaks, a cultural difference is detected in both, her
language and gestures. Her accent and the non-visible facial expressions create a barrier
for comprehending the communication. Later, as the service for the woman progresses, her
beliefs, values, and norms of her culture are dispelled. For example, in order for the
woman to show her face to another male in public, she must first request permission from
her husband to unveil. During further discussion, it becomes even more apparent, that
this Iranian woman is subservient and possesses a lower level of status than that of
Iranian males. All of these characteristics are indicative of this woman's culture.
As conveyed in the above description, the characteristics represent the unique symbols of
one's culture. Symbols, in representative form of communication, art, expressions,
materials, and so on, allow a cultural group to develop complex thoughts and to exchange
those thoughts with each other. Through the exchanging of symbols, one's cultural ideas,
beliefs, and values, are passed on from one generation to the next.
People are not born with culture; they have to learn it. Throughout the development of
the entire life span, culture is learned from the society in which we live. Furthermore,
in the diverse population of the United States, ethnic groups or societies will have to
interact with other groups outside the realm of their individual self. In order to do so,
it is necessary for the societies to exchange languages, ideas, or even, technology. In
addition, the changing environments of the world population requires a need for cultural
adaptation for basic survival. For example, a move from the United States, where basic
resources are plentiful, to Russia, where the resources are scarce, would force an
adaptation to the cultural differences in order to develop a new lifestyle. 
In conclusion, culture defines who we are, how we think, and how we behave. Some kinds of
culture are include better means of making life securer than others. Cultural traits that
offer some advantages, utility, or even pleasures are sought and accepted by societies.
According to a prominent anthropologist, "Culture is contagious." "A culture is a means
to an end: the security and continuity of life." (Britannica.com, p.12). 
References
Henslin, J. (1993). Sociology: a down to earth approach. Needham Heights: Simon &
Schuster, Inc. 
Introduction to culture. Britannica Encyclopedia. Retrieved Sept. 8, 2000 from the World
Wide Web: http://www.britannica.com/bcom/ed/article/6/0,5716,118246+12+109857,00.html