Culture

Culture is a big idea that helps us understand how people live together in groups. It includes the way people behave, the rules they follow, and the traditions they share. Culture is found in every human society, and it helps people know how to act, what to wear, and how to talk in different situations.

People learn culture from others around them, like family and friends, through processes called enculturation and socialization. This is why cultures can be very different from one place to another. For example, in some cultures, being brave in difficult times is very important, while in others, loyalty and duty to the group are highly valued.

Culture can change over time, shaped by both forces that push for new ideas and those that prefer old ways. When different cultures meet, they can also influence each other. Groups like UNESCO work to protect important cultural traditions and places so that they can be enjoyed by everyone.

Description

Culture is a big idea in the study of people. It includes all the ways people behave, share ideas, and create things together. Everyone everywhere has culture. This includes things like art, music, dance, special ceremonies, and beliefs. It also includes how people build homes, make tools, and even cook food.

Culture can also mean the special ways groups of people live and express themselves. This can be through clothes, traditions, and shared values. Some people think culture can show how smart or advanced a group is, but others believe all cultures should be respected equally. Culture helps us understand how people live together and share their world.

Etymology

The word culture comes from ancient times. The Roman writer Cicero used a phrase meaning "cultivation of the soul," comparing growing a mind to farming plants. Later writers used "culture" to describe how people develop and improve through learning and shared experiences.

Today, culture means the way groups of people live—their customs, beliefs, arts, laws, and habits. It is what makes each group unique and helps people feel important and connected, even though life can be short. Humans have this ability to create and share ideas using symbols, which helps them build rich cultures together.

Change

Many ways can bring about changes in culture, such as growth, development, and new ideas. Modernization, for example, means taking on new beliefs and ways of doing things, like using science and industry. Cultures can also change when new inventions prove helpful to people.

Cultures change from both inside and outside influences. Inside a culture, forces either push for change or resist it. Social conflicts and new technologies can shift how people live and think, creating new ways of doing things. For example, movements for fairness have changed how societies treat different groups. Outside influences, like contact between different societies, can also change culture. When societies share ideas or compete, cultures can borrow from each other or blend together. This exchange can lead to new practices and understandings.

Early modern discourses

German Romanticism

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) talked about how people can grow by thinking for themselves. He believed that people sometimes don’t think for themselves because they are scared. He encouraged people to be brave and think wisely.

Other thinkers, like Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), said that human creativity is just as important as thinking clearly. He thought that groups of people share experiences that give them a common identity.

During a time called the Romantic era, German thinkers began to see culture as a way of seeing the world, or “worldview.” They believed each group sees the world in its own special way. Later, Adolf Bastian (1826–1905) suggested that all people share basic ideas, but each culture changes these ideas in its own way. His student, Franz Boas (1858–1942), brought these ideas to the United States.

English Romanticism

In the 1800s, writers like Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) used the word “culture” to mean the best ideas and artworks from around the world. They connected culture to art, music, and fancy meals, linking it to city life.

Some people thought of culture as being better than chaos, while others thought it was better than a wild, natural state. These ideas sometimes led to unfair comparisons between different groups of people.

Anthropologist Edward Tylor (1832–1917) used these ideas to describe how religions change over time, from having many gods to believing in one.

Anthropology

Main article: American anthropology

Anthropologists study culture as a key part of human life. In the 20th century, American anthropology focused on culture as the ability to share and understand experiences in special ways. American anthropology has four main areas: biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and archaeology. These areas help us learn more about how people live together.

The idea of Kulturbrille, or 'culture glasses', was created by anthropologist Franz Boas. It means the way each person sees their own culture. Sometimes, these 'glasses' can hide things that others might notice right away.

Sociology

Main article: Sociology of culture

The sociology of culture looks at how culture appears in society. For sociologist Georg Simmel (1858–1918), culture was about how people grow through things created over time. In sociology, culture means the ways people think, act, and the things they make that shape their lives. Culture can be two kinds: non-material culture and material culture. Non-material culture is about ideas like values, beliefs, rules, and language. Material culture is about physical things like buildings and objects people create.

Cultural sociology began in Weimar Germany (1918–1933), where sociologists like Alfred Weber used the term Kultursoziologie. It later grew in English-speaking countries during the 1960s, bringing in new ways to study society. Today, culture is an important idea in many parts of sociology, even in scientific areas like social stratification and social network analysis.

Early researchers and development of cultural sociology

The study of culture in sociology grew from the mix of sociology and anthropology. Early researchers used special methods to describe many different cultures around the world. This history still affects how we study culture today, including the methods we use and the topics we focus on, like popular culture, political control, and social class.

Cultural studies

Main article: Cultural studies

In the United Kingdom, scholars inspired by Marxism began studying culture in new ways. They looked at how things like art, music, food, and sports are connected to people's everyday lives and how these activities often show patterns linked to social classes.

Cultural studies mainly explores popular culture, which includes items and activities made for many people to enjoy. Researchers study how these things have meaning in society. They look at how people use and understand these cultural items, whether they are watching television or sharing meals with friends. In this field, culture is not just about special art but also about everyday actions and objects that carry special meanings for people.

The study of culture brings together ideas from many areas like communication, sociology, and art history to understand how culture shapes our world. This helps us see how culture affects ideas about ethnicity and gender in society.

Psychology

See also: Social psychology, Cultural psychology, and Cross-cultural psychology

Starting in the 1990s, scientists began studying how culture influences our thoughts and feelings. They asked questions like whether our minds work the same way in every culture. For example, people from some cultures hide their happy feelings more than others. Culture can change how we show and feel emotions.

Researchers also look at how culture affects personality and how people react when they meet new cultures. Some cultures accept different groups of people more than others. The way we think can also change based on our culture. For instance, people trained with tools like an abacus develop unique ways of solving problems. People from different cultures might see the same event and feel very different about it.

Psychologists find culture very important for understanding how our minds work. Some experts say that teen struggles aren’t just because of a developing brain. They point out that many cultures don’t see the same teen problems, suggesting that lifestyle and experiences play a big role.

Protection of culture

There are many international agreements and national laws that help protect cultural heritage and cultural diversity. Organizations like UNESCO and its partners, such as Blue Shield International, work together to protect culture around the world. Important agreements like the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions focus on keeping culture safe. Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that everyone has the right to take part in cultural life and to have their contributions to culture protected.

In recent years, protecting culture has become a big priority for national and international groups. The United Nations and UNESCO support cultural preservation and diversity through declarations and treaties. The goal is to save humanity's cultural heritage, especially during times of war. Tourism can also affect culture, sometimes harming places or changing societies in ways that may not be good.