Define habits and customs11/11/2023 ![]() We are born into culture, and we learn it by living in human social groups. The first thing to emphasize is that we are not born with culture, like we are born with blue or brown eyes, or black hair. Or to repeat the same idea in a slightly different way:Ĭulture consists of all the things we make and nearly everything that we think and do, again, to the extent that what we make, think and do is conditioned by our experience of life in groups. In that spirit, we shall regard ‘culture’ simply as a term pointing to:Īll the products of human thought and action both material and non-material, particularly those that exist because we live in groups. Scholars might object that this definition is too simple, but I hope it will be useful for the purpose of furthering cross-cultural understanding. But in this chapter, I will try to offer the simplest definition that seems reasonably up to date. You will see, for example, that the idea of culture has changed many times over the centuries and that in the last 50 years, scholars have made the idea more and more difficult to understand. Maybe you will feel the same as you work your way through this chapter. Trying to settle on a simple definition of culture is not an easy task. Which theme(s) do you find most compelling? List the seven themes that seem to capture the scholarly literature on culture.What is the significance of Kroeber and Kluckhohn’s classic work published in 1952?.How are they similar? How are they different? ![]() Contrast Sir Edward Tylor’s 19th century view of culture with that of Franz Boas at the beginning of the 20th century.How has the meaning of the word changed over time? Trace its evolution over the centuries.If you can address everything on this list, you will be off to a good start. Here are some questions and some tasks to guide you in your reading of the chapter.
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