What is Culture?
Culture is a learned, shared, symbolic, holistic, dynamic, integrated whole that binds a people together as an all-encompassing system of beliefs, values, attitudes, worldviews, and behaviors. In other words, it’s how a society reaches its goals and fulfills its needs and desires in everyday life.
The word “culture” itself has many definitions, but the common themes are that it is learned and shared, and that it includes language, ideas, beliefs, values, customs, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, and ceremonies. In addition, it is characterized as a way of being that consists of ways of greeting one another, paying respect to one another, expressing emotions, and performing tasks.
Every sociocultural system exists in a natural habitat, and the natural environment exerts influences upon it. However, the human capacity for cultural adaptation allows us to transcend and overcome limitations imposed by our physical environments. Thus, the cultures of some Eskimo groups developed tailored fur clothing, snow goggles, boats and harpoons for hunting sea mammals, and even hemispherical snow houses called igloos.
Similarly, the sedentary, horticultural cultures of some Native American tribes were transformed by the introduction of horses. The horses allowed these tribes to hunt sea mammals, and their riders could carry supplies over long distances. The result was a shift from a hunter/gatherer lifestyle to a rancher/farmer culture.
A major trend in the study of history is a movement towards cultural history, which examines the ways in which a society expresses its values, beliefs and assumptions through its art, music and daily practices, as well as the structures that support these expressions, such as architecture, clothing and cuisine. This new kind of history grew out of the work of philosophers such as Jurgen Habermas, who focused on the public sphere, and Clifford Geertz, who advanced the idea of thick description.
While the culture of a single person or group can be defined as their beliefs, ideas, values and traditions, the culture of a particular time and place is described by examining its artistic, musical and other expressive forms. This is what makes the study of historical culture so interesting, as it reveals the ways in which the past was lived and understood in a given community and time period. The etymology of the word culture also offers insight into how it has evolved through time: “Culture” derives from the French word for cultivation and nurture. It is this kind of evolution that will continue into the future. The dynamism of culture will enable societies to continually respond to the challenges and opportunities that lie before them, just as they have responded throughout history. This is what makes cultural history so fascinating to students, teachers and general readers alike. The essays in this volume exemplify the rich diversity of contemporary work in the field of cultural history. They range from analyses of parades in 19th century America, to 16th century Spanish texts, to medical writing and Italian Renaissance frescoes.
Culture is a learned, shared, symbolic, holistic, dynamic, integrated whole that binds a people together as an all-encompassing system of beliefs, values, attitudes, worldviews, and behaviors. In other words, it’s how a society reaches its goals and fulfills its needs and desires in everyday life. The word “culture” itself has many definitions, but the common themes are that it is learned and shared, and that it includes language, ideas, beliefs, values, customs, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, and ceremonies. In addition, it is characterized as a way of being that consists of ways of greeting one another, paying respect to one another, expressing emotions, and performing tasks. Every sociocultural system exists in a natural habitat, and the natural environment exerts influences upon it. However, the human capacity for cultural adaptation allows us to transcend and overcome limitations imposed by our physical environments. Thus, the cultures of some Eskimo groups developed tailored fur clothing, snow goggles, boats and harpoons for hunting sea mammals, and even hemispherical snow houses called igloos. Similarly, the sedentary, horticultural cultures of some Native American tribes were transformed by the introduction of horses. The horses allowed these tribes to hunt sea mammals, and their riders could carry supplies over long distances. The result was a shift from a hunter/gatherer lifestyle to a rancher/farmer culture. A major trend in the study of history is a movement towards cultural history, which examines the ways in which a society expresses its values, beliefs and assumptions through its art, music and daily practices, as well as the structures that support these expressions, such as architecture, clothing and cuisine. This new kind of history grew out of the work of philosophers such as Jurgen Habermas, who focused on the public sphere, and Clifford Geertz, who advanced the idea of thick description. While the culture of a single person or group can be defined as their beliefs, ideas, values and traditions, the culture of a particular time and place is described by examining its artistic, musical and other expressive forms. This is what makes the study of historical culture so interesting, as it reveals the ways in which the past was lived and understood in a given community and time period. The etymology of the word culture also offers insight into how it has evolved through time: “Culture” derives from the French word for cultivation and nurture. It is this kind of evolution that will continue into the future. The dynamism of culture will enable societies to continually respond to the challenges and opportunities that lie before them, just as they have responded throughout history. This is what makes cultural history so fascinating to students, teachers and general readers alike. The essays in this volume exemplify the rich diversity of contemporary work in the field of cultural history. They range from analyses of parades in 19th century America, to 16th century Spanish texts, to medical writing and Italian Renaissance frescoes.