Jan
10
whats culture?
Posted by: Brian | January 10, 2009 | Comments Off on whats culture?
What is culture?
The first article in my opinion was difficult to understand. I am not sure but I think that for the author education is an important aspect of a culture, and in this article for the case of London. I think that the author says that if people develop their skills the society as a whole will be better. I agree with this point because I think everybody should have access to education.
I liked the second article better. I think that the author makes some good points when talking about the creation of the concept of “culture”. I understood that because nowadays because of the global world boundaries are disappearing and we as the people of the society are creating mental schemas to separate the self and the other. I think that years ago when people did not travel as they do now there was not a necessity to define all the aspects that make a culture unique. Nowadays, this has changed because now people need to feel identify to others by sharing practices and believes. When differencing between the self and the other some other issues get involved such as the binaries of what is “normal” and what is “different”. For example, when one compares his/her culture with a different one he or she will see his/her customs as “normal” and the others as “different” or “exotic”.
I think that even though each society shares values and costumes it has also special aspects within it that is why it is not good to generalize all the different cultures. I think that the author in one part of the article explains that it is easier for people to talk about another society by using the word culture because it simplifies that society to general aspects of it.
I liked the second article because the author explains that we should critically see other cultures and to understand that each culture has different aspects and that might seem very simple or different but that is not a reason to see those aspects as less important.
