What is Culture?

Summary

Culture is a multifaceted concept that shapes our identities, experiences, and interactions. It encompasses language, art, and social norms, influencing how we perceive the world and behave within it. It dictates the meaning behind gestures, expressions, and tones, and defines our values and biases. Culture is fluid, evolving through interactions with diverse perspectives. The University of Alberta encourages students to embrace this diversity, reflecting on their own cultural contributions to enrich the global conversation.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Culture encompasses national, regional, provincial, and community identities.
• 🎨 Culture manifests through artifacts such as language, art, fashion, food, stories, and literature.
• 🔍 Culture provides a framework for our perception and experience of the world.
• 🤔 Culture influences the meanings we assign to gestures, facial expressions, body language, and personal space.
• 🗣️ It shapes the connotations behind our tone of voice, volume of speech, and emotional responses to colors.
• 🤝 Culture defines social norms like respect, politeness, friendship, and teaching styles.
• 👥 It dictates our understanding of leadership and followership, and the roles we play in society.
• ⏰ Culture establishes societal timelines and acceptable reasons for actions.
• 🔑 It helps form our concepts of trust, responsibility, and the roles of parents and children at different ages.
• 📚 Culture shapes our moral compass, creating biases and expectations for what should or shouldn't happen.
• 🤷‍♂️ Culture is the underlying answer to many 'why' questions in human conditions.
• 💧 Culture is fluid and dynamic, changing as we interact with diverse cultural settings.
• 🌟 The University of Alberta promotes learning from diversity and encourages self-reflection on one's cultural contributions.

Q & A

What is the primary function of culture according to the script?

Culture provides a framework for how we see and experience the world, dictating meaning into various aspects of life such as gestures, facial expressions, and personal space.

How does culture influence our understanding of respect and politeness?

Culture defines what it looks like to be respectful or polite, shaping our concepts of these behaviors and how they should be exhibited.

In what ways does culture affect our perception of time and punctuality?

Culture dictates what is considered too late and what reasons are acceptable for being late, influencing our understanding of time management and punctuality.

How does culture shape our expectations of roles and responsibilities in life?

Culture helps define the roles that parents and children play and at what age certain responsibilities should set in.

What role does culture play in forming our moral compass?

Culture helps shape our versions of right and wrong, creating our biases and expectations around what should and shouldn't happen in any given context.

How does culture influence our emotional responses to colors?

Culture creates the connotation behind our experience and emotion of colors, affecting how we perceive and react to different hues.

What is the relationship between culture and the way we communicate through voice?

Culture defines the connotation behind tones of voice, volumes of speech, and how these elements contribute to communication.

How can the concept of culture be both fluid and rigid?

Culture is fluid in that it shifts, hardens, adopts, or rejects aspects as we interact with people from other cultural settings, but it can also be rigid in the sense that it provides a set of established norms and expectations.

What is the significance of cultural diversity at the University of Alberta?

The diversity at the University of Alberta provides an opportunity for all to learn from each other, fostering an ongoing conversation and exchange of cultural perspectives.

How can one contribute to the cultural discourse at the University of Alberta?

One can contribute by reflecting on their own cultural identity, the ways of knowing they commonly use, their expectations in certain situations, and how they are part of the cultural exchange.

What is the role of the University of Alberta International in this cultural conversation?

The University of Alberta International welcomes and encourages the participation of all in the ongoing cultural conversation, looking forward to the contributions of each individual.