Material culture, tools, weapons, utensils, machines, ornaments, art, buildings, monuments, written records, religious images, clothing, and any other ponderable objects produced or used by humans. If all the human beings in the world ceased to exist, nonmaterial aspects of culture would cease to exist along with them.

The thing to ask [of actions] is what their import is” (pp. 9-10). Geertz argues that culture is “public because meaning is”–systems of meaning are necessarily the collective property of a group.

Typically, cultures change in two ways, through local invention or through cultural diffusion. One of the ways cultures change is through ‘local invention’. An example of this is the social network, Facebook. This new cultural trait, invented by a student at Harvard University, has changed American culture forever.

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.

The major elements of culture are symbols, language, norms, values, and artifacts. Language makes effective social interaction possible and influences how people conceive of concepts and objects.

Folkways are informal rules and norms that, while not offensive to violate, are expected to be followed. Mores (pronounced more-rays) are also informal rules that are not written, but, when violated, result in severe punishments and social sanction upon the individuals, such as social and religious exclusions,.

The five components of culture include symbols, language, values, beliefs and norms. Symbols may be either physical or non-physical. A whole culture can be based on one set of beliefs, yet a larger cultural group may have many different sets of beliefs. Norms are the rules, mores and traditions within a culture.

Culture sentence example. If only she understood our culture better. How long would it take her to adapt to this culture ? A great chapter in the history of culture is filled by the influence of translations of the Bible.

Culture has five basic characteristics: It is learned, shared, based on symbols, integrated, and dynamic. All cultures share these basic features. Culture is learned.

For us, other family values include teamwork, honesty, compassion, a commitment to education, family first (with flexibility), and a commitment to always trying your best. These are the values that your kids will take with them once they set out on their own.

Let’s take a look at some of the Big Five factors (conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness, and extroversion) across cultures.