Understanding Culture

Understanding Culture

We often define culture around what is called objective culture: The artifacts and visions created by a group of interacting people, such as their political and economic systems, expressions of art, architecture, literature, dance, heroes, holidays, and collective history. Another aspect of culture is called subjective culture: Learned and shared values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of a group of interacting people.

Step 1:

Ask your students to give definitions and illustrations of the following components of subjective culture:

• National
• ethnic
• regional
• gender
• socio-economic/social class
• educational level
• religious
• political
• age
• physical ability
• sexual orientation
• organizational
• departmental

Step 2:

Do a cultural self-analysis/awareness. Have each student complete the following activity, perhaps using their parents as assistants.

1. Name three or more cultures in which you participate using the definitions given for objective and subjective cultures.
2. Name one culture with which you particularly identify. Why do you feel this way?
3. What is a stereotype about your culture that you feel does NOT apply to you?
4. Stereotypes usually start somewhere and there was usually a grain of truth in them at some point. Can you explain the background, or reason, for a stereotype being assigned to some group?