Defining Culture :: Essays Papers

Defining Culture Anthropologists define the term culture in a variety of ways, but there are certain shared features of the definition that virtually all anthropologists agree on. Culture is a shared, socially transmitted knowledge and behavior. The key features of this definition of culture are as follows. 1) Culture is shared among the members of that particular society or group. Thus, people share a common cultural identity, meaning that they recognize themselves and their culture's traditions as distinct from other people and other traditions. 2) Culture is socially transmitted from others while growing up in a certain environment, group, or society. The transmission of cultural knowledge to the next generation by means of social learning is referred to as enculturation or socialization. 3) Culture profoundly affects the knowledge, actions, and feelings of the people in that particular society or group. This concept is often referred to as cultural knowledge that leads to behavior that is meaning ful to others and adaptive to the natural and social environment of that particular culture. Some anthropologists prefer to conceptualize culture as a mental phenomenon where individuals learn culture and carry it in their heads ("cultural baggage"). From this view actual behavior is not part of culture, but is a product of culture. This view of culture is called the ideational conception of culture. A broader view of culture includes the behavior of individuals, in addition to the ideas, values, and other mental phenomenon. This view of culture encompasses the way of life of a particular group of people. One should keep in mind that people within a culture share ideas, values, opinions, etc., but they are not universal among all the people in that culture. The word culture is often used to emphasize the most unique aspects of a people's customs and beliefs. Thus, to refer to the culture of a people or group is to call attention to all the things that make that group different or distinctive from others. When anthropologists compare different cultures they do not mean that one culture is better or worse than another culture.

Themes in Things Fall Apart

In Chinua Achebe's acclaimed novel, Things Fall Apart, there are various themes which make up the complexity and richness of the story. Although it is a work of fiction, Achebe touches upon contemporary issues involving Africa and colonialism. Colonialism is defined as political control over another country. Often this means exploiting its resources and tampering with the precious culture of the people. Post- colonial Africa is still trying to recover, by trying to adapt a mindset of what it truly means to be an African.Achebe explores these issues through his own African roots nd portrays what he believes is the true essence of African culture. One major theme of the novel is language. Language is the most effective and prominently used tool for communicating to other people. It is clear that speech is used in a different form depending on who is addressed. For example, when addressing an Igbo god or an ancestral spirit, one uses a formal tone of speech. This is to show a sign of re spect.Similarly, when people of the tribe approach and speak to Okonkwo, they use a similar tone. They respect Okonkwo for his many feats including beating Amalinze the cat. For this reason, they reflect their feeling in their speech. A significant speech barrier occurred between the Christian Missionaires. In order to communicate with the people they were required to use an interpretor. An interpretor does not always deliver the message precisely, causing severe lines of miscommunication.Eventually, these unclear communication lines could lead to ignorance among the two peoples. Another form of communication in the tribe are the folktales and proverbs. This is the Igbo peoples way of communicating their values to the younger generations. Language plays a very important role in their society, and the loss of their language is a tremendous loss of their culture. Another important theme in the novel is the theme of gender. Gender roles are central to Igbo society. To understand Igbo w orldview it is essential to understand the cultural gender roles.Even the crops are separated by male and female; in example, the yam is said to be a male crop. Males are expected to be masculine in every sense of the word. They should be physically strong and equally as violent. They are not to show emotion because that is considered a sign of weakness. For instance, Okonkwo rarely shows affection towards his children because that would be a weak sign of emotion. Due to this fact, men in the Igbo culture are assigned the role of warriors and hunters.The men do all of the hard labor and interact largely within the public sphere. On the other hand, women are viewed as weak because they do not physically compare to men. In a similar way, woman display emotions which supposedly diminishes their strength. However, women dominate the private sphere. Their role is to raise the family, clean the home, cook, etc. It is a bit ironic that the mportant Job of raising the children is given to t he â€Å"weaker† sex; Achebe touches upon this fact.The character of Okonkwo takes the idealology of masculinity too far. He suffers from patrophobia because he does not want to be like his father who was lazy and weak. For this reason he is cold towards his children and eventually kills his adoptive son Nwoye. Achebe makes it clear that these actions are not acceptable within the community. There must always be a balance between feminine and Additionally, the theme of religion is one prominently discussed within the novel. The Igbo people have a religion that is based upon the earth.Their entire culture revolves around agriculture and the mystery of nature and the seasons; therefore, they worship gods and goddesses which will help them in this dominating aspect of their lives. The people are fearful that if they commit a sin against their god that they will be punished by way of crop elimination or natural disaster. Also, considering the central role of family, ancestral spi rits are extremely important to the Igbo people. It is imperative that the people do not forget their ancestors, for they believe that if they give thanks to them, then they in spirit will reward them in return.The ancestral spirits are respected to the point that Judges in trials (masked elders) represent the ancestors who were wise and Just in decision making. During colonialism, Christian missionaries pushed the idea of a singular monolithic God. This idea was very foreign to the people and seemed irrevelvent to Igbo lifestyle. Some Igbo people accepted this new idea, however others remained firm in their beliefs. This shows the Igbo peoples open-mindedness when it comes to the spiritual world. To demean their spiritual nature would be to degrade their culture.

40 Topic Suggestions for a Descriptive Paragraph

Descriptive writing calls for close attention to factual and  sensory details: show, dont tell. Whether your subject is as small as a strawberry or as large as a fruit farm,  you should begin by observing your subject closely. Examine it with all five senses, and write down any details and descriptions that come to mind. Next, go a little further afield with your list and associate your chosen topic or object with memories, opinions, and impressions. This list may give you some ideas for metaphors and possibly even a direction for your  paragraph or essay. Then make a list of verbs that could be  associated with your topic or object. This will help you have more variety than just buzzing be verbs and keep the writing and imagery descriptive and active. After your brainstorming phase, go through your list and decide which details and descriptions you like the most and are significant. Dont cross off the others, though. At this point in the project, you want to be open to any direction your imagination and writing take you. Good advice from Steven King from his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft: If you want to be a successful writer, you must be able to describe [your subject], and in a way that will cause your reader to prickle with recognition....Thin description leaves the reader feeling bewildered and nearsighted. Overdescription buries him or her in details and images. The trick is to find a happy medium. 40 Topic Suggestions To get you  started,  here are 40 topic suggestions for a descriptive paragraph, essay, or speech.  These suggestions should help you discover a subject that especially  interests  you. If you dont start out with a topic that youre willing to spend some time with, your writing will show your lack of enthusiasm. If 40 is not enough, try this list of  more than 400 writing topics. If you need some advice for the drafting phase, see  Composing Descriptive Paragraphs and Essays and  How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph. a waiting rooma basketball, baseball glove, or tennis racketa smartphonea treasured belonginga laptop computera favorite restaurantyour dream houseyour ideal roommatea closetyour memory of a place that you visited as a childa lockeran accident scenea city bus or subway trainan unusual rooma childs secret hiding placea bowl of fruitan item left too long in your refrigeratorbackstage during a play or a concerta vase of flowersa restroom in a service stationa street that leads to your home or schoolyour favorite foodthe inside of a spaceshipthe scene at a concert or athletic eventan art exhibitan ideal apartmentyour old neighborhooda small town cemeterya pizzaa peta photographa hospital emergency rooma particular friend or family membera paintinga storefront windowan inspiring viewa work tablea character from a book, movie, or television programa refrigerator or washing machinea Halloween costume Source King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Scribner, 2000.