Culture

Why I choose to take cultural studies is because I needed a humanities credit. Why I decided to not drop cultural studies is because after the first class I became interested in really what culture really is?

Is culture the way you dress? The food you eat? What you do on a Friday night? I think that’s a part of it.

Is culture the way you celebrate holidays? The traditions you follow with your community? I think I’m getting closer.

From what I’ve seen, culture is the way that you act when you are in a particular place at a particular time. If you’re in Chicago in Christmas, you’re probably going to go shopping at Macy’s or something, see the decorated windows, then walk over and see the big tree in Daily Plaza. That’s a tradition that we can follow because it’s part of the culture.

Whether or not you like the traditions of a particular culture, you cannot deny their existence. For example, if you wear Crocs or Uggs, it’s going to say something about you because of our culture. Now a lot of people hate Crocs and a lot of people love Uggs, but wheater or not you hate or love them, you still have to acknowledge them as part of the culture. There’s no getting around that.
I never really thought about culture before, but now I’m interested. What I’ve learned in the past is that everyone is different and has their own story to tell. I know how I live my life and what I think culture is, but until I can understand someone else’s point of view I don’t learn anything. By taking this class I hope that is what I’ll be able to do.