"Culture, Cultura, Kultur, Cultuur, 文化..."

To be honest, I took these class because I needed a Humanities credit. When I first saw this class I thought it would be about different cultures. Us learning about other cultures, such as; other countries. Never knew we would really go into it, discussing about specific cultures that we have and go through everyday. Going really into it; finding the origin. First day of class, felt like I didn't want to be there at all, but then I started to get interested and really put my mind into it -- understood more about what this class is really about. Really interested. Culture is everywhere. Culture is in everyone's life.

But, what is culture exactly? Where did it come from? Why do we even have culture in our life? There are so many possible answers to define what culture is. Everyone has their own views, ideas, and definition for this word.
In my mind, culture defines who we are in person. From clothes we wear, hobbies we do everyday, type of music we listen to, type of food we eat, tools we carry around all the time, the language we speak, to all types of other things that we have in our life. Can go on forever. Culture divides us, we are all different. If culture never existed, everyone would most likely like the same things, do the same things; in simple words, we would all be the same. You can find culture in a poor community and a rich community, can find it anywhere (in History and you will still see it in the future). Nevertheless, culture will change in the future no doubt about that. It has changed overall and it will keep changing.
Culture is a sea, seeing all different types of things. Language is a major part of it. Where did languages come from? How did Japanese become a language? How did Spanish become a language? I'm in a Latin Culture, Puerto Rican -- speaking spanish most of the time. Everyone should take their time and learn about different cultures. That's what I'm hoping for, learning more about culture in me and culture out in the world at the same time. I'm looking foward for this semester.

From Alex B.

Culture surrounds us in all aspects of our lives as we re-write the history books of the future. Without culture Human beings are nothing other then animals roaming a planets surface. I selected to take this course thinking I was going to be studying a taste of the lifestyles of people all over the globe. However, after week one I am excited to know that this class is going to be much more of a heated debate on what the hell cutural studies even is. Wich brought me to the question, what does culture even mean? I have never really thought about that question prior to this class. Now that I have actually thought about it I have come to the conclusion that culture is who we are as an individual within a greater group. It does not necessarily mean race or gender either. Culture defines who we are on a deeper level. It can represent common intrests, or activities that really describe who we are as people. For instance I feel that my being a musician defines
my culture more then my race does. So clearly music is an enormous part of my culture more so then just being Mexican.

Culture Is as Culture Does

I took Cultural Studies because I changed my major to cultural studies. I am interested in international work, possibly aid or relief efforts; hopefully cultural studies is my way to get where I'm not sure I'm going. 

Culture, for me, is a choice. I think individuals must embrace their culture, or a culture, for it to be theirs. I think a person's choice in music, dress, language, traditions are all part of their culture. I think that people generally choose their culture based on their family or friend's culture, people they know and/or respect. I think people change their cultures for the same reasons. 

I think that culture can be demographic because of this. Generally, people who think alike live alike, though of course not always. The similarities maybe very small or vast, but these similarities are what make a culture. 

But, this is just a theory. After a few weeks of class I maybe changing it. 

What is Culture?

To be completely honest i signed up for my classes really late and when i was going through the limited classes that were still open that also went with my schedule and was part of the required classes i needed to take i came across this class.  At first i was just excited that it fit into my schedule and was a class that filled a requirement but then i read the course description and was intrigued by the class i had randomly come upon.  I am looking forward to the discussions we will be having in class and everything i am going to learn and begin to look at things from a different view point.  

Culture to me is the things you do as a person in your everyday life, everything all together: the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the people you hang out with, where you live, your family background, the way you were raised, and the beliefs you have. Being that there are so many different cultures each person is part of many different cultures that make them up to be the person they are, each person is unique by themselves but with each different cultures brings them together as a group or community. I see culture as a very important part of my life that has helped shape me into who i am today, a change in culture changes who i am and makes me grow as a person.  I cannot imagine what everyone would be like if we all had the exact same culture.

Small Scale Culture

Up until a few years ago, I thought of culture as a person's heritage, origin and the color of their skin. It was nothing but a word thrown around once a year while my high school and junior high recognized the foods and customs of various "cultures" from around the world. Of course, this involved little more than shuffling through the halls, tasting tacos from the Mexico room and spaghetti and garlic bread from Italy. After years of miseducation and bland samples of life outside of the US, I began to feel deceit. It wasn't until college, after taking classes like Culture, Race and Media, that I saw the effect this ignorance had on media, others and myself. I'd like to study this further.

Friends and documentaries shed some light on the ignorance of Americans and our media, but it wasn't until I lived in Berlin, Germany that I realized culture existed on a much smaller scale. Although these people are German, they are part of Berlin's culture, then part of Berlin's art scene, possibly even further than that, sculpture. I'm intrigued by these subcultures and the outlets chosen for self-expression, interaction with others different and alike, and the subsequent level of understanding.

Culture is identity, a way to define a person or group. Take a culture like hippies for example, they are defined by their clothing, hairstyle, their level of activism, their extracuricular activities. I believe we need to categorize these people, perhaps to feel secure with our character and individuality.

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.

Cultural Studies

My friend, Angela, implored me to take this course with Emily. We talked at length about the topics and ideas that this class covers. I'm very excited about taking a course that will both challenge and rattle my preconceived notions of our culture. I know that I am going to take a great deal away from this class with me.

Lately, I've been very interested in our planet. Particularly America and how horribly skewed the perspectives of reality have become. I want to learn how we got to this state, I want to be able to dissect what's going on and understand it from the inside. I am going to change it, and I am going to make this planet beautiful.

culture

I choose this course Cultural Studies not because i needed it as a requirement but because it sounded very interesting. I really did not know what to expect from the class. I wanted to know what the class was all about. Culture interests me because I would like to learn about others culture. I would like to know where it all started and how their culture influences other cultures. I know about my own culture, but it would be nice to step outside the box and learn about other people's culture. By assuming certain things about what others do you automatically think that is what it is all about. I would like to learn the true meaning about others culture. Culture to me means people's traditions and their way of life. We all are different and we all have different cultures, but in a lot of ways all cultures are similar. I want to learn what makes cultures similar and different.

Buddha vs McDonalds

Culture is your environment. Your culture is whatever you make it, in addition to what society makes it. You can be Jewish living in America, but Christmas is still part of your culture. Then again you can be a Christian here and decide to celebrate Hanukkah. Then, Hanukkah becomes your personal culture. Different countries have different cultures and the regions and neighborhoods in those countries hold differing cultures. Culture is embedded in a society, and now as technology is rapidly advancing, cultures are mixed, shared and swapped. We can spend this entire semester ranting about how terrible America is for forcing itself upon other cultures in politics, ways of life, McDonalds; But we rarely examine the benefits of the intercultural relations. If it wasn't for our cultures blending we wouldn't have video games, cars, foods- at least any of the good ones.
I'm really into Buddhism and the Buddhist culture and that wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the ability to learn about it from books, the internet, technology. Granted, Buddha and McDonalds are not typically regarded on the same level, but that's from an American's standpoint. What about the individuals in various countries who think McDonalds is the best restaurant in the world? The fact is, McDonalds is universal and that's because it is making a profit. This post I'm writing is almost surprising myself, because I'm usually the first one to criticize America in every way possible. But this constant criticism yields no positivity or solutions. This is not to say that we should ever disregard the problems, but if we hope to see a change we must look at the situations objectively.

Cultural Studies; Why?

I chose this class initially because I had to take it to earn a required credit. I, and I've been told I'm not alone in this, thought it was a world studies class, in the traditional sense; This week, we'll be covering Africa. Next week, Asia, etc. You get the idea. While I'd be willing to bet that the world is going to be fairly well incorporated, it's been made pretty obvious that the rest of my thoughts are not the case. Now knowing what this class is, I can say why I would have chosen it. Or, at the very least, I can bullshit a very convincing facsimile of why I would have chosen it.

Culture is something that is obviously worth studying. We do it every day, whether we know it or not. Simply by living in it, we are, to an extent, studying the culture around us. What I find so fascinating about culture, particularly modern culture, is how it's defined. Not in the, "Culture means," sense; No, more along the lines of who is a member of what culture(s), and what that culture likes, dislikes, etc. Culture is constantly shifting; each culture is a result of all the ones around it. A culture is almost certainly defined by what it isn't more than what it is.

As for what I think culture is, I think culture is everything. Not being glib. Culture is the attitudes of the people in that culture, the things they do, the music they listen to, the movies and shows they watch, the words they say, the way they say them, etc., etc. It'd be easier to define what culture isn't, but I can't think of anything that isn't defined by culture. Maybe breathing. Yes, we all breathe. That's not really culture-related. Everything that isn't breathing is culture.

Culture Studies Blog post #1

I chose this class mainly because I was a transfer student and as most new students/transfer students know its almost impossible to get any classes because they are all full. However, I do believe in fate and everything happens for a reason, and I knew the second we started talking during out first class I would enjoy it. I absolutely love discussion classes and my past college lacked that as well as the diversity which I am all ready experiencing here at Columbia. 

As I said earlier I didn't exactly choose culture studies it chose me, as cliche as that is; but I believe culture is anything you can prove it is. Whether it is to yourself/friends/family/United States/World. It is a multi layered/culture/vast subject that can never be fully determined or defined. It is also heavily influenced by our backgrounds and lifestyles, I am a adopted kid from New Jersey who grew up in the smallest upper middle class town. My ideas and thoughts were shaped by education, family, friends, and personal experiences, however someone who had the slightest difference of attaining and experiencing all that I have will have a completely different perspective on the world and culture in general.  I think this is what really fascinates me about culture. The only way I can explain my idea of culture is to reference your generic Microsoft powerpoint pie chart. My culture is a mixture of all the percentages that have ever influenced me and my life; a small example would be any of the following; Experiences, music, movies, family, friends etc and so forth. This is what culture is to me, and I hope to learn and evolve my idea of it in this class.

Matt

die Kultur

Cultural is one of the most important attributes a society can have. It’s what makes that society stand out from the world. The most amazing thing is that some of the items or practices in a specific culture can be dated back from the beginning of time. The reason I took this class is to better understand how cultures are different and how some cultures collide with one another.

Culture is the way of life for a specific society. Some might say that as Americans our culture revolves around electronics and having the ability to transfer/learn information in a matter of milliseconds. While other cultures, let’s just say in Africa, go around the same culture or "way of life" that they have been doing for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Culture is the key into a group of people and I hope that this class can open up my eyes even wider to recognize this. I want to be able to see what makes a certain society/group of people live their life compared to the oh so wonderful "American way of life." I believe we as Americans have lost that special something we all once had.

First Blog (What is Culture?)

I chose to take a Cultural Studies class because I can't help but think about why we do what we do as a society. Last semester I enrolled in an Anthropology class and enjoyed the way I was challenged to take a non-bias approach to interrupting the actions and symbols of a culture. Cultural Studies seems to be a more direct approach to looking at how out interactions, traditions, popular beliefs, etcetera, shape our society's culture. 

I'm interested in how and when habits, taboos, attitudes, traditions in our society originated. I like stepping back and attempting to look at my own and other cultures from an outside perspective. Similar to the crew of Star Trek (geek alert!) landing on another planet and encountering another civilization's culture and trying to understand why they act the way they do...how is their behavior is shaped by their environment, their past, their leadership, their diet, their physical bodies, their gods, their ignorance, their discoveries? No doubt all of these influences plus many, many more shape a society's cultures form generation to generation.

I believe culture also refers to how our relationships with each other, i.e. society, determine in part the path a civilization heads down. I'm becoming more and more interested in history as I get older and it seems looking at the culture of a particular era really helps shed light on why certain events took place. It's also interesting to see what parts of our nation's culture is highlighted and which parts downplayed in history textbooks and literature that examine our past. 

I look forward to studying culture in this class and was pleasantly surprised that the "theory Toolbox" starts off with lyrics from a 'Gang of Four' song!   

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Culture to me means: "A way of life" of large groups or group of people that have the same beliefs,values,ideas and thinking. I choose a Cultural Studies class to help me understand why other cultures are diffrent than my own. And to get answers to questions i often think about. For instance "Does the word "cult" have anything to do with culture?"And why do other countries have a diffrent interpataion of marriage, family values and beliefs. I look forward to learn how other cultures do the things they do and why.