Reflection 4

Reflection paper #4: Read “Culture: What It Is” and “Transformation: Creating Context, Part 2.” What new insights have you gained about culture and intercultural competence.
The word culture has been defined many times over. Many anthropologists and social scientists have many different perspectives on what the true definition of culture is. I thought that this discussion of culture was very interesting and it stretched my views of what culture really is. I decided that many (but not all) of these views are sound and logical and represented different context of the word culture. Edward Burnett Tylor’s view I believe is the most common and also is more the consensus of what most people would state as an official definition of culture. Edward Burnett Tylor is considered to be the father of cultural anthropology and he defined culture in a nutshell as being everything that you have learned as a member of the society you reside in – beliefs, values, customs, knowledge, habits acquired, laws, art. This very broad spectrum of culture, in my opinion, lent many other anthropologists and social scientists a segway into a more compartmentalized and diverse view of what culture means. Culture can be defined as something that is enjoyed by the elite and wealthy people of our society. Although they are considered a minority group, they very much set the standard in fashion and art and many aspire to partake of their world. Matthew Arnold was an English poet and he is allotted recognition for defining this premise as high culture – enjoying fine cuisine haute Couture (high fashion), music and the arts. There were so many different but I believe that they all can agree that culture is communication.
Intercultural competence is successfully being able to communicate well with others from cultures other than your own. The article was very insightful in gaining an understanding of different cultures. I realized that something as simple as a handshake may be considered disrespectful in a different culture. Standing to close to someone may be internalized as offensive in another’s culture. Another very rude and unwelcomed behavior in some cultures is directly staring someone in the eyes. This is considered to be very rude by the Native Americans. There is so much to be aware of and considered when living in a multi cultured society and an educator must take painstaking measures to acknowledge these differences and still be able to conduct and formulate one’s own culture in a classroom where all is treated as equals.