cultural

of or relating to the arts and manners that a group favors

"cultural events"

"a person of broad cultural interests" denoting or deriving from or distinctive of the ways of living built up by a group of people

"influenced by ethnic and cultural ties"- J.F.Kennedy

"ethnic food" of or relating to the shared knowledge and values of a society

"cultural roots" relating to the raising of plants or animals

"a cultural variety"

The word ''culture'', from the Latin root colere (to inhabit, to cultivate, or to honor), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. Different definitions of "culture" reflect different theoretical orientations for understanding, or criteria for valuing, human activity. Anthropologists most commonly use the term "culture" to refer to the universal human capacity to classify, codify and communicate their experiences symbolsymbolically. This capacity is a defining feature of the genus ''homo (genus)Homo''.

Defining culture - Different definitions of ''culture'' reflect different theories for understanding - or criteria for valuing - human activity.Edward Burnett Tylor Sir Edward B. Tylor wrote in 1871 that "culture or civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society", while a 2002 document from the United Nations agency UNESCO states that culture is the "set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs". !http://www.unesco.org/educatio n/imld_2002/unversal_decla.sht ml? UNESCO, 2002 While these two definitions range widely, they do not exhaust the many uses of this concept - in 1952 Alfred L. KroeberAlfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of more than 200 different definitions of ''culture'' in their book, ''Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions'' Kroeber - and Kluckhohn, 1952.

Culture as civilization - Many people today use a conception of "culture" that developed in Europe during the 18th and early 19th centuries. This idea of culture then reflected inequalities within European societies, and between European powers and their colonies around the world. It identifies "culture" with "civilization" and contrasts the combined concept with "nature". According to this thinking, one can classify some countries as more civilized than others, and some people as more cultured than others. Thus some cultural theorists have actually tried to eliminate popular or mass culture from the definition of culture. Theorists like Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) or F. R. Leavis the Leavises regard culture as simply the result of "the best that has been thought and said in the world” (Arnold, 1960: 6), thus labeling anything that doesn't fit into this category as chaos or anarchy. On this account, culture links closely with social cultivation: the progressive refinement of human behavior. Arnold consistently uses the word this way: "... culture being a pursuit of our total perfection by means of getting to know, on all the matters which most concern us, the best which has been thought and said in the world". !http://www.library.utoronto.ca /utel/nonfiction_u/arnoldm_ca/ ca_all.html? Arnold, 1882 In practice, ''culture'' referred to elite élite goods and activities such as ''haute cuisine'', high fashion or ''haute couture'', museum-caliber art and European classical musicclassical music, and the word ''cultured'' described people who knew about, and took part in, these activities. For example, someone who used 'culture' in the sense of 'cultivation' might argue that European classical musicclassical music "is" more refined than music produced by working-class people such as punk rock or than the indigenous music traditions of aboriginal peoples of Australia.People who use "culture" in this way tend not to use it in the plural as "cultures". They do not believe that distinct cultures exist, each with their own internal logic and values; but rather that only a single standard of refinement suffices, against which one can measure all groups. Thus, according to this worldview, people with different customs from those who regard themselves as cultured do not usually count as "having a different culture"; but class as "uncultured". People lacking "culture" often seemed more "natural," and observers often defended (or criticized) elements of high culture for repressing "human nature".From the 18th century onwards, some social critics have accepted this contrast between cultured and uncultured, but have stressed the interpretation of refinement and of sophistication as corrupting and unnatural developments which obscure and distort people's essential nature. On this account, folk music (as produced by working-class people) honestly expresses a natural way of life, and classical music seems superficial and decadent. Equally, this view often portrays non-Western cultureWestern people as 'noble savages' living authenticity (philosophy) authentic unblemished lives, uncomplicated and uncorrupted by the highly-stratified capitalism capitalist systems of western culture the West.Today most social scientists reject the monadic conception of culture, and the opposition of culture to nature (innate) nature. They recognize non-élites as just as cultured as élites (and non-Westerners as just as civilized) - simply regarding them as just cultured in a different way. Thus social observers contrast the "high" culture of élites to Popular culture"popular" or pop culture, meaning goods and activities produced for, and consumed by, non-élite people or the proletariatmasses. (Note that some classifications relegate both high culturehigh and low culturelow cultures to the status of subcultures.)

Culture as worldview - During the Romantic era, scholars in Germany, especially those concerned with nationalism nationalist movements -- such as the nationalist struggle to create a "Germany" out of diverse principalities, and the nationalist struggles by ethnic minorities against the Austro-Hungarian Empire -- developed a more inclusive notion of culture as "worldview". In this mode of thought, a distinct and incommensurable world view characterizes each ethnic group. Although more inclusive than earlier views, this approach to culture still allowed for distinctions between "civilized" and "primitive" or "tribal" cultures.By the late 19th century, anthropology anthropologists had adopted and adapted the term ''culture'' to a broader definition that they could apply to a wider variety of societies. Attentive to the theory of evolution, they assumed that all human beings evolved equally, and that the fact that all humans have cultures must in some way result from human evolution. They also showed some reluctance to use biological evolution to explain differences between specific cultures -- an approach that either exemplified a form of, or legitimized forms of, racism. They believed that biological evolution would produce a most inclusive notion of culture, a concept that anthropologists could apply equally to non-literate and to literate societies, or to nomadic and to sedentary societies. They argued that through the course of their evolution, human beings evolved a universal human capacity to classify experiences, and to encode and communicate them symbolsymbolically. Since human individuals learned and taught these symbolic systems, the systems began to develop independently of biological evolution (in other words, one human being can learn a belief, value, or way of doing something from another, even if the two humans do not share a biological relationship). That this capacity for symbolic thinking and social learning stems from human evolution confounds older arguments about nature versus nurture. Thus Clifford Geertz (1973: 33 ff.) has argued that human physiology and neurology developed in conjunction with the first cultural activities, and Middleton (1990: 17 n.27) concluded that human "'instincts' were culturally formed".People living apart from one another develop unique cultures, but elements of different cultures can easily spread from one group of people to another. Culture changes dynamically and people can (must?) teach and learn culture, making it a potentially rapid form of adaptation (biology)adaptation to change in physical conditions. Anthropologists view culture as not only as a product of biological evolution but as a supplement to it, as the main means of human adaptation to the world. This view of culture as a symbolic system with adaptive functions, and one which varies from place to place, led anthropologists to conceive of different cultures as defined by distinct patterns (or structures) of enduring, arbitrary, conventional sets of meaning, which took concrete form in a variety of artifacts such as myths and rituals, tools, the design of housing, and the planning of villages. Anthropologists thus distinguish between material culture and symbolic culture, not only because each reflects different kinds of human activity, but also because they constitute different kinds of data that require different methodologies.This view of culture, which came to dominate between World War I and World War II, implied that each culture had bounds and demanded interpretation as a whole, on its own terms. There resulted a belief in cultural relativism; the belief that one had to understand an individual's actions in terms of his or her culture; that one had to understand a specific cultural artifact (a ritual, for example) in terms of the larger symbolic system of which it forms a part. Nevertheless, the belief that culture comprises symbolical codes and can thus pass via teaching from one person to another meant that cultures, although bounded, would change. Cultural change could result from invention and innovation, but it could also result from contact between two cultures. Under peaceful conditions, contact between two cultures can lead to people "borrowing" (really, learning) from one another (diffusion (anthropology)diffusion or transculturation). Under conditions of violence or political inequality, however, people of one society can "steal" cultural artifacts from another, or impose cultural artifacts on another (acculturation). Diffusion of innovations theory presents a research-based model for how, when and why people adopt new ideas.All human societies have participated in these processes of diffusion, transculturation, and acculturation, and few anthropologists today see cultures as bounded. Modern anthropologists argue that instead of understanding a cultural artifact in terms of its own culture, one needs to understand it in terms of a broader history involving contact and relations with other cultures.In addition to the aforementioned processes, migration on a major scale has characterized the world, particularly since the days of Columbus. Phenomena such as colonialismcolonial expansion and forced migration through slavery became prominent. As a result, many societies have become culturally heterogeneous. Some anthropologists have argued nevertheless that some unifying cultural system bound heterogeneous societies, and that it offers advantages to understand heterogenous elements as subcultures. Others have argued that no unifying or coordinating cultural system exists, and that one must understand heterogeneous elements together as forming a multicultural society. The spread of the doctrine of multiculturalism has coincided with a resurgence of identity politics, which involve demands for the recognition of social subgroups' cultural uniqueness.Sociobiological theorySociobiologists argue that observers can best understand many aspects of culture in the light of the concept of the ''meme'', first introduced by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book ''The Selfish Gene''. Dawkins suggests the existence of units of culture - ''memes'' - roughly analogous to ''genes'' in evolutionary biology. Although this view has gained some popular currency, anthropologists generally reject it.

Culture as values, norms, and artifacts - Another common way of understanding culture sees it as consisting of three elements: # !''Value#Personal_and_cultural_ valuesvalues''# ''Norm (sociology)norms''#''Artifact (archaeology)artifacts.'' (See ''Dictionary of Modern Sociology'', 1969, 93, cited at info.gov.hk)Values comprise ideas about what in life seems important. They guide the rest of the culture. Norms consist of expectations of how people will behave in different situations. Each culture has different methods, called ''sanctions'', of enforcing its norms. Sanctions vary with the importance of the norm; norms that a society enforces formally have the status of ''laws''. Artifacts — things, or material culture — derive from the culture's values and norms.Julian Huxley gives a slightly different division, into inter-related "mentifacts", "socifacts" and "artifacts", for ideological, sociological, and technological subsystems respectively. Socialization, in Huxley's view, depends on the belief subsystem. The sociological subsystem governs interaction between people. Material objects and their use make up the technological subsystem. fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us As a rule, archaeologyarcheologists focus on material culture whereas cultural anthropologycultural anthropologists focus on symbolic culture, although ultimately both groups maintain interests in the relationships between these two dimensions. Moreover, anthropologists understand "culture" to refer not only to consumption goods, but to the general processes which produce such goods and give them meaning, and to the social relationships and practices in which such objects and processes become embedded.

Culture as patterns of products and activities - In the early 20th century, cultural anthropology anthropologists understood culture to refer not to a set of discrete products or activities (whether material or symbolic) but rather to underlying patterns of products and activities. Moreover, they assumed that such patterns had clear bounds (thus, some people confuse "culture" with the society that has a particular culture). In the case of smaller societies, in which people merely fell into categories of age, gender, household and descent group, anthropologists believed that people more-or-less shared the same set of values and conventions. In the case of larger societies, in which people undergo further categorization by region, race, ethnicity, and social class class, anthropologists came to believe that members of the same society often had highly contrasting values and conventions. They thus used the term subculture to identify the cultures of parts of larger societies. Since subcultures reflect the position of a segment of society ''vis a vis'' other segments and the society as a whole, they often reveal processes of domination and resistance.The 20th century also saw the popularization of the idea of corporate culture - distinct and malleable within the context of an employing organization or of a workplace.

Culture as Symbols - The symbolic view of culture, the legacy of Clifford Geertz (1973) and Victor Turner (1967), holds symbols to be both the practices of social actors and the context that gives such practices meaning. Anthony P. Cohen (1985) writes of the "symbolic gloss" which allows social actors to use common symbols to communicate and understand each other while still imbuing these symbols with personal significance and meanings. Symbols provide the limits of cultured thought. Members of a culture rely on these symbols to frame their thoughts and expressions in intelligible terms. In short, symbols make culture possible, reproducible and readable. They are the "webs of significance" in Weber's sense that, to quote Pierre Bourdieu (1977), "give regularity, unity and systematicity to the practices of a group...".

Culture as stabilizing mechanism - Modern cultural theory also considers the possibility that (a)culture itself is a product of stabilization tendencies inherentin evolutionary pressures toward self-similarity and self-cognition of societies as wholes, or tribalisms. SeeSteven Wolfram "A new kind of science" on iterated simple algorithms from genetic unfolding, from which the concept of culture as an operating mechanism can be developed, and Richard Dawkins "The extended phenotype" for discussion of genetic and memetic stability over time, through negative feedback mechanisms, such as Wikipedia.

Cultural change - Cultures, by predisposition, both embrace and resist change dependence of culture traits. For example, men and women have complementary roles in many cultures. One sex might desire changes that affect the other, as happened in the second half of the 20th century in western cultures.Cultural change can come about due to the environment, to inventions (and other internal influences), and to contact with other cultures. For example, the end of the last ice age helped lead to the invention of agriculture, which in its turn brought about many cultural innovations.In diffusion (anthropology)diffusion, the form of something moves from one culture to another, but not its meaning. For example, hamburgers, mundane in the United States, seemed exotic when introduced into China. "Stimulus diffusion" refers to an element of one culture leading to an invention in another. Diffusions of innovations theory presents a research-based model for why and when individuals and cultures adopt new ideas, practices, and !products."Acculturation&q uot;? has different meanings, but in this context refers to replacement of the traits of one culture with those of another, such as happened to certain Indigenous peoples of the AmericasNative American tribes and to many indigenous peoples across the globe during the process of colonization .Related processes on an individual level include assimilation (adoption of a different culture by an individual) and transculturation.

Propagating culture - Insofar as culture grows and changes naturally within human society, it requires little or no formal propagation. Family Families or age-based peer group peer-groups will instinctively foster (and develop) their own cultural norms.But few cultures act in such a ''laissez faire'' manner. Most societies develop some sort of religion or similar basis for inculcating and preserving established or "correct" cultural behavior. And many societies take the task of education out of the hands of priests and shamans and place it on a wider footing, so that the young (at least) gain a practical and emotional identification with a standardised version of their nurturing culture.Groups of immigrants, exiles, or minorities often form cultural associations or clubs to preserve their own cultural roots in the face of a surrounding (generally more locally-dominant) culture. Thus the world has acquired many Garibaldi Clubs, Pushkin Societies, and underground schools.On a broader scale, many countries market their cultural heritage internationally. This occurs not only in the promotion of tourism (importing money), but also in cultural development abroad (exporting ideas). Note the roles of cultural attachés in embassies and the function of specific organizations devoted to propagating the mother-culture, its language and its ideologies abroad, for example the work of:

the Alliance française

the British Council

the Fulbright Program

the Goethe-Institut

the Instituto Cervantes

Cultural studies - Cultural studies developed in the late 20th century, in part through the re-introduction of Marxist thought into sociology, and in part through the articulation (sociology) articulation of sociology and other academic disciplines such as literary criticism. This movement aimed to focus on the analysis of subcultures in capitalist societies. Following the non-anthropological tradition, cultural studies generally focus on the study of consumption goods (such as fashion, art, and literature). Because the 18th- and 19th-century distinction between "high" and "low" culture seems inappropriate to apply to the mass-produced and mass-marketed consumption goods which cultural studies analyses, these scholars refer instead to "popular culture".Today, some anthropology anthropologists have joined the project of cultural studies. Most, however, reject the identification of culture with consumption goods. Furthermore, many now reject the notion of culture as bounded, and consequently reject the notion of subculture. Instead, they see culture as a complex web of shifting patterns that link people in different locales and that link social formations of different scales. According to this view, any group can construct its own cultural identity.

Sample list of cultures -

Cultures of contemporary countries and regions - ''Main article: List of national culture articles.''

Culture of AlbaniaAlbania

Culture of AngolaAngola

Culture of AustraliaAustralia

Culture of BelgiumBelgium

Culture of BhutanBhutan

Culture of BrazilBrazil

Culture of Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina

Culture of CanadaCanada

*Culture of QuebecQuebec

*Political culture of Canada

Culture of ChileChile

Culture of ChinaChina

*Culture of Hong KongHong Kong

Culture of DenmarkDenmark

Culture of EgyptEgypt

Culture of FinlandFinland

casa persa centro cultural hispano irani
casa persa en calle silva nº 5 quinta planta madrid os ofrece la posibilidad de intercambiar y disfrutar de la ,musica, poesia, etc..gastronomia de las culturas Hispana e Irani
http://www.casapersa.com/

Rustavi Choir
Georgian traditional choral music
http://www.rustavi.org/

Gori Women's Choir
Georgian contemporary choral music
http://www.archaica.org

Study Russian in Russia
Individual and group Russian courses with Linguamir language and cultural center on the Volga river, Russia; excursions and tours, cultural studies
http://www.linguamir.com/

La tertulia de La Granja
Tertulia literaria en el café La Granja de Bilbao
http://www.latertuliadelagranja.com/

Hellenic Cultural Society of San Diego
The Hellenic Cultural Society of San Diego, California, is a not-for-profit corporation, working to focus attention on the accomplishments of the Hellenes. It is dedicated to preserving and promoting the great work of the philosophers, historians, scientists, mathematicians, writers, artists and other brilliant minds of Greek origin. It advocates returning American educational institutions to the teaching of the traditional history and culture of Western Civilization, which has its roots in Greece and is a most important element of our democratic heritage. Our Society's efforts are extremely important because today's children are being denied knowledge of the enormous contributions the ancient classical to modern Greeks made to the world. We have a duty to make certain that everyone knows the truth - as stated by Sir Henry Sumner Maine's dictum: Except for the blind forces of Nature, nothings moves on this earth that is not Greek in its origin.
http://www.hellenic-culture.org/

Miami Art Central
Miami Art Central (MAC) is a not-for-profit institution dedicated to the presentation of exhibitions and programs that explore contemporary art and culture. Our mission is to provide an alternative, experimental space with a multidisciplinary focus. MAC is committed to stimulating and nurturing a dialogue with the various communities of South Florida and beyond. Support for Miami Art Central is provided by the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation.
http://www.miamiartcentral.org/

Tennessee Association of Museums
State museum association website to encourage the establishment and improve the practices of museums in Tennessee; to stimulate public interest in, support for and understanding of museums; to provide for the interchange of ideas'a nd to encourage cooperation among museums and museum personnel.
http://www.tnmuseums.org/

Cross- cultural and professional coaching
Coaching for individuals who life holding on to two cultures and bridge them in their professional and personal lives. Cross cultural provides the clarity and support for the cultural translation that needs to take place at work, home school and play. Get coaching from an experienced coach who translates and bridgtes cultures every day and learned how to enjoy it, and celebrate it.
http://www.adinacoaching.com/

InsiderEntertainment.com
InsiderEntertainment.com ~ the premier creative online manual for metropolitan individuals seeking entertainment and enjoyment in their professional, social and cultural endeavours.
http://www.insiderentertainment.com/

LLinars del Vallés
Política local de llinars del valles valles oriental mall
http://www.llinarsdelvalles.net/

Discover Southern Spain
Fully inclusive guided & self-guided walking holidays in the beautiful Axarquia. Tel: +44 07940 209 292; email enquiries@walk-andalucia.com or visit www.walk-andalucia.com
http://www.walk-andalucia.com/

HOTEL SAN JOSE Costa Rica
two single rooms, tree double rooms with shared bathroom. One double bed room with prived bathroom and living
http://www.hotelbbsanjose.com/

DAVAO - SAMAL ISLAND
Information about Davao and Samal Island
http://www.samalisland.de/

Itanos Municipality, Crete,Vai, Palekastro, Zakros
The Eastern most municipality in Crete, perhaps the best choice for your holidays
http://www.palaikastro.com/

South King County Cultural Coalition
A coalition of arts & heritage organizations in South King County, WA that share ideas, support & marketing. Our website highlights each group & has a calendar for our events.
http://www.sococulture.org/

champa human rights
Human rights, history, culture.etc
http://www.champa-hr.org/

Iraq Pavilion
Contemporart art and communications.
http://www.iraqpavilion.com/

Worldheritage-Forum
Webloh on Cultural Heritage and Cultural Tourism Issues.
http://www.worldheritage-forum.net/

Pagina de la ciudad de Jódar (Jaén)
Pagina para conocer la ciudad de Jódar (Jaén)en el Parque Natural de Sierra Mágina.
http://www.saudar.com/

Grand Center
Grand Center is the arts and culture district of St. Louis. This is its mission and vision, We are the cultural soul of the city. We are its right brain. Its once and future kingdom of arts and entertainment. We open minds and nourish spirits. We broaden horizons and indulge fantasies. We are a melting pot of creative juices. We are the center of all that feeds the mind, body and soul.
http://www.grandcenter.org/

The Revolutionary Poets Society
Post Poetry and have discussions, without restriction to content, freedom of speech is here
http://www.therevolutionarypoetssociety.net/

The WHEEL COUNCIL - Wholistic Health Education and Empowerment for Life
The WHEEL Council is a leader in storytelling for prevention and healing and accelerated, multicultural learning. We try to prevent young people from engaging in risky behaviors including unprotected sex, drugs and alcohol abuse.
http://www.wheelcouncil.org

The Siam Society
The Siam Society - Thailand promotes the preservation of Thai heritage, culture, art, nature, wildlife, flora, through its study trips, lectures, museum, exhibitions, and publications. The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage was originally established in 1904 by Thai and foreign residents of Bangkok for those interested in the study of artistic, scientific and other cultural affairs of Thailand and the ways in which they relate to those of neighbouring countries. Today, The Siam Society continues to operate as a non-profit organization dedicated to its founding cause.
http://www.siam-society.org/

Christos Prossylis - Χρήστος Προσύλης
the personal web site of the film director, theatre director, new media artist and writer Christos Prossylis
http://www.prossylis.com/

Mardi Gras Indians
Mardi Gras is full of secrets and the Mardi Gras Indians are as much a part of that secret society as any other carnival organization. The Mardi Gras Indians are comprised, in large part, of the blacks of New Orleans' inner cities. They have paraded for well over a century...yet their parade is perhaps the least recognized Mardi Gras tradition.
http://www.mardigrasindians.com/

The Ojai Retreat & Cultural Center
Set on a 5-acre hill in the west of the Ojai Valley, the Ojai Retreat is an island of tranquility with breathtaking views. Overnight guests have a choice of 12 individually-styled rooms. We also organize cultural events that serve to uplift the spirit, improve the environment, or heal the mindand body.
http://www.ojairetreat.com/

Chiang Mai, Thailand - All About Chiang Mai Thailand. Complete Guide to Chiang Mai Thailand. Welcome to Chiangmai, Thailand
Chiang Mai, Thailand - Complete Websites Guide to Chiangmai, Thailand. Hotel Reservation, Shopping, Travel to Thailand Vocation, Tour, information, Map, Medical Center, Culture & History of Chiangmai Thailand
http://www.chiangmai-thai.com/

Web pages of tourist board of town Nova Gradiska
Tourist board of town Nova Gradiska, Croatia, Europe.
http://www.tzgng.hr/

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
Encourages international peace and universal respect by promoting collaboration among nations. Conducts studies, facilitates knowledge sharing, and develops standards.
http://www.unesco.org/

Cultural Survival
Advocates the rights, voice and vision of indigenous peoples and their ability to determine their own futures on their own lands. The website draws attention to the issues confronting indigenous peoples, and promotes the cause of self-determination.
http://www.cs.org/

Cross-Cultural Solutions (CSS)
Travel abroad, volunteer, and help overseas. CCS manages numerous volunteer service programs and insight tours in Asia, Africa, Russia, and South America.
http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/

Australia's Cultural Network
The online gateway to Australian cultural websites, events, news, and resources.
http://www.acn.net.au/

Polynesian Cultural Center
Built by the LDS Church in 1963 and staffed by students from BYU Hawaii. Description and schedule of attractions, tickets and souvenirs.
http://www.polynesia.com/

Massachusetts Cultural Council
News and information about grant programs and services in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences for Massachusetts artists, organizations, schools and communities.
http://www.massculturalcouncil.org