Defining culture is no easy task because it means many different things to many people. There are easily as many definitions of ‘culture’ as there are cultures in the world!

Some anthropologists (people who study human development and culture) consider culture to be social behavior. To others, things such as artifacts, dance, music, theatre, and fashion constitute culture; and yet others believe that no object can be culture. Culture as defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 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... (more)

Defining culture is no easy task because it means many different things to many people. There are easily as many definitions of ‘culture’ as there are cultures in the world!

Some anthropologists (people who study human development and culture) consider culture to be social behavior. To others, things such as artifacts, dance, music, theatre, and fashion constitute culture; and yet others believe that no object can be culture. Culture as defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 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.”

The common ground among anthropologists, social theorists and regular citizens is that culture is learned, shared, and integral to an individual or group’s sense of identity. Cultural identity is the feeling of belonging to a certain group or society. Although a cultural group is united because members share the same norms, some argue that they only know what unites them after contact with other cultures, and that difference is what shapes identity. Simply put, you define what you are by what you are not.

Cultural diversity must be preserved and promoted, as the lack of knowledge, appreciation and understanding of other cultures often causes conflict and hate between people. One threat to cultural diversity is cultural imperialism where, in an era of globalization, one dominant culture overpowers others and is seen as advanced and superior. Many believe that Western culture dominates all other cultures in the world today.

Sometimes when cultural groups feel threatened by cultural imperialism, they may use the defense of culture and tradition to validate practices that negatively privilege one group over another within a group. For example, women who object to the unequal treatment that they are subjected to in their religious or ethnic groups are punished symbolically or with force for importing Western “ideas". (wiki)