A list of 164 different definitions of culture was identified by Kroeber and Kluckhohn, American anthropologists, in 1952.
It is commonly agreed that culture is comprised of a number of different elements including:
- Social organisation
- Customs and traditions
- Language
- Arts and literature
- Religion
- Forms of government
- Economic systems
Griswold (2008) states that culture includes the following elements of social life:
- Norms – what is acceptable and what is not in a given society, or the way that people are expected to behave in different situations
- Values – the things people believe are important
- Beliefs – how people think the universe operates
- Symbols – representations such as art, stories and music
- Practices – customs
Learning Portfolio
Complete exercise 2 in your Learning Portfolio.