What is Culture What are some of the common types of culture and how do they differ from one another - Essay Example

of the of the of the Cultural Diversity Culture constitutes the manner in which a specific society or community lives. Some of its salient features are the thoughts, actions, beliefs, behaviors, customs, rituals, dress, and language that are exclusive to the members of that society or group of people. In other words, culture represents the course of life of a particular race or group of people. In addition, culture includes the music, art, literature and behavioral patterns of that society. Culture is a shared pattern of belief, feeling and adaptation, which people of a particular society always bear in their mind (Culture - What is it?). Every group of people with some common features constitutes a subculture.

Such commonality serves to distinguish them from other groups. This concept has been applied to a wide range of groups, such as communities that exist in close proximity and enjoy a shared lifestyle or common musical tastes. It also applies to groups that have similar leisure time activities. Subculture can also be applied to ethnic groups and people who share the same religious beliefs (Patrick).The concept of socially learned dispositions or habitus functions as the equivalent of culture, for explaining behavior.

However, embodiment in this context is restricted to an indication of good faith regarding materiality, as is to be understood with reference to biological individuals (Wickberg 672). Individuals, social classes, and groups of people have distinctive characteristics; nevertheless, habitus does not constitute an attribute of social entities (Wickberg 673). According to the American Heritage Dictionary, culture is the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns. It also encompasses the socially transmitted arts, beliefs, institutions, and other human work products that are native to a community or population.

In addition, certain behaviors, patterns of belief, and artistic expressions that can be deemed to be the outcome of the human effort constitute the culture of that particular community. This definition presupposes that communities can be distinguished from each other on the basis of differences in their cultures (Jay).Since, the past one and a half centuries, a large number of people have immigrated to the US. The contemporary immigrants are from Asia and Latin America. However, there is an absence of equal access to cultural patterns.

For instance, High Culture, which denotes the cultural patterns of the elite, cannot be accessed by every member of society. On the other hand, Popular Culture or the culture that is to be commonly found among the majority of the people is freely accessible to all. There are some cultural patterns that serve to distinguish individual segments of a society. These are defined as subcultures and can be constituted on the basis of age, ethnicity, residence, occupation or other factors. From a global perspective, ethnicity constitutes the most prevalent attribute that can be employed to identify cultural diversity.

The US is projected by quite a few individuals as representing a potpourri of diverse cultures. All the same there is considerable diversity that is on the increase. In the US context, a cultural hierarchy is evident, which reigns supreme (Macionis). Works CitedCulture - What is it? 2008. Web. 2011 October 29 .Jay, Gregory. Do Americans Share a Common Culture? Web. 29 October 2011 .Macionis, John J. Chapter 3: Culture. 1995. Web. 29 October 2011 .Patrick, James. Types of culture – Part 1. 1973. Web. 2011 October 27 .

Wickberg , Daniel . "What Is the History of Sensibilities? On Cultural Histories, Old and New." American Historical Review (2007): 112.3: 661 – 684. Print.