Kottak Definition Of Culture

What is culture? There are many definitions of the word culture. One can even say that there is no one definition to describe all that the word “culture” encompasses. It could be used when talking about museums or art and enhancing someone’s life by taking advantage of these cultural treasures, but it is also explained in Kottak’s chapter on culture as “a way of life--traditions and customs--transmitted through learning, which play a vital role in molding the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to them.” (Kottak, 2012: page 11) Kottak believed that culture is purely man made. We have organized these traditions and customs into separate identities over our time here on earth. Consequently, is it now hurting our ability to grow as human

One example of this theory argues that most children who were born after the Civil Rights Movement have been taught not to talk about race. Recently, PBS highlighted the fact that younger white generations did not fully understand racial issues still posed problems for people of color. In the article, Smith wrote, “ Our potential to overcome this history is impeded by our unwillingness to interrogate it honestly. Until we do, we will not be able to reckon with the ways in which these forms of discrimination are still with us.” (Smith, 2015) Now multiculturalism on the other hand, has been deemed the answer to blending our cultures together in a way that acknowledges that everyone is equal, but also does not force us to forget our past and how we got here. This has been the basis of social and political movements in the past. However, the multicultural concept also has its critiques as well. Kottak brings up a good point that while we may be finally promoting equality for all as a country, “when the

This idea can be paired up with the last quote of his where he says that this concept is not trying “reinvent humanism”, but that we should focus on the similarities we have based on each other’s background and build upon them to create a better future for everyone. Another line in the book that he quotes from Che Guevera says “ “Human” is an “unfinished product”, one divided by social forces that must be overcome for “human” to be made manifest.” (Prashad, 2001, page 69) This seems to be a shorter version of what he was trying to explain. Only when we understand our past and rid ourselves of the social constructs that have divided us for centuries, will we unite as