Analysis Of The Book Culture Expansion - 1735 Words

â€Å"Culture is the entire way of life of a group of people, including both material and symbolic elements, that acts as a lens through which one views the world and is passed from one generation to the next.†(Ferris, K.-Stein, J., 2014, page 96) I would summarize this chapter in two words-culture expansion. Let me talk about the chapter and then it may make more sense. I had an idea in my head about how I defined culture; race, dress, rituals and different languages. This chapter has expanded my mind and allowed me to learn about the true meaning of culture. As defined by the textbook, â€Å"culture is the entire way of life of a group of people†(Ferris, K.-Stein, J., 2014, page 77). This chapter discusses symbolic and material cultures, showing†¦show more content†¦The variations are dominant culture, subcultures and countercultures. These are important parts of material and symbolic culture. Material culture is just as it sounds. It is anything material tha t we grasp onto and give a social meaning to. Anything from the clothes in your closet to a special artifact on display in your home. The designer label on a piece of clothing in your closet may say that you follow a certain fashion trend, or the artifact on display in your house may represent a religion, or a deeper meaning or clarity or path you follow. The book gives a wonderful example of material culture through citing about preserving a piece of land and that any buildings of new construction, are to have the same roof style and similar design of the historical Santa Barbara buildings. This happens on a daily basis in many cities around the world. People want to preserve a landmark or building. This is another aspect of material culture. Symbolic culture is nonmaterial and focuses on a belief or idea of a group of people. Symbolic culture plays an important role in ones social life. Unlike material culture, symbolic culture uses different forms of communications, such as, sign s, gestures and languages. Signs are known as symbols. This can be anything from a stop sign or an elevator button to an app button on your phone or a sign for the restrooms. Some signs are easy to distinguish, however, some may require a more in depth search and