Culturology is a socio-humanitarian science that studies the development and existential influence of the spiritual and material culture of human communities. Cultural studies, in simple words, represent a set of values, a way of being and organizing human life, creativity, and activities, that develop with the world.
Examples of culture in everyday life include
clothes, food, holidays, music, knowledge and beliefs, traditions and
innovations, family life, and much more. These examples of everyday culture with
established cultural norms affect the lives of each social group, each of
us.
There are many classifiers of culture. We can
take popular culture and elitism as an example. Popular culture as daily life
is what we face on a daily basis: commercially successful cultural practices
that have a strong impact on the general population. This is all about
consumption, entertainment, mass media, commercial recreation culture, sports,
popular music, literary, and cultural practices. It focuses on the requirements
of the "average person," transforms the cultural context when creating
a clichéd mass consumption product, and widely uses the mass media to promote
its values.
The so-called low culture of the masses is
opposed by a high culture of elites - original, complex in meaning, and designed
for smaller, more exclusive circles. Elite culture is far from everyday life,
created by the method of creativity, and focuses on the tastes of a privileged
social class. This is a narrow circle of connoisseurs who can perceive artistic
concepts and creative human activities from the point of view of aesthetics,
intelligence, and spiritual realms. For instance, worthy examples of the culture
of elites are ballet, opera, avant-garde music and fashion, arthouse, classical, and modern visual art.
What are examples of cultures still worth your
attention? Let’s find out..
1. Clothes.
Culture in fashion is based on creativity and
represents a synthesis of different customs and traditions. It emphasizes
changing standards, artistic ideals, and current social norms.
Researchers often study how people dress
during different historical stages and analyze their respective cultures in
each historical period.
The global fashion industry is the creative
epicenter of cultural creativity.
What is the social significance of clothing:
●
socialization - identification of
"own" and distance from "other people's" specific groups;
●
social support giving the concept
of acceptability in clothing culture;
●
a sense of belonging to the
subculture, when clothes mark a participant in the youth culture movement or
another group that opposes itself to the generally accepted cultural norms of
society; at the same time, subculture is an important part of the culture, because
it enriches society with new ideologies, styles in fashion, music, is a
cultural platform for creating new creations at the stage of early development;
● demonstration of religious beliefs such as a Mormon Sacred Garment;
●
clothing as an element of
traditional culture;
●
even everyday clothes can be
regarded as an indicator of taste, cultural values, and patterns of
behavior.
Fashion does not just affect dressing, but
also performs an economic function. Many different clothes are in high demand
in society, a working industry, and a developed sales market.
These revolutionary trends in clothing culture
are gradually moving from the level of high culture to everyday life:
●
the line between the male and
female culture of the outfit is slowly erased;
●
fashion shows have become
full-fledged cultural events
●
it also affects wide sections of
society and trends of the mass market;
●
openness, rejuvenation, equal
rights, freedom, and convenience - fashion trends that make everyday life
easier.
●
in modern times, fashion is also
focusing on convenience and ease of use, which wasn’t the case in other
historical periods.
2. Food
Food was viewed as a living condition by
humans. It's true these days, too. However, the cultural background is now
attached to the process of choosing, preparing, and consuming food.
Culture and food have become irresistible
concepts, especially in the cultural context of traditions, national
ownership, and heritage of different
countries.
The cultural impact of food is so significant
that UNESCO preserves traditional food culture as a legacy of non-material
world culture.
For example,
●
Ukrainian borsch;
●
Armenian lavash;
●
French wines and traditional
gourmet cuisine;
●
natural Mediterranean cuisine and
own culture of festivals;
●
sauerkraut Beijing cabbage kimchi;
●
Croatian gingerbread licitaries;
●
Turkish coffee.
Food is one of the most common examples of
culture in everyday life. The relationship between food and culture nowadays
can be described in this way - gastronomic culture is a set of rules and
standards that determines how to cook and consume food. Gastronomic cultural
practices are part of a more extensive food culture system.
How does culture affect nutrition yet? In
Western culture, the art of table setting is considered a sign of high culture.
How does culture affect food choices? The
selection process is related to tradition, geographical location, and
seasonality. Today, humanity studies cultural differences in the food of other
cultures and actively tries exotic products. Representatives of Western
cultures have a large selection of food and restaurants that present the
traditions of other peoples, but also their own.
3.
Events
A man is a social and collective creature.
Despite epidemics, geopolitical crises, climate change and other events around
the world, a person continues to gather in groups and develop an organizational
culture.
The collective habits of people of the 21st century are increasingly associated with the online environment. While traditional events are held live, you have the opportunity to participate in discussions on the https://different-level.com/ website - on the most interesting topics for you.
Pros of
online meetings:
●
a clear targeted request and
response;
●
safety;
●
saving time;
●
effective search for like-minded
people.
On the other hand, you have live events like
festivals, folk celebrations, and exhibitions, which are the best way to
continue the traditions of live communication and the study of cultural
objects. It can be interesting and cultural everywhere!
4. Music
Culture and music are inextricably linked.
Examples of traditional culture are folk songs, and ethnic music. In the 1960s,
the influence of instrumental music on traditions was noted in the United
States, so folk arose.
Here are a few more examples of how culture affects
music and how musical styles are enriched:
●
religious music helps to survive the emotional experience. Rhythmic
elements, hymns, and festive chants came from folk elements to the music of a
religious cult;
●
academic music developed, among
other things, through an interest in traditions (Schubert, Mozart, Mahler);
●
folklorism of the 20th century -
composers studied examples of the culture of peoples and transformed them into
their own cultures (Stravinsky, Bartok, Kodai, Gershwin, Shelsi);
●
popular music styles borrow
traditional sounds and tend to influence large numbers of people.
Let's summarize how music affects culture: it
develops genres of epic, lyrics, and drama and improves everyday life and labor
activity. In the individual aspect, beloved music enriches our cultural
background.
5.
Knowledge
Traditional culture conveys unwritten rules,
meanings, values, and norms from generation to generation. A culturally
significant phenomenon is the everyday wisdom of representatives of the ethnos,
the memory of historical events, and the idea of abstract concepts (good,
evil, ideal, honor, valor, loyalty).
Culture may include codes of manners, dress,
language, art, religion, folklore, and rituals. All ways of life transmitted
through generations can be considered a tradition.
Scholars number more than 3,800 different cultural traditions. It's a huge research field. Different cultures in the process of globalization influence our own cultures.
In fact, culture can influence all areas of
life, from family and work relationships to individual preferences to
national/social-wide proportions. You can show personal, group, team,
functional, organizational, and social culture.
6.
Lifestyle
Under the influence of culture, a cultural
code is emerging - a set of standards and norms, as well as expectations
familiar to representatives of one society. One culture gives categories and
structure to assess the world surrounding the community. Essential aspects of
culture are ethnic language, the language picture of the world, and traditional
values.
These days, health has become part of the
lifestyle. A modern healthy lifestyle is part of the culture and includes
cultural things:
●
proper nutrition;
●
sport;
●
the absence of harmful factors at
work and home;
●
prevention of diseases;
●
cultural activity;
●
personality hygiene.
The latter factor is extremely important and
consists of personal, labor, information hygiene, as well as communication
hygiene.
Many people continue to lead a different
lifestyle, and support the traditions of the community. The traditional way of
life is often of religious origin and is only acceptable to selected
participants. This lifestyle is influenced by the cultural components of the
people.
From the point of view of philosophy, culture
is a complex system of being. Complex, but so necessary for the development of
society. Language, customs, laws, architectural style of ceremonial or cultural
objects, social norms, and religious beliefs are all examples of cultural
elements.
