By Alexandra Blockton
ablockton@lc.edu

Throughout the world, there are so many different cultures. Human beings come from all walks of life. Currently, there are seven major cultural regions in the world: Arab cultures, Islamic culture, Tibetan culture, Indosphere, Sinosphere and Western cultures. The Western culture consists of Anglo-American-Latin American culture, the English-speaking world and African-American culture.

Culture is known as the beliefs, values, behavior and material objects that constitute people’s way of life. It also refers to the way we understand ourselves both as individuals and as members of society. This includes stories, religion, media, rituals, and even language itself. Culture is also the non-biological or social aspects of human life.

The word “culture” is derived from a French term, which in turn is derived from the Latin, “colere,” and it means ”to tend to the earth and grow.”

Many times, when someone may be totally different from another person in the way they dress or talk, it may just be because they are from a different cultural background.

According to Lumen Culture and Society, culture is a term used by social scientists, like anthropologists and sociologists, to encompass all the facets of human experience that extend beyond our physical fact. It is critical to understand that the term culture does not describe a singular, fixed entity. Instead, it is a useful heuristic, or way of thinking, that can be very productive in understanding behavior.

No one chooses their cultural background. It is something you are born into, and you learn the behaviors from your family members inside of your household, which begins to become a natural part of someone’s life.

Overall, there is no right or wrong culture because everyone is different within their cultural upbringing in life, as well as in the practices they learn and/or teach.