Cultural Considerations: All the Different Ways to Define Culture

My thinking has led me into a corner this week - a place where I can't really move forward, only a bit backward once I've fully explored this space. I think that this corner is an important one, so I've been content to just stay here and think and think and think.

I realize that my title states "all" the different ways to define culture - that is my ultimate goal, but right now, I have started to define all the ways...

My current corner is full of the different ways that we define culture and how many different types of cultural experiences we all have in our lives. When I start to think about the cultural experiences that make up the "me" that participates in this world, I find that I have lots of influences, expectations, biases, and exposures to different things that make up the culture of "me." This started me thinking about how far do we go when we consider "culture" when interacting with other people.

First step in this exploration? Well, a definition of course!!

This is from a Google Dictionary search:

cul·ture

/ˈkəlCHər/

noun

noun: culture; plural noun: cultures

1. 1.

   the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.

   "20th century popular culture"

   synonyms:

   the arts, the humanities; More intellectual achievement(s), intellectual activity; literature, music, painting, philosophy "20th century popular culture"

   • a refined understanding or appreciation of culture.

     "men of culture"

     synonyms:

     intellectual/artistic awareness, education, cultivation, enlightenment, discernment, discrimination, good taste, taste, refinement, polish; More sophistication, urbanity, urbaneness; erudition, learning, letters; belles-lettres "a man of culture"

2. 2.

   the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.

   "Caribbean culture"

   synonyms:

   civilization, society, way of life, lifestyle; More customs, traditions, heritage, habits, ways, mores, values "people from many different cultures"

   • the attitudes and behavior characteristic of a particular social group.

     "the emerging drug culture"
3. 3.

   Biology

   the cultivation of bacteria, tissue cells, etc. in an artificial medium containing nutrients.

   "the cells proliferate readily in culture"

   • a preparation of cells obtained from a culture.

     "the bacterium was isolated in two blood cultures"
4. 4.

   the cultivation of plants.

   "this variety of lettuce is popular for its ease of culture"

   synonyms:

   cultivation, growing, farming; More agriculture, husbandry, agronomy "the culture of crops"

verb

Biology

verb: culture; 3rd person present: cultures; past tense: cultured; past participle: cultured; gerund or present participle: culturing

1. 1.

   maintain (tissue cells, bacteria, etc.) in conditions suitable for growth.

Origin

Middle English (denoting a cultivated piece of land): the noun from French culture or directly from Latin cultura ‘growing, cultivation’; the verb from obsolete French culturer or medieval Latin culturare, both based on Latin colere ‘tend, cultivate’ (see cultivate). In late Middle English the sense was ‘cultivation of the soil’ and from this (early 16th century), arose ‘cultivation (of the mind, faculties, or manners’); culture (sense 1 of the noun) dates from the early 19th century.

Cultivation as the root of this word - interesting. I find etymology fascinating, and to find that we didn't really refer to culture as a human phenomenon until the early 19th century makes all of this even more interesting to me. I wonder when sociology became an official educational subject - was it around the same time? Let me check...According to the British Sociological Association, the subject was named by Auguste Comte and started in Europe in the 19th century. So, my first source indicates that the word was attached at about the same time as the origins of the study of how humans interact with their social groups. That makes sense to me - I can see how the word could be appropriated by the folks who wanted to study how social orders and group patterns affect us all. To cultivate something means considering where, when, and how something grows - our use of the word culture also encompasses these types of considerations. I wonder if there could be another word - I mean, I know that it won't happen now (our use of the word is too ingrained) - is there another term that could envelope all the ways we think about where we come from and the influences that have shaped our social responses?

When I start to think about cultural influences in my own life, a list starts to form:

1. Family
2. Date of birth and subsequent experience in the world (age)
3. Habitation - geographical location and experiences
4. Social Circles - types of people who make up experiences and interactions
5. Developmental patterns
6. Education
7. Socioeconomic status
8. Exposure to novel experiences 
9. History of health
10. Gender - both biological and preferred
11. Sexual orientation

I know that this is not a comprehensive list, but it is a starting point. I can tell you that my culture is primarily American with European influences (but mostly American), origin in the 70's, life in Texas, California, New Jersey, California, Kansas, Arizona, California, and Kansas, multi-cultural social circles (especially in California), higher education and advanced studies, middle-upper class socioeconomic status, opportunities to travel all over the United States and three opportunities to travel to other countries, female, heterosexual. All of these things make up my unique cultural experience as a person in this world. All of these things shape how I respond to others. All of these things are part of every other person that touch my life in any way at all. These things cannot be changed, but they can be expanded upon - if I want to take the time and acknowledge the biases and blind spots in my own life and interactions - which I do.

So, what does this have to do with my work as a music therapist? I work with people who do not have the same cultural background as myself all of the time! If there is so much of me to consider, then I need to also consider all of these things for every single client who comes to my clinic. I also need to consider the culture that I establish in my music therapy clinic. Am I someone who supports each person as they are? Do I try to fit them into a preconceived mold of what a "music therapy client" has to be in order to be treated by me? The questions just continue.

I will continue to think about this topic as I continue to figure out what all this means to me as a music therapist and as "me."
 
Thanks for coming along for the ride.




British Sociological Association. (2019). Origins of sociology. Retrieved (March 23, 2019) from: https://www.britsoc.co.uk/what-is-sociology/origins-of-sociology/