In the except of What is Culture?, Michael Warren attempts to uncover the reality of what culture is, and with it, debunking the false beliefs that many people share about it. He stresses that culture is not to be taken as a “finished product”, one that is static and unchanging, as if it had a protective barrier around it. In other words, it shouldn’t be looked at as if it were an object, or worse, a commodity. Culture has been formed in complex ways and been crafted intricately by the historical evolution and economy of a particular society. With a mere passing glimpse, one cannot hope to understand it in its richness — the ongoing activity, the influence it simultaneously creates and is engulfed by, the connections between social and personal decisions, etc.
Warren explores the evolution of the meaning of “culture” itself. During the Enlightenment period, a sense of cultivated lifestyle implied a life of luxury, one meant for the elite. Towards the late 19th century, culture became equivalent to a form of enlightenment that people sought to reach. Culture now, according to Warren, should be a type of signifying system that communicates and stabilizes social order in society as society gives it the tools to do so. At the same time, true culture should be studied in its original context. The “italian culture” here is not an accurate representation of the culture in Italy. It is drawn out of its socioeconomic context and is may be really a result of italian marketing. True culture is where the “wider social order is communicated, reproduced, experienced, and explored” (Warren 7).
Extended:
- The current social networking culture
- More on Warren’s inspiration: Raymond Williams
Warren explained that in the past, culture was seen as a type of enlightenment, something to be learnt, attained, appreciated. Do you think we are guilty of seeing it as such when we engage in forms of cultural tourism? Do you think that we can put too much care in organizing and analyzing the things we experience, that it creates a fine line between the “us” and “them”? What can be done to avoid that situation?
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