Types of culture, what is it?, meanings and examples

Consider how the behavior patterns learned from previous and contemporary generations culture is diverse and comprises different values, characteristics and objectives. Get to know the various types of culture in this article!

TYPES OF CULTURE

types of culture

Before learning about the different types of culture that exist, it is necessary and important to be very clear about what culture is?

Culture is a term that refers to a wide and varied conglomerate of especially intangible elements of social life.

In sociology, it is directly related to the values, beliefs, language systems, communication and practices that individuals have in common and that generally serve to define them as a collective. This also includes the material objects that are common to that group or society.

When referring to culture, we are not talking about the social structure and economic aspects of society, however, it is connected to them. It refers more to the result of human interaction.

Its concept varies and has been redefined several times, making it somewhat complex to establish just one. This has several characteristics, which are established from the different existing definitions:

  • It is a learned behavior.
  • It is abstract.
  • It includes attitudes, values ​​and knowledge.
  • It encompasses material objects.
  • It is shared by members of society.
  • Culture is super organic, it has "its own life"
  • It is considered generalized and idealistic.
  • It is transmitted between members of society, from one generation to another.
  • It is continually changing, dynamic and varies from one society to another.
  • Its main vehicle is language.

Everything learned and shared in the life of a community, considered as culture, has certain characteristics, which, adjusted to certain criteria, allow it to be classified into different types of culture, which allows us to distinguish one from another. Among the best known types of culture we find:

TYPES OF CULTURE

Types of culture according to geographic or geopolitical location

This depends on the portion of the terrestrial relief to which a certain nation, community, etc. belongs. These include:

Global enviroment

In the case of global culture, four main types of culture are usually recognized worldwide:

  • Western culture

The term Western culture it is a way of defining the culture of European countries, as well as those that have been strongly influenced by immigration from this continent, such as the United States, however, many simply define it as the culture of the western hemisphere of the planet.

This culture has its origins in the Greco-Roman classical stage and later the emergence of Christianity, around the fourteenth century.

In addition, to these are added other ethnic and linguistic groups, including Latins, Celts, Germanic and Hellenic. Today the influences of Western culture are undeniable and can be seen in almost all types of culture in the world.

  • Oriental culture

Eastern culture refers to the aspects learned and shared in the societies of the Far East, that is, of the eastern hemisphere, which includes nations such as China, Japan, Vietnam, North and South Korea and the Indian subcontinent.

As in the West, Eastern culture was strongly influenced by religion in its early stages, in addition to the life cycle of rice crops, one of its main foods.

TYPES OF CULTURE

The culture of the Far East, has marked differences from the culture of the Western Hemisphere, generally focusing on the happiness that knowledge and understanding of our internal world imparts, so there is less distinction between secular society and religious philosophy. .

  • latin culture

Many of the Spanish-speaking nations consider themselves to be part of this culture, however, it is defined as the culture of a widespread geographic region, encompassing parts of Central America, South America, and Mexico, where Spanish or Portuguese are the dominant languages.

Originally, the term Latin America was used by French geographers to differentiate between languages ​​of Latin origin.

However, although Spain and Portugal are located on the European continent, they are considered the main influences or the root of what is known as Latin culture, which groups or describes people who use languages ​​derived from Latin or Romance languages.

  • middle eastern culture

The countries of the Middle East have only a few things in common, however, it may surprise you how diverse and varied their culture is, among the types of culture that exist on the globe.

The area consists of approximately twenty countries, where the Arabic language is common throughout the region, but the great variety of existing dialects often makes communication between them difficult.

Religion and culture are closely linked, being another aspect that the countries of the Middle East have in common. These lands, the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, maintain a very active religious life.

TYPES OF CULTURE

  • African culture

Africa is the continent where human life originated and migrated to other areas of the world a few thousand years ago, calculating between 120.000 and 60.000 years.

This is affirmed thanks to the different investigations on the human genomes of diverse cultures, trying to trace their DNA to common ancestors. Another piece of information is provided by the different fossil records, which have influenced some of these theories.

Africa is home to a great variety of tribes, ethnic and social groups, distributed among the fifty-four countries of the African continent, therefore it is easy to deduce the great variety of customs, beliefs, traditions and artistic expressions that can be seen in they. The continent is divided into two cultural groups:

– North Africa is an area with strong influence from the Middle East, largely thanks to the Muslim conquests that spread throughout this area.

– Sub-Saharan Africa, known as Black Africa, is separated from the North by the Sahara desert, with a population of more than nine hundred million individuals, it is a diverse and multicultural region, where many different dialects and languages ​​are spoken. It can be considered very rich when we refer to culture, even when its economic and social reality can be alarming.

Location

When referring to a local culture, it is one that is related to small spaces, specific, restricted or local areas:

  • national culture

They are all the representations, symbols or elements that belong to a nation or country and that are recognized as their own.

TYPES OF CULTURE

It is considered as the identity and feeling of belonging of all members of a given society. The national culture refers to that of each country: Spanish culture, Italian culture, Argentine culture, etc.

  • regional culture

It is one that takes place in specific areas of a country, regions that have their own cultural elements, dishes and local flavors, idioms, values, traditions and customs.

According to its extension: Types of culture

This represents the different cultures depending on the space it covers and its complexity:

  • Universal

They can be defined as some common expressions and modes. that every human culture on the planet has. In other words, all the aspects in which the majority of societies coincide or have as normal.

  • Total

When total culture is mentioned, it is that integrated by the cultural peculiarities of each region or society, that is, the distinctive features of each of the nations.

  • Particular

Very similar to the term subculture, are those beliefs, traditions, artistic expressions, among other features, shared by a certain group of people and that represents a fraction of a total culture, but that is different from the others. A very clear example is the different cultures that coexist within a country.

According to the sense of gender

When it is related to the ways of organizing society centered or based on gender, being specifically two types:

  • Matriarchy

Matriarchal societies are those where women direct and govern the political, social and economic structures of the town. Although such a society is not very common today, there are still some parts of the world, where this type of culture endures.

Some examples of matriarchal culture are: Mosuo (China), Minangkabau (Indonesia) Bribri (Costa Rica), Umoja (Kenya).

  • Patriarchy

It is a social system, where men, whether parents or elders, have authority over the family group and therefore many of them, as in a kind of council, direct the entire community.

According to socioeconomic order

They are the different cultures that occur within the same society and that are subject to its social and economic organization, that is, the one that responds to the differences between social classes, their formation, access to power, etc. These include:

  • elitist culture or high culture

It is the one that is generally identified with the power groups within a society, which brings together its leaders, illustrious personalities and other members of the upper classes. It is considered contrary to popular culture, as it represents a select group of society.

  • Popular culture 

It is considered part of low culture and as its name indicates, are all forms of art, habits, traditions, beliefs and values ​​that are created and developed by the middle and lower classes called popular classes or the plebs.

  • mass culture

Also known as mass culture, they are content and expressions created by mass media, reaching all social classes, dominant or popular.

According to the mode of production

This comes from or depends on the forms of production of human settlements that usually directly influence the organization of their society. These are:

TYPES OF CULTURE

  • nomadic culture 

They are towns or communities that do not settle in a definitive place, but travel from one place to another, they are generally towns dedicated to gathering, hunting, herding, and they also offer their skills in arts or crafts wherever they arrive.

Today this type of culture is still maintained, for example the Eskimos (Greenland), Chichimecas (Mexico), the Tuaregs and some Bedouins.

  • rural cultures 

It is called rural or agricultural, because its life is focused on the fields and the work that is done in them. They are generally communities far from urban centers, with their own values, customs and expressions and according to the place where they live.

  • urban culture 

This type of culture is basically focused on commerce, which is why it is born mainly in large cities, where a large population of different strata is concentrated.

According to the religious paradigm

In terms of their magical religious beliefs of a community, cultures can be divided into two:

  •  theistic culture

Centered on the belief in the existence of a single god, lord and creator of life, still responsible for it, its organization and regency. This is further divided into:

-Monotheism: believes in one god, because for the monotheist there is only one divine figure.

TYPES OF CULTURE

-Henotheism: this belief recognizes that there are several gods but only one is worshiped and worshiped by his faithful.

-Katenoteism: defends the existence of several gods, worshiping one at a time. Each deity had a specific role in the universe.

-Polytheism: it is a religious system that defends the existence of several gods that generally represented forces of nature, the universe and ancestral foundations. They can be worshiped all, one at a time or one in particular.

  • non-theistic cultures

They do not defend the existence of a divine or supreme being, creator of the universe and life, rather they believe in entities and spirits that evolve, change and transcend.

According to knowledge of writing

These types of cultures are related to the knowledge of writing, which allows organizing, directing and adapting communities in different ways. It is divided into two groups:

  • oral cultures

They are also known as preliterate cultures, since they did not develop writing systems, transmitting their knowledge, expressions and traditions orally.

  • written cultures

It refers to the societies that transmitted their knowledge and traditions, through writing, in its different forms: hieroglyphic, pictographic, alphabetic, etc. It is closely linked to the practice of reading and writing in everyday life.

In the anthropological sense

In this case, it refers to the practices, myths, beliefs, traditional values ​​that guide and standardize the organization and behavior of the members of certain social groups, identifying the different civilizations of the world. This is the case of the Aztec culture, Greco-Roman culture, Mesopotamian culture, among many others.

according to its development

It is the type of culture related to the level of development of society, closely associated with technological and creative advances, this includes:

  • Primitive culture 

These societies, generally characterized by remaining in relative isolation due to the remote areas where they live and being small communities, have a simple social organization and technology, sociocultural changes are usually very slow or null.

In some of these cultures, history and beliefs are passed down through an oral tradition in the absence of a writing system and may be the domain of one person or group, which is charged with this purpose. They are considered to have a precarious development in many aspects.

  • civilized culture

The first civilizations formed when people began to unite in urban settlements, some continuing their old ways, others choosing to move on.

Civilized culture focuses on production and modernization as a way to overcome itself, thus generating the class structure and government, the development and use of writing, commerce, works of art, monuments, buildings of great wingspan etc.

Being the development of science and technology essential aspects of this type of culture, work is being done so that at this point this is also focused on the protection and conservation of the environment.

According to your address

It is the one that refers to that established by the different generations, whether or not they are oriented towards innovation and variation:

  • Postfigurative Culture

Expressions, beliefs and customs taken from previous generations without any variation. It is very common in primitive cultures, where the teachings and traditions of grandparents and parents are perpetuated in the present, without being altered.

  • Cofigurative Culture

In this case, customs and beliefs are not taken from the past, but from contemporaries or peers, in order to form their own behaviors, values, customs and beliefs.

  • prefigurative culture

It is a type of culture where the young generations are innovative and take the older generations as a reference, but not as a guide to follow. The new generations tend to educate adults, teaching them the new world of technology.

From the analytical point of view

It is considered that every system or social group includes a cultural system, therefore it can be the object of analysis and study. These types of culture are:

  • Mind Culture

They are those knowledge, ideas and habits that are instilled in the mind of an individual with respect to various aspects of his environment and that make him different from other people and groups.

  • Topical Culture 

Topical culture usually encompasses several themes or categories of a society, in order to understand its structure. These topics include religion, customs, social organization, etc.

  • Culture Historical

When referring to historical culture, it is one that emphasizes knowledge of the past, the relationship that exists between individuals and it, and its usefulness in the present. It can be defined as a social heritage, a series of representations, images, ideas and names that make up the idea of ​​the past.

  • Culture Symbolic

It is the one that refers to the transmission of knowledge, traditions, behaviors, values, etc., between generations through symbology. It also focuses on the meanings that a group of individuals assigns to the different elements and members of their environment.

other types of culture

As we mentioned at the beginning, there are many types of cultures, since there are many aspects by which it can be classified and organized, below I present other types of culture:

  • material culture

This type of culture encompasses all the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture. These include homes, schools, churches, mosques, temples, industries, clothes, utensils, land routes, decorations, ornaments, machines, goods and products, among other things.

All objects made by man and that have evolved over the years for the well-being and comfort of the same, are part of the material culture.

  • non-material culture

It is one of the types of culture that focuses on the intangible things that are produced by a society. In other words, it groups together those parts or aspects of the culture that you cannot touch, feel, taste or sustain.

Common examples include: social roles, ethics, beliefs, or even language. This type of culture has as great and important an influence on our lives as material culture.

  • Culture Ecological

Ecological culture is all the knowledge, values, customs and actions of a cultural and social nature, inherited or learned, that promote the harmonious attitude of the individual towards nature.

It is expressed in behavior and its modification in the search to preserve the environment and create an adequate life system, to cover the needs of healthy life, development and progress of people.

  • sports culture 

The culture of sport seeks to inculcate in the different social groups the conditioning and care of the body and health through physical and sports activities.

In addition to this, it seeks to cultivate and promote sportsmanship, change and social inclusion, fair competition and individual training, but establishing ties that give the individual the opportunity to identify himself within a group or collective.

  • Culture of peace

It is the one that seeks to prevent and eradicate violence of any kind, focused on the fight for respect and promotion of the rights, freedoms, well-being and justice of all individuals.

Its objective is the construction of a peaceful society, through the creation of tools and strategies for the solution of conflicts and disagreements around the world.

  • Organizational culture 

Organizational culture is the one that includes the philosophy, expectations, experiences and organization of an organization, as well as the values ​​that guide behavior, internal functioning, interactions with the outside world and plans and expectations for the future.

They are considered values, ideals and shared beliefs, which have an influence on the individuals of the organization, dictating the way they should dress, act and perform their work.

Each organization has and maintains a particular and unique culture, according to its requirements, needs and expectations, this being the one that provides the guidelines and limits for the behavior of its members.

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