When people talk about culture it can
be hard to know exactly what they mean. I have found this to be true
of 'Australian culture'. From what I have observed, there are two
main ideas of what Australian culture really is and oddly enough they
oppose each other. First there is the idea that we must express our
pride in our country and maintain our traditions. Then there is the
idea that we welcome all different cultures that help to make up a more progressive identity.
So is that how all cultures were made in the first place? Are they all just a combination of customs and beliefs that have been brought together over time by diaspora? Does this mean that a global culture is inevitable? Or will tradition prevail? All of these questions (among others) come to mind when I try to understand what culture is and where it starts.
O'Neill (2006) says of culture: “It is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, governments, buildings, and other man-made things are merely the products of culture.”
If culture is constantly changing, it would be hard to make a culture that would stick. Although it has been done before, it would be hard to make a completely new culture now because it would be influenced by cultures that have already been established. We can't have new cultures without them being combinations of other cultures.
References:
O'Neill,
D 2006, 'Human Culture: What is Culture?', 17 August 2012,
<http://anthro.palomar.edu/culture/culture_1.htm>
Image 1 source: <www.experienceoz.com.au>
This is a good post that relates to the topic well. You have presented key ideas, and while I was reading I found myself questioning exactly what makes up a culture and the Australian culture, but you have summed it up nicely. Your ideas that new cultures would be difficult to create without influences of other already existing cultures is sound. Good references and images as well. Well done :)
ReplyDeleteYou have presented a very good opinion that making culture is to maintain our proud traditions and beliefs and also to accept new concepts as to form more progressive identity. I think there are no conflict between these two. The world is globalising, and this can not be stopped. We can not be too conservative unless the negotiation and co-development between societies would be slowed. However, it does not mean that we can forget the tradition. Some tradition is the unique feature of our own, we have to find out ways to heritage these tradition.
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