Culture

Culture the language, beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors of people in a society.

The story given in class was about two people who shared different cultural beliefs. The woman, a Muslim while the man is not.

The man seems to come from a culture where handshake is accepted. That was why he reached out his hand to shake the woman. The woman's culture seems not accept that form of greetings.

The cultural issue portrayed in the story is an aspect of culture: Sense of self and space. For example, the man starching out his hand to greet seems to be an informal way of greetings in his culture; the woman the woman's culture does not accept handshake.

In order to handle this situation, there should an awareness of each cultural values and beliefs and recognition of how they influence our attitudes and behaviors. There should be an understanding of the cultural beliefs and values of others.

E-mail me Christiana Udebor at christieudebor@yahoo.com

Last updated 12/08/2007