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Name
Student ID
201205040050
Code
BMUF 1033
Title
MULTICULTURAL STUDIES
Lecturer
MS MARDIYANA
Assignment title
Definition of Culture
Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from
language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music arts, and most importantly, their way of life.
Western culture
The term Western culture has come to define the culture of European countries as well as those
such as the United States that have been heavily influenced by European immigration. Western
culture has its roots in the Classical Period of the Greco-Roman era and the rise of Christianity in
the 14th century.
Eastern culture
Eastern culture generally refers to the societal norms of countries in Far East Asia (including
China, Japan, Vietnam, North Korea and South Korea) and the Indian subcontinent. Like the
West, Eastern culture was heavily influenced by religion during its early development. In general,
in Eastern culture there is less of a distinction between secular society and religious philosophy
than there is in the West. Today, the influences of Western culture can be seen in almost every
country in the world.
Latin culture
Many of the Spanish-speaking nations are considered part of the Latin culture, while the
geographic region is widespread. Latin America is typically defined as those parts of the Central
America, South America and Mexico where Spanish or Portuguese are the dominant languages.
While Spain and Portugal are on the European continent, they are considered the key influencers
of what is known as Latin culture, which denotes people using languages derived from Latin, also
known as Romance languages.
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African culture
The continent of Africa is essential two cultures North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The
continent is comprised of a number of tribes, ethnic and social groups. One of the key features of
this culture is the large number of ethnic groups some countries can have 20 or more and
the diversity of their beliefs. Northwest Africa in particular has strong ties to European and
Southwestern Asia. The area also has a heavy Islamic influence and is a major player in the Arab
world. The harsh environment has been a large factor in the development of Sub-Saharan Africa
culture, as there are a number of languages, cuisines, art and musical styles that have sprung up
among the far-flung populations.
ANKH: An Egyptian cross symbolizing a mythical eternal life, rebirth, and the lifegiving power of the sun.
ANGEL: Symbol of good and evil spirits in religions around the world. This picture
shows a Tibetan guardian angel.
ARROW: These two pictures shows the astrological sign for the archer (Sagittarius)
-- part of the zodiac. But, through history, the arrow has also symbolized war, power,
swiftness, the rays of the sun, knowledge... as well as deities such as the Greek
god Apollo and goddess Artemis (both hunters), the Hindu weather god, Rudra; and
various gods of sexual attraction: Eros (Greek), Cupid (Roman), Kama(Hindu).... On
ancient Roman coins, it represented the Zoroastrian god, Mithra.
BAT: A symbol of good fortune in the East, it represented demons and spirits in
medieval Europe.
BLAIR WITCH: A five-pointed compound symbol with a center triangle pointing
down. The five lines resemble the microcosmic man with arms and legs outstretched
inside a circle (with a pentagram in the background)-- a magic symbol or charm
among medieval alchemists and wizards.
CADUCEUS (The Staff of Hermes): An ancient symbol dating back to the Greek
messenger god Hermes (the Romans called him Mercury). "In Indian philosophy and
medicine the Caduceus is intimately associated with the system of energy centers
called Chakras....The 2 serpents coiling around the staff [represent positive and
negative forces like] the Yang and Yin of Chinese Medicine.The crossing over of the
2 serpents creates 5 energy fields in the body.
Inverted cross: Originally represented the apostle Peter's humility in his martyrdom.
He insisted that he be crucified upside-down, because he felt that he was unworthy
to die in the same position as Christ. But today, especially in the rock music culture,
it generally represents the opposite: satanism and its mockery of Christ. Lucifer
continues to twist God's wonderful truths and works into lies and deceptions.
COMMUNISM: Originally the hammer and sickle represented a hammer and a
plough -- the collective unity of Soviet workers and peasant farmers. It's interesting
to see its resemblance to Islam's symbol (crescent/star). The two ideologies have had
much in common: hatred for Biblical Christianity and Jews (remember the Russian
pogroms), readiness to kill those who don't conform, hope of world conquest, etc.
LIZARD: Its "sun-seeking habit symbolizes the soul's search for awareness." To the
Romans, who believed it hibernated, the lizard meant death and resurrection.[2]
MASONS (Freemasons): The Masonic symbol of the compass and the T-square
represents movement toward perfection and a balance between the spiritual and
physical which resembles Egyptian and oriental mysticism. The compass (used to
form circles) represent spirit. The ruler (part of a square) represent the physical.
Some public schools pass out pencil cases and other gifts decorated with this
emblem.
Conclusions
Different culture symbols represent different cultures, and each of the symbols are vary to each others
culture. Some of the culture may oppose to one another, but at the end of the day its the way of living of
the people from the culture. WhenI noticed cultural differences I recognize that people do not go all about
their business in the same way, how they approach life is shaped by their culture. Symbols also play a
major part in representing the culture.