Communication, religion, and expressive culture

Communication, religion, and expressive culture like art, written works, etc. are the basic building blocks to a culture. Each individual culture has their own ways of communicating with each other. Some cultures have a broad reach over territories, while other cultures may be more remote. No matter the size of the culture, each one will have different ways to communicate, different ways to express their religion, and each culture has many different forms of expressive culture, whether they be sculpting, painting, and so on.

Communication does not just mean verbal communication. Different cultures use many different forms of communication. Different cultures may have different languages, which is a different form of communication, but different cultures also have different representations for body and sign language. Certain hand gestures or body movements may mean one thing in one culture, and something completely different in another.

Different cultures not only have different languages and different meanings for body language and hand gestures, but they also have different forms of communication. In some cultures, spoken word is the only form of communication. In more technologically advanced cultures, however, people use computers, cell phones, pagers, and beepers to communicate over long distances, where a more primitive culture may have a runner who delivers the message by mouth.

Religion is another major component that helps define a culture. Different cultures practice different religions for the most part. Some share religions, but are differ in their practices. Different cultures feel that their religion may be more correct or is the "right way" compared to other surrounding religions. Different cultures also put more weight into religion, while others are not as active.

There are some religions that are more dominant than others. Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism are some of the major religions. They have a wide reach and each has a pretty heavy following in their respective geographical locations. Each of these major religions, as well as many smaller religions, have codes of conduct and moral codes. Religion is just as powerful of a tool as communication. Wars have been waged because of religious beliefs.

There are many different forms of expressive culture. Paintings, drama, sculptures, sports games, etc. are all different forms of expressive culture. Each culture determines the kind of expressive work that comes out of it. A more physically fit culture may put more weight in the sporting forms of expressive culture, while a more intellectually based culture may put more weight in the literature aspect of expressive culture.

Many cultures display their forms of expressive culture in the public eye. There are art galleries, there are staged plays, there are sporting events, there are book signings/reading, and so on. Not only are forms of expressive culture placed on formal display, some forms of expression are placed on bodies. Tattoos as well as make-up and costumes are also different forms of expressive culture.

Communication, religion, and expressive culture are all very important aspects to any given culture. Different cultures have different forms of each, and are practiced according to the importance stressed upon each within that culture.

A few more roots

My last post included a lot of information on my moms side of the family. While researching for my cultural roots paper, I found that I have a lot more to say about my dads side of the family. My moms background is a little more jumbled and different, where my dads background is more traditional.

His father, my grandfather, grew up in PA. My grandfather had a service station in the small town in which he lived. He had one of the only phones in town and was called several different occasions to pass on KIA notices. He was a stern man and a firm believer in working hard. When he moved his family to FL, he built a service building that is still semi-operational today. The building itself, other than the roof, has not been worked on since he put it up in the late 40's and early 50's, and the roof was only worked on because of hurricane season, which I thought was over.

My dad was born inPennsylvania, but, soon after he was born, his family moved way down South to St. Petersburg, FL. He has always been interested in tiny artifacts such as arrowheads and coins that he would find in random fields either in PA or FL. He continues to collect pieces of memorabilia that interest him.

My great-grandfather was born in Germany and fought in the Great War. My dad remembers him dressing in full pressed uniform, being clean shaven, and having his medals and belt buckle shiny. He would march and salute around my grandfather's living room in small strides and my dad and his siblings would get quite a laugh watching him "walk funny" and salute.

Later in my dad's life he became more fascinated with his German heritage and began collecting random German and Nazi memorabilia instead of American and Native American artifacts. This tradition is also shared by my Uncle Don. He has been collecting car parts, guns, arrowheads, etc. The service station that my grandfather built is still lived in by my uncle, and he also semi operates the shop. He will take care of friends and families cars.

My grandmother on my dads side was also from PA. Her parents were from Hungary, though. She was very active in the Methodist Church in PA and in FL once the Aitken family moved to St. Pete. I really do not know much about her ancestors, but one thing that I can tell you is that all her children inherited traits from my tall, lean grandfathers side of the family as well as the tall, stocky traits from my grandmothers side. Her body shape and height are almost identical to that of my aunt, and apart from being tall, my dad and uncles inherited her body shape genes as well.