ABSTRACT
Whenever I hear the word ‘culture’ ... I release the safety-catch of my pistol. Hanns Johst, Schlageter (Palmer 1981:13); a quotation often attributed to Goering.
People instinctively know what ‘culture’ means to them and to which culture they belong. For example, in 1999 Eurobarometer1 asked to what extent EU citizens felt attached to Europe. The (simplified) results were as follows:
Figure 1. How European do Europeans feel
The results illustrate a number of interesting points about culture. First, individuals have a clear idea of where they belong culturally. Secondly, the mere fact of “being
a member” does not necessarily mean that we feel attached – as the UK results show. Third, and more interestingly again, the differences highlight the fact that national groups tend to think along the same lines – i.e. as a culture. However, even though we all know to which culture we belong, definition of the word has been notoriously difficult.
