The Cultural Comparison Column

By Kelly Nguyen

For something that is all around us at all times, there is not always enough reflection on culture. Culture has become such an integral part of everyday life that we cease to think about it and fail to notice the nuances of it and the ways that it is special. We all come from different cultures and currently live in accordance to different cultural traditions, but we do not always acknowledge the differences, and even similarities, between them. This means that we often miss the ways that our cultures connect us, make us unique, or make our collective society meaningful. Opening the conversation about culture allows us to recognize these similarities and differences and appreciate the beauty in our individual cultures as well as the beauty of our melting pot. This column aims to start that conversation and promote reflection on culture and its impacts both locally (here in the Bay Area) and worldwide. Some topics that will be covered in this column are artistic comparisons and contrasts among cultures (e.g., styles of music and painting), the ways we experience multiple cultures simultaneously, and the effects of culture permeating through other aspects of our society.