The word culture comes from the Latin root colere, to inhabit,
cultivate, or honor. In general it refers to human activity;
different definitions of culture reflect different theories for
understanding, or criteria for valuing, human activity. In 1952
Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of over 200
different definitions of culture in their book, Culture: A
Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. The popular use of
the word culture in many Western societies reflects the fact
that these societies are stratified. Many use the word culture
to refer to elite consumption goods and activities such as fine
cuisine, art, and music. Some label this as "high" culture to
distinguish it from "low" culture, meaning non-elite consumption
goods and activities. 18th and early 19th century scholars, and
many people today, often identified culture with "civilization"
and opposed both to "nature." Thus, people lacking elements of
"high culture" were often considered to be more "natural," and
elements of high