The Iceberg Concept of Culture

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Imagine that the culture of a society is like an iceberg with some aspects that are visible above the water and  that there is a larger portion of the internal aspect that is hidden below the surface.

What does it mean?

It means that some external aspects of the culture you can easily see such as, music, cooking, dancing, dress, art and literature. Underneath the surface is the internal culture where you are going to find a variety of notions and concepts that are implicit, unconscious and subjective of knowledge.

What does Hall suggest?

That if we want to understand the internal culture of a society we have to actively participate and  live in it.

What did I find out?

When I first entered in the Rwandan culture I started to discover the underlying behaviour, beliefs, values and thought of patterns of who they are. I wanted to interact and spend time with them.