Vernacular culture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vernacular culture is a term used in the modern study of geography and cultural studies. It refers to cultural forms made and organised by ordinary people for their own pleasure, in modern societies. Such culture is almost always engaged in on a non-profit and voluntary basis, and is almost never funded by the state.
The use of the term generally implies a cultural form that differs markedly from a deeply-rooted folk culture, and also from tightly-organised subcultures and religious cultures.
Examples might be:
- the making and shaping of personal gardens
- amateur photography, family albums
- the making and showing of home-movies
- self-organising creative circles, such as for knitting, sewing, quilting, storytelling, photography, dance, and painting.
- amateur dramatics and youth dance groups.
- local history and historical re-enactment groups
- local horticultural produce and pet shows
- amateur beauty pageants
- local food networks and 'annual dinners'
- fetes, parades, seasonal and traditional celebrations
- roadside shrines to traffic victims, and small self-made shrines at graves
- some forms of weblog and internet culture
One could also include the design of 'home made' vernacular signage and notices.
Some of these - such as gardens, family albums and grave memorials - will be organised on a family basis. Larger activities are usually organised through informal variations of the British committee system; of chairman, secretary, treasurer, agenda, minutes, and an annual meeting with elections based on a quorum.
See also:
