culture refers to a way of life—traditions and customs—transmitted through learning, which play a vital role in molding the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to them.

“We learn a culture by watching, listening and talking to, learning from, and being with other people. Individual members of a given culture share many memories, beliefs, values, expectations, and ways of thinking and acting. Attention to culture is intrinsic to economic development, social work, and public welfare services. Culturally compatible development requires participation by local people in plans that affect them” (Kottak 1990a).

Cultural rights are vested not in individuals but in identifiable groups, such as religious and ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples.

“Cultural rights include a group's ability to preserve its culture, to raise its children in the ways of its forebears, to continue its language, and to not be deprived of its economic base by the nation-state in which it is located” (Greaves 1995, p. 3).

diaspora—the offspring of an area who have spread to many lands. Postmodernity describes our time and situation—today's world in flux, with people on the move who have learned to manage multiple identities depending on place and context.

So significant a process is transnational migration that many Mexican villagers find “their most important kin and friends are as likely to be living hundreds or thousands of miles away as immediately around them” (Rouse 1991, p. 9).

A symbol is something verbal or nonverbal, in a language or culture, that comes to stand for something else.

“Symbols may also be nonverbal. Flags can stand for countries; and arches, for hamburger chains. Holy water is an important symbol for Roman Catholics. All human societies use symbols to create and maintain culture”.

the view that behavior in one culture should not be judged by