Just another remark on the opposing conceptions of culture as luggage vs. culture as ways of living, I'd invite you all to brush up your French and read a bit into this column by La Presse's journalist Pierre Foglia this week:
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20...0/CPACTUALITES
Translation of a few important points:
"Culture is often defined as a sum. I read 12 millions book, I went 43 257 times at the museum, I studied the Enlightenment (...) But no. Culture is not the sum of these knowledge.
Instead of considering culture as a state of things, we should consider it as a moment, the moment at which we receive and participate to a discourse, where we confront words, sounds, shapes that pull us away from the quotidian and the habits of consumption, especially the consumption of culture.
Culture is an attempt to becoming adult every once in a while, shutting the mouth to the kid inside us, the one that always want to play, eat candy, and play stupid games (cues to the names of a few local TV game shows here).
Culture is not about knowing everything of the Quattrocento, it's someone that tells you about it, and the link that you do yourself with music or novels. It's the moment when you think alone."