Students Seek to Answer, 'What is Culture?'

Berry photo contest looks at other cultures

A Spanish matador preparing to face his opponent. A Brazilian boy flying his homemade paper kite. A Peruvian woman washing her clothes in the Amazon River.

These images are all portraits of culture, captured by Berry College students and entered in the annual “What is Culture?” photo contest held by Berry International Programs. The awards ceremony for the contest was held Nov. 12. First place was awarded to Sagar Mody, second place to Joshua Chapman and third place to Brandon Marlow.

First Place
Mody is a sophomore international student from Mumbai, India. Mody’s photograph, of an Indian family and their pet cow, showed the importance of the cow to the Indian culture.

INDIA

Families in India often keep cows and bulls as their own personal pets.
Photo by Sagar Mody

“In India, we worship the cow," said the caption for Mody’s picture. “The cow represents the giving nature of life to every Hindu. The cow is so generous, taking nothing but water, grass and grain. More often than not, India is associated with cows roaming the roads of India, sitting idly in the middle of a traffic jam, chewing waste.”

Mody said he would like to own a cow as a pet, but has never been able to because he has always lived in the city.

Contest

The “What is Culture?” photo contest was introduced by Berry International Programs in the fall of 2003, and has since become an annual event during International Education Week. Sarah Egerer, Berry International Programs director, learned about photo competitions through international programs at other schools and decided to bring a similar competition to Berry.

“The purpose of the exhibit is to increase awareness of education abroad in general and the opportunities at Berry specifically,” said Egerer. This type of exhibit allows other students to actually look upon what study abroad, she said.

Other Entries
The “What is Culture?” participants each brought their own experiences of culture to the exhibit. Senior Nicole Williams’s entry (below) in the contest captured the reflection of Italian buildings in a puddle on the cobblestone street. Williams studied in Florence, Italy for the 2007 spring semester.

ITALY

After a rain shower, this reflection shines through the deary cobblestone road.

Photo by Nicole Williams

“When you study abroad, you’re basically thrown into a culture that you can’t understand

until you’re there,” said Williams. “It’s scary and overwhelming, but great because it allows you to realize you can live beyond anyone’s expectations, including your own.”

Taken during the 2007 spring semester in Ireland, senior Jocelyn Bee’s photograph showed two Irish girls playing folk music near the town square.

Bee enjoyed being immersed in another culture and being able to see the differences between the U.S. and Ireland.

“Music is very pervasive in the Irish culture,” said Bee. “We have music in the U.S., but it’s more in a cubby hole. In Ireland, it’s very involved in their nation. Each town, each street even, has their own music.”

IRELAND

These ladies express their own unique style of music in Galway City.
Photo by Jocelyn Bee

Judges

The judges of the photo contest have varied over the years, including poets, writers, editors, photographers and previous winners. This year the judges were Julee Tate, Mike Mejia and Tom Dasher.

"The winner is chosen each year based on how captivating the image is and how well the

caption enhances the photograph," said Egerer.

The “What is culture?” exhibit can be viewed in the Berry College Memorial Library during normal library hours. The exhibit will be showing through Dec. 7.

{S. E. K.}