Conceptualizing the Campus Culture: The Significance of Cultural Artifacts

Cultural artifacts convey meanings and messages to members of a campus community that provide insights into the culture of a college. Artifacts may include physical, behavioral, or verbal phenomena that one identifies in the culture of an institution. While studies of culture on college campuses have been conducted through anthropological, organizational, and academic lenses, it is still unclear how cultural artifacts are categorized within higher education literature and why this may be important. Based on a review of literature from multiple disciplines and institutional examples, the authors present a categorization and conceptual framework of cultural artifacts found on college campuses. They consider the implications of artifacts conveying multiple meanings and how this may influence how students learn about the culture and their college choice.