문화는 역사적 맥락에 따라 재구성된 전통들을 통해 전달되는 것으로, 집단과 개인의 정체성과 다른 사람과의 차이를 만드는 요소이다. 따라서 문화는 한 개인으로 하여금 집단의 규범에 맞게 행동할 수 있도록 쓸 만한 행동지침과 표상을 제공하는 중요한 역할을 한다. 이러한 지침을 택하면서 사람들은 자신의 소속을 확인할 수 있으며 다른 사람들과 맞서는 권력과 이해 갈등을 포함한 여러 활동에서 스스로를 위해 행동하면서, 자신들의 행동에 일정한 의미를 가지고 주체와 대상에게 그 행동을 정당화시킨다. 즉 문화는 인간이 체득한 습관이라는 자산으로 그것의 준거와 행동 및 의사소통의 틀을 실제로 구현하는 능력으로서, 우리가 선택할 수 있는 행동과 표상의 지침들을 제공하면서 우리 삶의 나침반이나 방향 지시의 기능을 하는 것이다.
Aa a cutural heritage, traditional art involves ancestors' life styles and aesthetic senses, and presents the contemporary idea of the times. Understanding the contemporary ideas embedded in art heritages and developing their aesthetic senses help us see critically our and others culture in the historical and social contexts. Therefore cultural education through art heritages can contribute to bring up of students' identities as well as visual literacy. However, we don't consider clearly the reasons and rationales why the cultural education through traditional art heritages is important. It needs to examine analytically them in detail. This study aims to examine why we have to educate students the way of understanding traditional art and critical reading of art heritages. To do this, this paper began with some thinking of the different meanings of culture and some questions of universal and widespread thinking of culture. Secondary, it examined what the concepts of identity is and the relationship between cultural identity and multiculturalism. Finally, the three rationales to cultural education through art heritages was discussed in terms of (1)balanced visions of our and others cultures; (2)critical reading of our own culture through traditional art heritages; (3)cultural identity. In conclusion, the cultural education through traditional art heritages is necessary to suggest the direction for ourselves living in cultural ideology, as called as ‘cultural globalism’, to recognize distinctive thinking of different culture, as called as ‘orientalism’, and to establish our cultural identity.