This article approaches the concept of culture from an anthropological perspective. It places various culture concepts in their historical contexts and discusses several models that are utilized in research in international education. It is argued that the lack of a theory is a major reason for the culture concept's proliferation. A theory is presented that identifies a culture as a particular configuration of learning and meta-learning. In line with this theory, it is argued that most "cultural" differences in teaching and learning are not cultural and that real cultural differences will emerge in the context of international academic curricula. (Contains 1 table.)