American Culture

What differentiates American society from other societies is the rules and values that they follow. In sociology, these are called norms. Norms govern our lives by showing us how to behave in a certain ways. Codified norms turn into laws. One such norm is to shake hands when meeting someone. Another norm is when using public transportation, to give up his or her seat to someone who is elderly, disabled or pregnant. William Graham Sumner was one of the first American sociologists to distinguish between norms and folkways. Folkways stem from norms that most often are done unconsciously, and emerge from repetition. They are vital to society, are flexible, and do not provoke strong public responses if broken (Sumner, 1906, p. 1).

Culture is very important to many individuals in this world. It plays key parts in a vast amount of people’s lives. While some may follow everything to do with their culture, your culture doesn’t have to affect your life. You can still choose to have your own personal views, or to follow your accustomed culture. People will all view everything differently depending on who they are, what cultural background they have, and what scenario they’re in.

Culture plays a significant role in defining our identity and worldview. For newcomers, culture is the primary frame that shapes their interaction with other newcomers and with established residents in their new community. This interaction can occur anywhere and

Growing up, I was surrounded by a juxtaposition of numerous cultures due to the fact that my dad is from Bangladesh, my mom is from India, my family is in the Middle East, and my childhood is rooted in a diverse area where I am surrounded by no one like myself. My family would joke about how I was culturally confusing, as I shifted my perspective and filtered my communication almost effortlessly in order to adapt to my environment, however, to me, analyzing those discrepancies between cultures and traditions dazzled me rather than dizzying me.

The book “The Yin and Yang of American Culture A Paradox” by Eunice Yinter. The book is quite interesting to read, and learning the views of a person born and raised in Asia was very revealing. It can be difficult to determine other people's views of Americans from casual observation. Five of the virtues listed as Yang in the book seem true to me and related to each other. These virtues are: dreaming the impossible, frontier spirit, daring to be yourself, individual merit, and competitive spirit.

Cultures, it is not only our beliefs or customs, but a variety of things that makes a culture.

"Our great nation was founded on the lofty principles of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and guaranteed representation. In this modern day and age, these principles still stand as the bedrock foundation of our society, and their preservation is essential to the health of our union. The America of today is a far cry from that of yesteryear, but some things remain the same, each individual, no matter their financial standing or social status, has the right to say their piece in the public square, and in turn, have their piece be heard by those who deem fit to hear it.

Between 40,000 and 12,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers migrated from Asia to the Americas. They began migrating all over the americas. The North American cultures were less developed than those in South America and Mesoamerica, but the people of North America did establish complex societies. Some of these societies were able to organize long-distance trade and create magnificent buildings. The land from Oregon to Alaska was rich in resources. The most prime of these resources was the sea. Some tribes hunted whales using 15 person canoes. As well as the sea, the coastal forest also provided many different foods. In some coastal tribes families showed their wealth by hosting elaborate ceremonies called potlatch. In the ceremony the host family would give food, drink, and gifts to

As the airplane ascends towards its cruising altitude, I look out the window as the thrusters propel the plane towards the ocean. It is July, but the cabin is cold, and the hairs on my arms stand up in unison. The smells of fifty colognes and air freshener overtake my senses. To my left is the concrete jungle I have inhabited during half of my life. To my right a vast blue expanse that leads to España. I feel that I am in limbo, neither in the United States or España. As every summer and Christmas approaches, the feeling never changes. This year marks half of my life spent in the States, and I can’t help but ask myself: Am I going home, or am I leaving it?

Being able to understand how people from different cultures and religions communicate, interact, and perceive the environment around them allows for the formation of important guidelines and practices which help combat and avoid anxiety and uncertainty in government, business, and personal intercultural relationships for the purpose of efficient negotiations and merges different cultures into more tolerant cohesive existence.

Knowledge about some differences between yours and the other person’s culture can, for instance enable you to plan an event so that you have the best chance of enabling the communication to run smooth. It helps us to have curiosity and knowledge about the customs and norms of other cultures and the meanings associated with simple actions so that we can understand reactions and can influence the action by preventing misunderstandings as far as possible. This involves being aware of our own rules and prohibitions so they can be evaluated and examined in terms of appropriateness in different situations, otherwise we make judgment based on acceptable criteria.

It is not easy to define culture because culture is too broad a concept, can be both abstract and specific. However, what is agreed is culture covers all faces of our life as well as direct the way we behave, interact and communicate. (Liu et al., 2011). One popular definition is that “Culture is the total way of life of a group of people, comprising of the deposit of knowledge, experience, belief, values, traditions, religion, and notion of time, roles, spatial relations, worldviews, material objects and geographic territory”. (Liu et al., 2011, p.57). In this essay, I will analyse components and characteristics of culture, and based on that grounds, I will reflect on my own culture-being a Vietnamese. Dodd (1998) considered that culture is made up by three layers which consist of the core layer, the intermediate layer and the outer layer. I will examine what values and beliefs are considered important in my culture. Those are components of the inner core. Then, I will take some examples of the intermediate layer (expression of cultural activities by manifestation) such as communication patterns, customs and festivals.

American culture refers to the traditions and practices of the people of the United States. Culture comprises of the nature of buildings, religion, music language and marriage. The population of the United States is more than 320 million people making it the most culturally diverse country in the globe. Books such as Crabgrass Frontier, Manifest Destination and Muscular Christianity are important sources of information about American culture. This paper is a reflection on the methods that these books use in providing information about the evolution of the US culture. The paper examines the relationship between these three sources and ways they challenge or inform an understanding of the American society during the late 19th and early 20th century. There is an analysis of the efficiency of the issues tackled by these books in influencing the contemporary discourse surrounding American culture. The major argument of this paper is that Crabgrass Frontier, Manifest Destination and Muscular Christianity provide reliable information about the evolution of the US culture and they supplement each other through the use of relevant examples.

I’ve spent many years living in contradictions, hoping to be seen as “enough” in one culture while simultaneously hoping that I was not too much of that culture. I, like many first generation immigrants walk the fine line between two cultures, not truly feeling at home in either place yet striving to be accepted in both worlds.

Culture is definitely one important thing. Culture is defined as the learned behavior patterns that are attained by members in a society. Throughout this entire class we have learned so much about culture and how important it is for being historical and cultures as interconnected. The idea of culture being historical is really important because all cultures are known to be apart of something bigger. In one of the readings, “culture is defined as historically produced in particular locations under the influence of local, national, and global forces and events” (Merry, pg. 11). In order for one to understand culture one must know the history behind it and the traditions passed on through time. Culture is about all of the ideas and practices that have been going on for years and year but it is still open to new and changing ideas. Furthermore, the idea of culture being interconnected is important because no particular part of a culture can be studied in alone. Culture is known to be an integrated whole making it all connected with one another. By being interconnected it consists of the beliefs, morals, skills, and much more that one can learn from others in the society. Overall, culture being interconnected is extremely important and significant because in order to understand the whole culture, one must study all of the connected aspects, it is the only way.