Culture And Culture Of The United States

1. How can an understanding of the complexities of culture help us make sense of the day-to-day world which we live? Give an example from your life to illustrate your answer.

American culture has been referred to as a “melting pot.” Different cultures have added their own distinct aspects to society, making America a diverse country. Despite the plethora of cultures, certain norms, mores, and folkways are evident in American society. These ideas are vital to the function and stability of America. They provide guidelines for what is acceptable and not. In virtually every society, there are people who engage in deviant behavior and do not abide by the values that the rest of society follows. Theorists have debated if people are socialized into acting this way and if it is a social or personal problem. The sociological study of culture focuses on norms, mores, and folkways.

The United States is shaped by its cultural myths. Cultural myths are widespread views or notions that are held and propagated by a nation to enforce its values. Among the great American cultural myths is the cultural myth of “educational empowerment” (Mann 110). It is the idea that the quantity of schooling is the yardstick of intelligence and the singular predictor of success. The notion that children fed into the machinery of education at an early age will be extruded further along the process equally and efficiently educated. However, like all cultural myths it is misleading, if not outright false. Problems in education throughout American history have made access to a good education difficult, if not

There were several distinct cultures that existed within the United States of America during the 18th century, particularly in the early part of this century (No author, 2010). Despite the fact that European colonialists had been attracted to this land in earnest since the 17th century, there were still many tribes of the region's native inhabitants, Native American Indians, that still populated the country. Of the many cultural differences that existed between these two population groups Europeans and Native Americans the most salient was the regard that each culture had for land and its inherent value. This difference proved so influential because it was one of the contributing factors that eventually led to the displace and eventual demise of the Native American population.

Throughout the 1960s there was a cultural phenomenon that started in the United States and spread like wildfire to multiple other cultures in the world. This phenomenon was also known as countercultures. This decade raised the 76.4 million Americans born during the baby boom generation. The babies of this boom entered their teen years during the 1960s and they definitely embraced a multitude new standards, dramatically different from the way their parents were raised. While some encompassed new ideals in dress, music and movies others joined countercultures and rebelled against the social norms with poetry, novels and art. Three of the most altering countercultures were the Hippies, the Sexual Revolution and the Gay Liberation.

An American’s identity is characterized not by an individual's religion, race, and culture, but by how they use their freedom and how they . The United States culture and identity developed long ago when early settlers and immigrants came to the states for  new lifestyles and mostly for religious freedom. American’s identity was built off of the settlers and immigrants who set the standards of who we are. America is made off of a diverse platform of race, religious, ethnic groups, and social class. All of these people are Americans. We look to be different, but we share the ability to welcome others of different backgrounds into our lives.

A) There were a couple of things that surprised me when I started citizenship classes. First, the urge that some students had to feel like they were a part of the American culture. During, some conversations that I held with students, some felt like they were not a part of the American culture, nor their native country. In all, feeling alienated and shunned by non-immigrants in the United States. In lecture, we spoke that migrants felt like “they were not here, nor there,” and I can only imagine what it is like not to be a part of society, simply because they made a sacrifice to improve my family’s lives. We also, have to take into consideration that many of the students were aware that they were still at risk of deportation, being

Think about what we’ve studied in ENGG 1100. What are some things Americans values in their culture? Why?

Culture is like the gentle, cool breeze that sweeps about the smoldering summer air to the delight of all, but misconceived by many of in its origin and purpose. Many wipe the sweat from their brow yet covet the whirls of natural coolant produced by the Earth, ignorant to the fact that these phenomenon work in conjunction and would be better together. In the same way, many countries, especially America, boast of their nations vast diversity and wealth of material items, but are not aware of the etiology of said objects. Japan is a nation of knowledge, mystery, and music that the common American does not know very much about.

I grew up in a small town, which was highly populated with individuals of Basque descent. My grandfather severed in the military and was stationed in Basque Country. Despite the large Basque population surrounding me, I knew very little of the culture and traditions commonly found within the Basque Country. “The homeland of the Basque people, commonly called the Basque Country, is located on the Bay of Biscay at the western end of the Pyrenees mountain range, straddling the border of France and Spain. The nearly 8,000-square-mile Basque Country is divided into seven administrative districts, four in Spain and three in France. Basque culture is distinctive from that of the rest of Spain in many ways” (Thomas, par. 1). This assignment has allowed me the privilege to interview and spend time with Maria Begona Narvaiza-Peck. I was able to experience the Basque culture through conversation, photographs, museum, and meals.

One of the most prominent components of American culture is to be the best that we can be due to our individualistic based mindset. Although this can be viewed as a weakness, I see it as a strength when it comes to expressing my own emotions and opinions in writing. However, I comprehend that I am limited to only what I have learned thus far in high school level writing classes, and need to expand my horizons by taking more advanced level education courses. The American culture I have been surrounded by and writing education system has pushed me to pursue betterment in my literary langue skills and critical thought process, and that is what I intend to continue on doing while I am taking this course. Without a continued stream of information and teaching, I would be unable to advance from my current views and ideas and be placed at a standstill with no room for growth, but plenty for ignorance.

The definition of culture is a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc (Merriam-Webster). America is thought to be somewhat of a culmination of many different cultures with origins spanning across the globe. However, Americans are more likely to accept and adapt to some cultures more than others. Factors that contribute to this adaptation are geographical location, social adoption, and most importantly, how good of a relationship the United States has with the culture's host country. This adaptation is called cultural diffusion.

Very often people live their lives without the awareness of the basic structures that they are exposed to and adapted into. The very things that regulate our day to day lives are often overlooked or never noticed. Johnson discovered this while vacationing in Mexico. While appreciating his time away from home, he came to realize that he had lost his actual sense of time. This created a feeling of uneasiness and the general feeling of being lost. Johnson wasn’t lost in the sense of being in an unidentified place; he was lost due to his withdrawal from his cultural time structure. Nature is not defined by minutes, hours, weeks, or years. “Time” is a creation of people, yet in some cultures is regarded as being “natural”. Because systems are integral to culture, Johnson came to realize that time organization is much more than creating a distinction between specific moments within a given day. He realized that the concept of time was created to allow a cultural structure to regulate itself and to organize the people within it. It allows for efficiency and the ability of people to conduct themselves within their culture’s expectations.

Culture is a behavior that consists of several critical elements, such as language, religion, race and ethnicity, clothing and politics. Culture is what one does in his/her daily life. In order to understand others, we must first keep in mind that every culture carries its own set of values and assumptions. Culture is an evolving, ever changing civilization, which includes several different groups people. For immigrants, America is a land of opportunity; for others it is just the best country in the world because of its economic success and/or its democratic political system. Americans usually value independence a lot, believe in equal opportunity, and have a direct communication

The United States of America being the third largest country in the world with more than 315 million inhabitants, consists of multicultural societies with ethnically diverse population. Since there are a lot of foreigners, the US culture has evolved in such a way accepting and tolerating other foreign cultures. US is very much influenced by protestant work ethics according to which people believe in themselves and their efforts to attain the goal of self-actualization and success. The rich diversity in the culture brought by foreigners, prevailing values of protestant ethics, hard work etc. have helped US to emerge as a superpower in the past years. Nearly every religion had its impact on US culture in one way or the other. The