Ethnocentrism Response And Culture: Clash Of Civilization

Ethnocentrism is defined as the tendency to judge other people and cultures by the standards of one’s own culture and to believe that the behavior, customs, norms, values and other characteristics of one’s own group are natural, valid, and correct while those of other’s are unnatural, invalid and incorrect. For example, in Funny in Farsi Firoozeh experiences ethnocentrism from citizens here

The findings of E.E. Evans-Pritchard serve as an example of the importance of ethnographic fieldwork and cultural relativism. People have an inherent tendency to drift towards ethnocentrism if they do not keep an open mind about the legitimacy of foreign cultural ideas. Enculturalization occurs from the very beginning of one’s life. When one grows up in a culture that praises traits that are deemed as beneficial and discourages behaviors that are seen as harmful, one tends to develop similar beliefs on these traits and behaviors. Different cultures encourage different outlooks on society. This is the result of the environment a culture exists in. In many tribal societies, one of the primary influences on culture is the physical environment. However, in technologically-advanced societies that worry less about satisfying needs and more about fulfilling desires, social aspects are perhaps more significant. For example, note the difference between American and Japanese culture. American culture promotes individualism and free speech. Many Americans tote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Webster’s dictionary defines ethnocentrism as “The tendency to evaluate other groups according to the values and standards of one's own ethnic group, especially with the conviction that one's own ethnic group is superior to the other groups.” When first reading this definition, one would naturally agree that ethnocentrism does exist in our world and society, often confusing it with patriotism. However, many do not realize that ethnocentrism is, has been, and continues to be a leading cause for violence in America. Different ethnic groups such as African Americans and Native Americans have suffered through years of violent crimes against them because of the white man’s ethnocentric views of themselves when compared with other races and

Ethnography tells about a culture and the members that comprise this culture. A definition is the scientific description of the customs and individual people of a culture. The process of doing this assignment allowed me to explore another aspect of a cultural group. I was able to learn extensively about interactions between individuals and how see them as a culture. The group that comprises my ethnography is a cultural group very common to Utah. The culture I focused on was the LDS culture, to be more specific I studied a sub-culture of this group. My subculture was a group of 12 year old adolescents that are a Sunday school class in this culture.

Cultural Relativism is the idea that what is right and what is wrong depends on what culture you live in. James Rachels in The Elements of Moral Philosophy used an example of Ancient Greeks and the Callatians and their disposal of the dead. The Greeks believed that the most respectful way to honor the dead is to cremate the body; the Callatians thought differently, they believe that the most respectful way to honor the dead as to eat the body of the dead so that the family would

One of the largest challenges Americans are facing today is coming to an agreement on the issue of immigration. Based on readings from Ruane and Cerulo and Fadiman, evidence of tensions between Americans and immigrant groups has spanned generations, affecting the way our culture perceives and reacts to “the Other,”1(167) cultures outside of our Western thought that we fail to understand due to continuous preconception and unrecognized self-entitlement as the ‘in-group.’ This segregation only continues the relentless cycle of economic and social barriers between an ‘us’ and a ‘them.’ The grand conflict between the Hmong versus the medical staffs in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down highlight the ethnocentrism that incurs blind

Cultural relativism is the idea that human behavior, ideas, and emotions must be understood in the context of the whole culture in which they occur.

Ethnocentrism is a tendency to use our own group’s ways of doing things as a yardstick for judging others (Pg. 40, Ch. 2). Cultural Relativism is understanding a culture on its own terms (Pg. 41, Ch.2). The concept I favor is Cultural Relativism because people should be able to understand and recognize a different culture’s background. It is evident that everyone has different ways to go about life/culture. Coming from another country and knowing two different cultures, helps me understand two different perspectives. I am not a type of person who will judge or believe my way of life/culture is the correct one. Everyone is different, live differently, and think differently. Therefore, Cultural Relativism makes sense to appreciate more because it allows a person to understand where different cultures are coming from. When you think about it, cultural relativism is quite hard to

Cultural Relativism – the practice of assessing a culture by its own standards, and not in comparison to another culture

This week we learned so many different terms related to culture. We talked about Enculturation, Acculturation & Ethnocentrism and so many others. What I find most interesting and true to many people is Ethnocentrism. It believes that our own culture is correct and that all others are wrong (Chaney & Martin, 2014). For instance, I find vegemite in crackers for breakfast is weird or bread as Australian table food is unacceptable for an Asian like me who loves rice for lunch and dinner is an example of ethnocentrism. Thinking that we are more superior than the other culture creates wrong assumptions about others behaviors.

Cultural Relativism on the other hand is the understanding and acceptability that there are other cultures besides one's own and that what is normal to them might not be normal to the other and vice versa. They're similar in the sense that they both center around perceptions of another culture, but there are stark differences. I went to Tijuana Mexico a couple years ago and felt like I was in a totally different world once I crossed the border. I viewed the city and culture with a Ethnocentrism view because it was so foreign to me. It wasn't until a year or so later that I started to view the culture in a cultural relativistic view by understanding that the way of life over there is their

Western ethnocentrism is a major reason for divisions amongst members of different ethnicities races and religious groups in society. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary ethnocentric individuals believe that the are better then other individuals for reasons based solely on their heritage, this practice is related to problems of both racism and prejudice. While many people may recognize the problems of ethnocentrism, they may often fail to recognize that ethnocentrism occurs everywhere and everyday at both political and social levels. To solidify the definition of ethnocentrism, looking at the present day politics of the United States is helpful. Ethnocentric discourses can be applied to examples and attitudes of the issue of the Western perception of the Middle East.

We must first understand the two distinct theories regarding perception of outside cultures: Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism. Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one's own culture.[1] The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion - these ethnic distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity’s unique cultural identity.[2] The logical alternative to ethnocentrism is Cultural relativism, the practice of judging a

Ethno-centrism is composed of two words combined together; ethnicity and centrism. Ethnocentrism can be defined in several ways, such as sexual orientation, religion, gender, language, social economics and several more. Simply, ethnocentrism to me is defined in three ways: culture, gender and social economic in my own perspective.

Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are two contrasting terms that are displayed by different people all over the world. Simply put, ethnocentrism is defined as “judging other groups from the perspective of one’s own cultural point of view.” Cultural relativism, on the other hand, is defined as “the view that all beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative, depending on the situation, environment, and individual.” Each of these ideas has found its way into the minds of people worldwide. The difficult part is attempting to understand why an individual portrays one or the other. It is a question that anthropologists have been asking themselves for years.