Minik Summary

As an anthropologist, Holmes discusses how the Triqui workers are structurally vulnerable in this way because of the structural, political, and economic factors forcing them to work under these conditions.

The chapter continued to discuss how people experience other cultures when they are removed from their area to a different place. This occurs in the form of culture shock people experience new traditions that are unfamiliar to them when the come to a place that is home to another culture. Human development may also include joining the ideas of various cultures and forming it into a new concept. It puts heavy emphasis on learning other cultures in an unbiased form in order to compare and make observations. This chapter also studies of culture have been able to advance over time and how change is an essential aspect of

In his book Mad Dogs, English, and the Errant Anthropologist, Raybeck discusses his observations as he immerses himself in Wakaf Bharu, a city in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia. Throughout the ethnography, he discusses the various differences that he observes with the Kelantanese culture and the American culture, while using his prior knowledge to explain the observations he takes note of. By using these observations, Raybeck proceeds to answer different Naturalistic Questions which explain how Raybeck gathers the information and in what ways his studies impact the culture. Then, he elaborates on the economical aspect of the culture he studies, explaining how relationships

“Nest in the Wind,” by Martha Ward, introduces many problems faced in Pohnpei due to westernization, most importantly their health. In this paper I analyzed her journey and the changing culture of Pohnpei. After reading about the social changes and culture shift I was able to relate their current problems with the problems we face in the west today and the lack of a solution. I also analyze the differences and similarities between Pohnpei and western culture.

The Encounters at the Heart of the World by Elizabeth A. Fenn is a book that includes the history of Mandan people. Most of the people know this place because of Lewis and Clark, but in this book readers can also learn so many important things about Mandan and combination of important new discoveries. In this book, a reader can examine how an author can go far and beyond the expectation, the way she went into the Mandan’s history. The way author have written this book, makes easier for readers to read because she divides each chapter in many topics.

Dennis O’Rouke’s documentary “Cannibal Tours”, filmed in 1988, the famous director at the time had much thought in regards to how the ‘civilized’ tourists diminished the primitives and their culture.” The documentary is based on the experiences of European tourists as they traveled through the boundaries of Sepik River in New Papua, Guiana. In the documentary, at first it appears to be that the Europeans want to learn more about the culture of the natives in the land and to better understand their way of life. Yet, as these tourists begin their journey they are surprised that the native’s culture is a lot different from their own. The tourists begin to believe that the natives were ‘poor’ and ‘uncivilized’ in comparison to them, all by European

The book “Love and Honor in the Himalayas: Coming to know another culture” is ethnography by Ernestine McHugh. In the beginning of the book, the author talks about how she developed her interest in the field of anthropology during her undergraduate study since “at that time [she] knew little about [it,] but [she] had mapped out a project relating to culture and the aesthetics of life” (McHugh). It was her mentor Gregory Bateson, under whom she had developed this project who inspired her to carry out this project in Nepal. Although her attempts at writing about her experience failed the first time, during her graduate schooling she was encouraged by her advisor Roy D’Andrade to continue. This book revolves around the ethnic Gurung community who live at the foothills of the Annapurna Mountain; just about thirty miles up from the famous tourist destination in Nepal called Pokhara. At the age of twenty-one, the village where the author lived was called “Tebas.” Although Nepal is a country filled with people who follow Hinduism and the official language is Nepalese, she chooses a place in north central Nepal where people mostly spoke in their own ethnic language which is very similar to Tibetan on contrary to the popular Nepalese language. In this book she talks about how she fully immerses herself in the field work and in the process tells the story of the people who let her in their house and more importantly made her a part of their family. Throughout her stay she was treated

In order to understand any culture, it is essential to acknowledge the importance of taking a holistic view. This approach, which gained recognition and validation in the twentieth century, stresses the importance of accounting for all of the components of a culture. The concept requires an understanding of each subsystem, which dictates certain aspects of the culture being studied. With this theory as basis for her approach, Myerhoff is faced with the difficult task of piecing together the many parts contributing to the formation of the culture at the Center, while simultaneously recognizing the distinctions between the acting subsystems. Sometimes it seems that realizing what leads to specific cultural constructs would be extremely difficult; this is especially the case with traits that have become so naturalized that only an outsider would recognize them as distinct and significant. That said, it is obvious that there are advantages to studying a completely exotic culture, as the majority of anthropologists do; however, Myerhoff chose to do her fieldwork in a culture that is centered

“Ancestral lines” by John Barker is a book about the anthropologist’s experience in the Uiaku village located in Papua New Guinea. In the first chapter, Barker tells his readers briefly about him and his education, his and his wife’s experience with the Maisin community, and talks in great detail about the Maisin and their culture in the Uiaku village.

The American desire to culturally assimilate Native American people into establishing American customs went down in history during the 1700s. Famous author Zitkala-Sa, tells her brave experience of Americanization as a child through a series of stories in “Impressions of an Indian Childhood.” Zitkala-Sa, described her journey into an American missionary where they cleansed her of her identity. In “Impressions of an Indian Childhood,” Zitkala-Sa uses imagery in order to convey the cruel nature of early American cultural transformation among Indian individuals.

In this article, Miner takes the role of an outsider and judges the Nacirema just as we judge other cultures. Miner does an exceptional job of wording things in such a way that we don’t even recognize our own culture. Miner wants us to realize that when someone, such as an anthropologist describes another culture, we can interpret that into being abnormal but in actuality, it is, by all means, very normal.

Zitkala-Sa’s autobiography informs her readers of the damaging and traumatizing effects of assimilation by utilizing her life experiences as a narrative, demonstrating how living under an oppressive and dominant culture was an internal struggle between society's expectations and her own cultural identity. Sa’s experience is especially unique considering her mixed heritage as well.

Thesis: one’s personal culture and sense of tradition will always be a strong part of the self, regardless of external factors which can have a profound influence on one’s life.

The identity of an individual is evident in a person from the things that they do about their culture. Some individuals with the knowledge that they have acquired from their culture are willing to carry out activities depicting their knowledge. A person’s identity can be known from the way they express themselves in relation to their culture, his notion brings about the aspect of one’s identity in relation to their culture. This aspect of culture shaping an individual’s identity experiences challenges in some given instances. Migration to another country with a different culture can be a big challenge to a person who is accustomed to a certain culture. This is because one may be unable to fit in the new environment because of the new culture. Factors that can cause lack of incorporation include

The general study of humans and their ways of life is called Anthropology. Anthropology have four classic subdivisions: Cultural (or socio-cultural) Anthropology, Archaeology, Linguistics Anthropology and Biological (or physical) Anthropology. He or she who typically had some training in each of these four classic subdivisions in fact, have connected them to one another within a large field anthropology study. Moreover, he or she can use the theoretical knowledge and findings of anthropology to solve real-world problems surrounding human beings or human customs. Anthropologist has an idea that the beliefs and practices of a culture should be understood within the context that particular culture’s background, history and current events surrounding it called Cultural relativism. The main objective of this final research paper is examining my own culture from etic (i.e. outsider’s) perspective and another culture from emic (i.e. insider’s) perspective to clearly show my personal understanding of cultural relativism. Specifically, I will examine the rites of passage in African American girls/women lived reality and effects of the intersectional race, class and gender oppression in America coupled with discussing Japanese different rituals comparison to American outlook into death and the afterlife. All in all, rites of passage are done differently and makes a difference in its own society.