Personal Reflection Of Anthropology

Through my culture, I have learned to become a pious human being, understood my place on the socio-economic scale, and understood the significance of family support. These influences have taught me to be responsible and to work hard. As a result of these influences, I try my best as a student, a member of a family, and a member of the community. I continue my studies, learning day by day, while giving back to my family, the community, and the nation. Without these influences, I would not be supported by others or cultured to persevere in the face of difficulties and to benefit the society whenever possible. Additionally, without my culture, I would be seeking more materialistic, temporary worldly objects and pleasures; the thirst and hunger of which never ends and only brings sorrow and emptiness. Lastly, without my culture, I would not be able to cultivate the good human qualities and my personality, much needed to be a successful

It expresses the idea that this is something that is common among most people. As a social analyst or sociologist, one needs to view another culture not as something abnormal or wrong but as something just simply different than our own. This viewing of other cultures as simply different is called cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is an important concept to comprehend in this chapter and this is because it helps us to understand and to “place different values, beliefs, norms, and practices within their own culture”. (Ferris & Stein, 2010, p. 78). It is important to practice cultural relativism because it allows oneself to be open minded and to see other more openly, without judgment and as a result appreciate their culture, their way of life. Another insightful concept addressed in this chapter was the concept of cultural leveling which is “the process by which cultures that were once unique and distinct become increasingly similar” (Ferris & Stein, 2010, p. 91). The chapter states that cultural leveling is seen all around the United States. If cultural leveling is something that seems to be constantly occurring, then it is an important concept to understand. One example that the chapter provides is the rise of popularity in Japanese anime in

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” (Mahatma). Our culture identifies who we are and how we behave in social environments and provides us with a foundation in which to live our lives and raise our families. Each individual culture has certain customs and courtesies that are important. Exposure to the cultures of others can be intimidating and can leave a person feeling confused and unsure about how they fit in (Schaefer 60). Culture shock can leave a person feeling out of place in an unfamiliar culture (Schaefer 60). Our diverse societies demand understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Learning and understanding these cultures before being

I have something; something that cannot be seen or held; something that cannot be heard or smelled. Something that I can’t quite explain; something impossible to exchange. It lies within only me, it must be my cultural identity. Culture to me, is something that reflects not only me, but everyone around me. Culture isn’t where you came from, or where your family came from; it’s you, and every aspect of you. Culture is your likes, your dislikes, your values, your morals, your accomplishments, your opinions, etc. You can't sum it up in just a sentence, or even a thousand. Culture is complex, it is distinct, it is individual. My cultural identity reflects the person I am today and the person I intend to be tomorrow. My cultural identity reflects

1. Why is the idea of disappearing natives a myth? Use a specific quote from the text to support this.

Anthropologist are known to play devil's advocate, to accumulate knowledge on a global scale and to ultimately make the familiar strange and the strange familiar. Their whole purpose is to study the language, traditions and customs of societies so knowledge on how humanity has developed over time may be advanced. Cultural anthropologists use a wide range of techniques in order to reach an insightful understanding of human behavior in a specific culture. Cultural Anthropologists play a vital role in spreading what knowledge is accumulated from other regions of the world.

Learning from people from past generations is an awesome experience. Not only does one get more knowledge from the experiences, but one can learn about oneself even further. I person I was interested in interviewing was my father. My father who left his hometown at the age of 20, for a better future, remembers his upbringing in the small town that is a speechless witness of my dad’s early life. My dad was born in a rural town in Mexico, which is about an hour and half away from where tequila is produced. He was the third oldest child out of five children. My dads ascribed status was of the poor working class. At an early age my dad tells me that he was expected to help out my grandfather with the farm animals, such as the horses, pigs, and

In school, I had to understand differences and prevent misunderstanding in order to work with others effectively. “Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s Seven dimension of Culture” helps me to relate and explore my own situation. From my experience, I have realized that people differ from one another in specific ways; this is all due to the fact that we have our own beliefs and values due to different factors. When trying to distinguish people from different cultures, I automatically consider the seven

“[I]magine culture as invisible webs composed of values, beliefs, ideas about appropriate behavior, and socially constructed truths” (Trumbell, 9). Everybody has a different background to correspond with how they see the world through their values, beliefs, and ideas. People act a certain way and dress a certain way because of their culture also. Someone’s culture has a significant impact on the way they view other people and the world because of how uncertain they are of their culture and their own personal and past experiences.

When looking around the community one lives in, it is easy to see just a single large culture. If a person was to examine their community they might find many different cultural groups within the superior one. Some of those cultures that are easily overlooked include the deaf community, whiteness and military living. Educating one’s self will allow them to be accepting and caring for others through understanding.

I learned interesting facts about our own culture. The thing I found interesting was that majority of the class didn't know that California banned affirmative action enrollment in universities. I thought it common knowledge since it was banned in 96 if I remember correctly, which 20 years have passed, but there still is this misconception that minorities are being admitted due to race. I think some states still have enrollment based affirmative action, so I understand that there would be misconception since some lawsuits going on about the topic. I had a feeling that majority was going to answer that they believe universities use affirmative action, but it was still surprising to me because I didn't want to be

Many of the problems we face with others who are not like us as a culture are due to misunderstandings. When you learn about culture worldwide, and see why others do things differently then you do, it’s easier to understand them it allows the other culture to see you are freely open to learn about them. This can develop ones sympathy to cultures. It’s harder to justify things like hatred and violence when you understand where another person is coming from. At the end of the research one should have learned that when you learn about other cultures, you learn that there is more than one approach to

I was always different from the other kids in my class. I was reserved and quiet. Most would tell me that I always look like I was in deep thought. Well that's because I was. I always thought that I thought deeper and viewed the world differently than other people my age. I had a great interest in people, in fact they fascinated me. I greatly enjoyed meeting new people and listening to their life or things they like. So I guess one could say my interest in Anthropology dates back to grade school. History was always my best subject, I would always sit at the front of the class "bright eyed and bushy tailed". But I especially loved when they talked about different civilizations of people and the thing they did. When it was time to decide where I wanted to go to college and

The first couple weeks of class were really interesting to me because we covered the first humans, the rise of ancient civilizations in Southern Asia, and the beginnings of religions that are still practiced today. The first society started in Mesopotamia in a lush, fertile, river valley. I learned about the Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Revolution, and the Mesolithic age. The Mesopotamian societies wanted to be able to explain things in nature so they created polytheism. This helped bring together a group of people who shared the same beliefs, forming a civilization. During the first couple of weeks, I learned of the major religions and philosophies we

(Origin) When thinking about my family and our roots I identify my family’s places or origin as Germany and Ireland. A majority of my family is of German ancestry and the one exception is my grandmother and she is Irish. I identify these too places as where my family came from due to stories that I have hear from family members and to the traits that each member of my family carries. A majority of my family are all blonde hair, with blue or brown eyes which have a lot of similarities to people from Germany. My family as very few of the traits from the Irish side but the only ones the I have been told are that some people in our family freckle a lot