Reading Craig Storti’s book, Figuring Foreigners Out, gives many new insights about my trip to Puerto Rico. In his book there are four categories that he covers that I will use to analyze and reflect upon my time in Puerto Rico. The four categories he uses are concept of self, personal vs. societal responsibility, concept of time, and locus of control. To begin I will examine Storti’s topic, concept of self.
Concept of Self
In Storti’s book he defines the concept of self as a scale, individualism being one of the poles and collectivism as the other. Many people fall somewhere in between these two but there are some that are to the extreme of each. Storti defines individualist as “the smallest unit of survival is the individual (Storti, 1999, p. 25). According to Storti (1999) people identify primarily with self, and the needs of the individual are satisfied before those of the group”. The opposite pole is
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25). Storti says one’s identity is in large part a function of one’s membership and role in a group. In many ways it can be seen as whether you believe that what you do impacts the survival of yourself (individualist) or what the group does determines the survival of yourself (collectivist). When you look at the culture in the United States as a whole it is easy to see we are very individualistic. We are constantly looking out for ourselves which can be seen especially within our work environments. We constantly look for a promotion or recognition to better ourselves. We believe that if “I” ever get rich or become famous then I will help others out. I believe that I can be easy for myself to be a very individualistic person. I struggle with allowing others to help me and I tend to believe that I can do everything myself to succeed. I’m very self-dependent which for the most
In Reproducing Empire, Laura Briggs provides her readers with a very thorough history of the mainland U.S. and Puerto Rican discourses and its authors surrounding Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans, from Puerto Rico's formation in the mainland elite's "mind" as a model U.S. (not) colony in 1898* to its present status as semi-autonomous U.S.
Since the nineteenth century Puerto Ricans have been caught in the cross-streams of two cultures,
Social science teaches that a person’s self identity is a reflection of that which other people put on the individual, in other words a person’s behavior steams more from what they see of themselves from someone else’s perspective and less from how they see themselves. In the case of the Mexicans, this concept holds true. From that, which has been studied thus far this semester, Mexicans/ Mexican Americans are good examples of this concept. Their sorted past has resulted in a new kind of Mexican American and perhaps a new kind of Mexican. Certainly the Mexicans American’s experience in this country has brought about some changes from the first generation of Mexicans who were born in this country to those who
In 1946, Ayn Rand wrote, “‘The greatest good for the greatest number’ is one of the most vicious slogans ever foisted on humanity. This slogan has no concrete, specific meaning. There is no way to interpret it benevolently, but a great many ways in which it can be used to justify the most vicious actions.” Collectivism is defined as the practice of assigning primacy to a group over each individual within it. At its core, the ideology stems from prioritizing the well-being of all. However, when allowed to run rampant as it is in Anthem, collectivism contorts into a binding institution that impedes individual evolution. Idealistically, collectivism is utopic, but in practice it negates the significance of the identities of its subjects.
“Individualism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs to him and that he has an inalienable right to live as he sees fit, to act on his own judgement, to keep and use the product of his effort, and to pursue the causes of his choosing.” My take on individualism, is basically that we can control ourselves, we can do what we want with restrictions to keep those that stand by us safe. Individualism is a way of a society. Now, on the other hand there is collectivism, “the idea that the individual’s life belongs not to him but to the group or society of which he is merely a part of has no rights, and that he must sacrifice his values and goals for the group’s greater good.” My take on this is “idea” is that you are completely controlled when put under this way of society. Having read the book Anthem by Ayn Rand collectivism is for sure something that I would not want to be a part of.
For most of its history, Puerto Rico has been controlled by an outside power, and its people oppressed. While Puerto Rico is currently a U.S. territory, Spanish colonialism has had a significant impact on the island’s development and identity. The history of the island itself is proof of this fact, demonstrating each step Puerto Rico took to reach its current state. By examining the stages of Spanish control that Puerto Rico experienced, we can determine how each stage affected the structure and identity of Puerto Rico.
In the novel The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez struggles of humans are conveyed through a view that is rarely expressed: the individual points of view of immigrants to the United States. The novel uses the individuals of an apartment complex in Delaware to demonstrate struggles faced by humanity. It has within it lessons that every young adult should learn. The novel teaches, through the distinct views of individuals, that all individuals have value based solely on the fact that they are human and that every action has an effect that must be considered.
When Puerto Ricans migrated to the United States they did it in two major waves. The first wave of emigration occurred in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The second wave occurred from the 1940s to the present. The workings of Bernando Vega and Jose Cruz deal with the different generations of Puerto Ricans that these two waves brought to the United States. While Vega discusses the early emigration of Puerto Ricans to New York City, Cruz discusses the later emigration of Puerto Ricans to Connecticut. Each author describes a different Puerto Rican experience in the
My process of enculturation into the Puerto Rican culture can be explained with the iceberg analogy, having in mind that the island itself has a high context background. Above water, the official language is Spanish, although English is taught mandatory on the education system since first grade. One of the things a tourist or anyone that starts assimilating the culture can experience first hand is the passion Puerto Ricans have to speak loudly and use many hand gestures during conversations. This passion is not only present during social interactions, but also on the way citizen’s carry out their beliefs. Even though, the island is a place recognized for its great night life activities and bars, the religion is 85% Catholic, therefore many people go to church on Sundays and tend to be very precocious of their actions because of their faith and religious thinking. Inside the water, on the aspect of feelings and values, Puerto Ricans are very traditional, nevertheless,
Individualism in today’s society is the “belief that each person is unique, special, and a ‘basic unit of nature’.” The individualism concept puts an
The debate on Puerto Rican Identity is a hot bed of controversy, especially in today’s society where American colonialism dominates most of the island’s governmental and economic policies. The country wrestles with the strong influence of its present day colonizers, while it adamantly tries to retain aspects of the legacy of Spanish colonialism. Despite America’s presence, Puerto Ricans maintain what is arguably their own cultural identity which seems largely based on the influence of Spain mixed with customs that might have developed locally.
This dimension is described by Hofstede (1980, 2001) as the framework where society decides if they are closely related to their group or if they are more individualistic. Does the individual come first? Or does the team? In more individualist countries, focus is on the individuals interest and needs, value is placed on the person specifically, individuals are awarded for their efforts (i.e. leaders take credit for
Defined as “the entire person of an individual” (Merriam-Webster, 2017), it is interesting to consider the different ways ‘the self’ has been interpreted through different societies. In Foucault’s Societies of Discipline (S.O.D), a previous economy of power, it would have been simple to define the self – discipline “’makes’ individuals” (Foucault, 1977, p.170) and in doing so this intrinsic sense of the self. However does this hold true in our current social scenario? Deleuze states that the
This particular theory views identity as conditional and self motivated as well as being related to one’s culture. Although other theories on identity consider the personal and social identity to be separate, SCT considers the personal and social identity to be
First, Individualism vs. Collectivism. Individualism is the social function of the relative likelihood of a free and individual means only take care of themselves and their families. By contrast, collectivism is the tendency of social functions relatively tight where each individual to identify themselves as a group with loyalty not need to be asked. The main problem of this dimension is the degree of interdependence of individuals in a