Friday, February 23, 2007
Prompts 14-18
Prompt 14
In the beginning Fugui does not show any of the traditional Chinese values and his life is not good. Fugui loses his family home due to his gambling problem, he almost loses his wife due to the gambling and generally not showing that he cares about her welfare or his children's. Yet it also shows that when the communists move in and he sees how bad life could be, he works to fix things. Fugui wins favor within the communist camps through his puppet shows and is able to work out a meager but decent life for himself and his family in the commune. Throughout the movie Fugui begins to show more of the traditional values and his life grows increasingly better. To live is to live well which is not measured by weath but by being a good person good will come to you. This seems to relate to the idea of yin and yang, that there is good and there is bad but through living well you can find the better of the two. The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution are difficult times in history in which the people have to learn to adapt, although things may be tough, through hard work and adaptation they are able to make the best of their situation.
Prompt 15
Ethnic villages bring a sense of community and oneness with a person's own ethnicity despite being far away from their origins. Chinatown and all that it has to offer helps the people of the area retain their ethnic identity by being able to interact with people of similar backgrouds, purchase items they may not be able to find in local stores and take part in cultural activities that they would otherwise miss out on. Usually these areas would be seen by locals as ghettos or the like, yet now they are tourist attractions.
Prompt 16
The meal in Chinatown was quite the event. The items on the menu were in English but their descriptions were in Chinese so it seemed best to go with things we had heard of. The use of chopsticks usually causes a problem to some and it seemed that a few people reached a point in which they were more exhausted from trying to eat than actually full. The fact that the food was brought out and placed on a lazy susan was interesting. While we as Westerners (and the most obese in the world) are typically used to getting to eat everything that we ordered, this style of eating promoted sharing and made the meal more interactive than it would typically be if we stuck to shovelling food into our faces from our own plates.
Prompt 17
When we spoke of this topic in class we spoke of A.B.C.s or American Born Chinese and this crosses into other Asian nationalities as well. Although these people may have two parents of one nationality, if they grow up in America they are treated differently. These people are no longer just Chinese or Taiwanese because they pick up American ideas and values and may have never learned their parent's language, yet they are not considered fully American because they still retain some of their ethnic heritage.
Prompt 18
China's impression of human rights was shocking to me and seemed almost as if they were looking into a mirror at times. It was claimed that U.S. businesses work people in almost slave conditions yet this seems that this statement could be turned on the Chinese. China also claimed that the U.S. had a higher crime rate and blamed this on the availability of owning private firearms, they stated that since this was not allowed in China, crime was not a big issue there. It almost seemed that China deemed many of the U.S.'s problems on the fact that there is competition in the work place, to gain wealth, etc while the Chinese are in a way predestined for their positions so there is little competition.
In the beginning Fugui does not show any of the traditional Chinese values and his life is not good. Fugui loses his family home due to his gambling problem, he almost loses his wife due to the gambling and generally not showing that he cares about her welfare or his children's. Yet it also shows that when the communists move in and he sees how bad life could be, he works to fix things. Fugui wins favor within the communist camps through his puppet shows and is able to work out a meager but decent life for himself and his family in the commune. Throughout the movie Fugui begins to show more of the traditional values and his life grows increasingly better. To live is to live well which is not measured by weath but by being a good person good will come to you. This seems to relate to the idea of yin and yang, that there is good and there is bad but through living well you can find the better of the two. The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution are difficult times in history in which the people have to learn to adapt, although things may be tough, through hard work and adaptation they are able to make the best of their situation.
Prompt 15
Ethnic villages bring a sense of community and oneness with a person's own ethnicity despite being far away from their origins. Chinatown and all that it has to offer helps the people of the area retain their ethnic identity by being able to interact with people of similar backgrouds, purchase items they may not be able to find in local stores and take part in cultural activities that they would otherwise miss out on. Usually these areas would be seen by locals as ghettos or the like, yet now they are tourist attractions.
Prompt 16
The meal in Chinatown was quite the event. The items on the menu were in English but their descriptions were in Chinese so it seemed best to go with things we had heard of. The use of chopsticks usually causes a problem to some and it seemed that a few people reached a point in which they were more exhausted from trying to eat than actually full. The fact that the food was brought out and placed on a lazy susan was interesting. While we as Westerners (and the most obese in the world) are typically used to getting to eat everything that we ordered, this style of eating promoted sharing and made the meal more interactive than it would typically be if we stuck to shovelling food into our faces from our own plates.
Prompt 17
When we spoke of this topic in class we spoke of A.B.C.s or American Born Chinese and this crosses into other Asian nationalities as well. Although these people may have two parents of one nationality, if they grow up in America they are treated differently. These people are no longer just Chinese or Taiwanese because they pick up American ideas and values and may have never learned their parent's language, yet they are not considered fully American because they still retain some of their ethnic heritage.
Prompt 18
China's impression of human rights was shocking to me and seemed almost as if they were looking into a mirror at times. It was claimed that U.S. businesses work people in almost slave conditions yet this seems that this statement could be turned on the Chinese. China also claimed that the U.S. had a higher crime rate and blamed this on the availability of owning private firearms, they stated that since this was not allowed in China, crime was not a big issue there. It almost seemed that China deemed many of the U.S.'s problems on the fact that there is competition in the work place, to gain wealth, etc while the Chinese are in a way predestined for their positions so there is little competition.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Prompts 8-13
Prompt 8
Sugar production began in Hawaii around 1852. Both sugar and pineapple were grown on large plantations that needed a labor force, thus the plantations recruited foreign workers. Many of these workers were from the Philippines. Workers were treated better than slave labor because the U.S. had passed laws prohibiting restrictive labor contracts, thus when a laborer wanted to quit their job, their boss could not stop them.
Sanford Dole was the son of a missionary in Hawaii. Sanford advocated for the westernization of Hawaii. The Bayonet Constitution was a reform movement that took away much of Kalakaua's power, limited voting rights of natives and nobles and gave more power to westerners living on the islands. Lorrin Thurston was an attorney that created a group called the Committee of Safety that is responsible for overthrowing Queen Lilioukalani and was a key figure in the annexation of Hawaii. Sanford Dole became the President of Hawaii on July 4, 1894. Hawaii was annexed in 1898 by William McKinley who appointed Sanford the governor. James Dole was the cousin of Sanford Dole. James Dole bought Lana'i in 1922 for pineapple production. Americanization brought missions and business. The missions wanted to reach out to the plantation workers who worked under miserable conditions. Yet the businesses did not seem to mind enforcing such difficult labor as long as it produced a profit.
Prompt 9
The Family Game portrays the Japanese family as very goal oriented. The parents in the movie go to great lengths to make certain that their sons are getting a good education and are on a path to getting in the best schools, which will thus lead to the best colleges and good jobs. A good education for the sons is the main focus of the movie. Shigeyuki begins the movie as unmotivated and a rather hopeless case, his parents pay for a tutor to come and work with him and as he begins to rank higher in the class, his parents seemed to regard him more positively.
Just as Shigeyuki and his classmates have found each other's weaknesses and thus are able to control each other to an extent using them to their own advantage, this also seems true within the family unit. The family has a similar way of knowing just the right things to do to get under each other's skin.
The young wife who came over was quite the contrast to Shigeyuki's mother and at first Shigeyuki's mother did not seem to know how to connect with the woman, yet as the film went on, they began talking on the phone and seeing each other more. It seemed that this showed that the good wife/mother's role was in the house and that is why the first meeting between the two was very awkward.
The end of the film and the lives of the characters seems to symbolize that that particular way of thinking is dying. The stay at home mother/wife that was there to serve the men of her house dies which could symbolize a movement of women beyond traditional duties and possibly into the workforce.
Prompt 10
The Japanese take on the bombing of Nagasaki is one of sorrow. For them it is hard to understand why the enemy would make an offensive move on the unsuspecting innocent. Yet the Japanese do not want to bring it up to the Americans because they believe that it would embarass them.
The views of the three generations shown in the movie vary. The oldest generation lived through the bombing, had to deal directly with the devestation and lost many loved ones. The middle generation heard their parents stories but did not have to deal directly with the consequences so it was easier to think of it as an awful event that happened, but is over and it's time to move on. The youngest generation hears the stories from the oldest, yet also gets the middle generation's semi-non interested take. The younger generation thinks that it is terrible that the middle generation is trying to forget the bombing as if it never happened, they believe that the event should be remembered and not be a hidden part of their history.
In the sense of "they" and "us"...
It would seem that "they" would believe that what "they" did to "us" at Pearl Harbor was justified because of the damage that "we" ended up causing them. Yet "we" as Americans speak of the tragedy and let it be known that "they" are responsible while "they" try to refrain from guilting "us."
Prompt 11
Denver refers to the Pacific War as a race war because the conflict brought out the worst sort of racist side of people. Each side thought themselves superior, it wasn't just Americans versus Japanese, it was "white" versus "yellow," wrong versus right.
The primary story encountered at the Arizona Memorial is of the U.S. being attacked by the Japanese. The video shows the men going about their daily tasks, completely unaware of the attack that was about to occur while a group of Japanese fighter planes were headed their way.
The age range and ethnicity of the people visiting the memorial varied greatly. There were older people as well as younger. It would appear that many ethnicities visit the site due to the fact that the pamplet was not only in English but French, German, Japanese, Chinese, etc.
Many people visit the memorial to pay their respects. Yet visitors also go to see the site that so many have heard about, the site in which America was attacked on her own homeland and that is responsible for bringing the United States into WWII.
The site mainly spoke of the Arizona, which is understandable because it met the worst of fates, yet some of its neighbors lie in the water near it and not much of an emphasis is placed on them. The site covers primarily this one event, not the island hopping that is to ensue due to it.
Prompt 12
The Japanese incorporate their aestheticism into religious sites through landscaping, placement of sites near positive energies, etc. The primary site that comes to mind that supports this is the Byodo-In Temple which had ponds, was nestled in a low lying area between mountains, has beautiful archetecture that used no nails in construction, etc. The fact that we were able to take part in the activities belonging to each Japanese religious site, despite not being Buddist shows great tolerance. The Japanese hold the idea that you can be of multiple faiths, even Christian and Buddist, while in Christianity a person belongs to one particular denomination.
Prompt 13
"Nobody" can be a person's name yet can also be nothing when that person comes to realize their own unimportance. A man's life passes just as it is certain that the sun will set everyday.
The falling snow is an uncontrollable act of nature. The fact that when the boy holds out his hand it is covered by the snow shows the relationship of man and nature, through covering his hand in snow, nature is the more powerful of the two.
It can be seen that the Japanese respect natural forces and see their own lives through acts of nature and they show this in the ways in which they use natural elements around their temples.
Sugar production began in Hawaii around 1852. Both sugar and pineapple were grown on large plantations that needed a labor force, thus the plantations recruited foreign workers. Many of these workers were from the Philippines. Workers were treated better than slave labor because the U.S. had passed laws prohibiting restrictive labor contracts, thus when a laborer wanted to quit their job, their boss could not stop them.
Sanford Dole was the son of a missionary in Hawaii. Sanford advocated for the westernization of Hawaii. The Bayonet Constitution was a reform movement that took away much of Kalakaua's power, limited voting rights of natives and nobles and gave more power to westerners living on the islands. Lorrin Thurston was an attorney that created a group called the Committee of Safety that is responsible for overthrowing Queen Lilioukalani and was a key figure in the annexation of Hawaii. Sanford Dole became the President of Hawaii on July 4, 1894. Hawaii was annexed in 1898 by William McKinley who appointed Sanford the governor. James Dole was the cousin of Sanford Dole. James Dole bought Lana'i in 1922 for pineapple production. Americanization brought missions and business. The missions wanted to reach out to the plantation workers who worked under miserable conditions. Yet the businesses did not seem to mind enforcing such difficult labor as long as it produced a profit.
Prompt 9
The Family Game portrays the Japanese family as very goal oriented. The parents in the movie go to great lengths to make certain that their sons are getting a good education and are on a path to getting in the best schools, which will thus lead to the best colleges and good jobs. A good education for the sons is the main focus of the movie. Shigeyuki begins the movie as unmotivated and a rather hopeless case, his parents pay for a tutor to come and work with him and as he begins to rank higher in the class, his parents seemed to regard him more positively.
Just as Shigeyuki and his classmates have found each other's weaknesses and thus are able to control each other to an extent using them to their own advantage, this also seems true within the family unit. The family has a similar way of knowing just the right things to do to get under each other's skin.
The young wife who came over was quite the contrast to Shigeyuki's mother and at first Shigeyuki's mother did not seem to know how to connect with the woman, yet as the film went on, they began talking on the phone and seeing each other more. It seemed that this showed that the good wife/mother's role was in the house and that is why the first meeting between the two was very awkward.
The end of the film and the lives of the characters seems to symbolize that that particular way of thinking is dying. The stay at home mother/wife that was there to serve the men of her house dies which could symbolize a movement of women beyond traditional duties and possibly into the workforce.
Prompt 10
The Japanese take on the bombing of Nagasaki is one of sorrow. For them it is hard to understand why the enemy would make an offensive move on the unsuspecting innocent. Yet the Japanese do not want to bring it up to the Americans because they believe that it would embarass them.
The views of the three generations shown in the movie vary. The oldest generation lived through the bombing, had to deal directly with the devestation and lost many loved ones. The middle generation heard their parents stories but did not have to deal directly with the consequences so it was easier to think of it as an awful event that happened, but is over and it's time to move on. The youngest generation hears the stories from the oldest, yet also gets the middle generation's semi-non interested take. The younger generation thinks that it is terrible that the middle generation is trying to forget the bombing as if it never happened, they believe that the event should be remembered and not be a hidden part of their history.
In the sense of "they" and "us"...
It would seem that "they" would believe that what "they" did to "us" at Pearl Harbor was justified because of the damage that "we" ended up causing them. Yet "we" as Americans speak of the tragedy and let it be known that "they" are responsible while "they" try to refrain from guilting "us."
Prompt 11
Denver refers to the Pacific War as a race war because the conflict brought out the worst sort of racist side of people. Each side thought themselves superior, it wasn't just Americans versus Japanese, it was "white" versus "yellow," wrong versus right.
The primary story encountered at the Arizona Memorial is of the U.S. being attacked by the Japanese. The video shows the men going about their daily tasks, completely unaware of the attack that was about to occur while a group of Japanese fighter planes were headed their way.
The age range and ethnicity of the people visiting the memorial varied greatly. There were older people as well as younger. It would appear that many ethnicities visit the site due to the fact that the pamplet was not only in English but French, German, Japanese, Chinese, etc.
Many people visit the memorial to pay their respects. Yet visitors also go to see the site that so many have heard about, the site in which America was attacked on her own homeland and that is responsible for bringing the United States into WWII.
The site mainly spoke of the Arizona, which is understandable because it met the worst of fates, yet some of its neighbors lie in the water near it and not much of an emphasis is placed on them. The site covers primarily this one event, not the island hopping that is to ensue due to it.
Prompt 12
The Japanese incorporate their aestheticism into religious sites through landscaping, placement of sites near positive energies, etc. The primary site that comes to mind that supports this is the Byodo-In Temple which had ponds, was nestled in a low lying area between mountains, has beautiful archetecture that used no nails in construction, etc. The fact that we were able to take part in the activities belonging to each Japanese religious site, despite not being Buddist shows great tolerance. The Japanese hold the idea that you can be of multiple faiths, even Christian and Buddist, while in Christianity a person belongs to one particular denomination.
Prompt 13
"Nobody" can be a person's name yet can also be nothing when that person comes to realize their own unimportance. A man's life passes just as it is certain that the sun will set everyday.
The falling snow is an uncontrollable act of nature. The fact that when the boy holds out his hand it is covered by the snow shows the relationship of man and nature, through covering his hand in snow, nature is the more powerful of the two.
It can be seen that the Japanese respect natural forces and see their own lives through acts of nature and they show this in the ways in which they use natural elements around their temples.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Prompts 4-7
Prompt 4
In the case of the Shopper and the Vendor, I believe that the vendor was not used to the mixing of races and for someone who did not know English very well, Brian's explaination may have been a little confusing. The vendor identified Brian's features as "Filipine," to which Brian said no, that he was from Hawaii, but not Hawaiian, actually Chinese-Japanese. The Chinese and Japanese have had their fair share of tense times so the idea of someone belonging to both of these races may not be that common. The other possible explainations (2&3)don't really make much sense in the text of the vendor being confused as to which race he should classify Brian.
Prompt 5
In the Hawaiian culture, religion was a very important aspect of daily life. Ceremonies were held on the occasions of birth, death, war, planting and harvesting of crops and for the different seasons. Hawaiians felt that through ceremony and ritual they could win the favor of their gods and that they would be punished for not showing proper respect to their deities.
When westerners arrived having long before adopted Christianity, they saw the Hawaiian religion as ridiculous pagan worship of idols. How could a tree trunk turn into a god and cleanse the tribe and its lands of evil?
Yet the westerners could appreciate the kapu system of the Hawaiians which stressed separating and avoiding things that were inferior or sinful. Therefore the kapu kept society and social classes in order by religious mandate, as well, women were kept in their place because just as in Europe.
Prompt 6
I believe that the Polynesian Culture Center portrays the life of Polynesian cultures for tourists who cannot or presently are not visiting the islands in person. Although the Center has taken painstaking measures to imitate life in the islands, it is doubtful that the PCC is a true representation. I'm sure the islands do not get together a few times a day and have a boat parade in which they compete through dance, similarly, if I entered a village in New Zealand, I doubt I would be greeted with a nice Poi lesson. Webb sums up my feelings best by stating that, "the center is a forty-acre ethnic theme park" containing gift shops, restaurants and anything else a tourist could ask for. Yet this is understandable. In a world of commercialism, the Mormon church is selling a product, in this case the Polynesians. Who wants to watch actors doing everyday things such as disposing of waste and going to collect water? The PCC provides the entertaining points of these six cultures, gives the consumer a few replica grass huts and calls it culture.
Prompt 7
Captain James Cook was an English Explorer that is credited with finding the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands. Cook had sailed for around ten years searching for a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, hopefully somewhere between the North and South American continents. His find of the Hawaiian Islands and its peoples was unexpected and exciting for Cook, yet they would also be the source of his demise.
Horowitz's party saw Gary near some grafitti that contained a racial slur against caucasians and it was assumed that he was the responsible party. When a closer look was taken, Gary was actually cleaning the writing from the rocks. Gary's feelings towards Cook were mixed. His family had been in charge of the Cook monument for years and he could see the progress that westernization brought. Yet, Gary could also see the native's point of view that they were taken over, and much like the New England churchment, Gary believed that the Islands may have been better off not being discovered or adopted in by the western world. Through this story, Horowitz is showing the divisions that remain in the islands, would they have been better off if they had not been found? Would life be better if they were not a part of the Union? Then again, has westernization brought about a better life?
Sahlin makes the point that the Hawaiians viewed Cook as a god. That he came at the right time, fit the description and won the diety lottery. Obeyesekere on the other hand believes that the natives were not that naive. This strange white man and his crew of miscreants arrive, armed, and want to be buddy buddy, being smarter than given credit, the natives took these men in, treated them very well and made them comfortable as to hopefully avoid conflict. Obeyesekere makes a good point, I believe that as with much history, the arrival of Cook and his men in the Sandwich Islands was misconstrued to make the white westerner appear superior to these barberic natives.
Horowitz uses accounts given by the surviors of February 14 to tell of the battle. It seemed ironic that Cook had previously described the natives as so friendly and not the type to make war yet he set foot upon the island in the company of many of his men, who were armed, to retrieve a stolen boat. If the people were so friendly then why was he so prepared for a conflict? Yet there were strange circumstances that surrounded the battle. Cook was received as a god and sent off as such, yet he returns to the islands, which does not go with the native's myth. Why would their god unexpectedly return unless there was something very wrong? By killing Cook the natives may have been ridding themselves of the evil that he must be returning with or his returning may have proven that he was not in fact a god and his deception could only be paid for with his life.
In the case of the Shopper and the Vendor, I believe that the vendor was not used to the mixing of races and for someone who did not know English very well, Brian's explaination may have been a little confusing. The vendor identified Brian's features as "Filipine," to which Brian said no, that he was from Hawaii, but not Hawaiian, actually Chinese-Japanese. The Chinese and Japanese have had their fair share of tense times so the idea of someone belonging to both of these races may not be that common. The other possible explainations (2&3)don't really make much sense in the text of the vendor being confused as to which race he should classify Brian.
Prompt 5
In the Hawaiian culture, religion was a very important aspect of daily life. Ceremonies were held on the occasions of birth, death, war, planting and harvesting of crops and for the different seasons. Hawaiians felt that through ceremony and ritual they could win the favor of their gods and that they would be punished for not showing proper respect to their deities.
When westerners arrived having long before adopted Christianity, they saw the Hawaiian religion as ridiculous pagan worship of idols. How could a tree trunk turn into a god and cleanse the tribe and its lands of evil?
Yet the westerners could appreciate the kapu system of the Hawaiians which stressed separating and avoiding things that were inferior or sinful. Therefore the kapu kept society and social classes in order by religious mandate, as well, women were kept in their place because just as in Europe.
Prompt 6
I believe that the Polynesian Culture Center portrays the life of Polynesian cultures for tourists who cannot or presently are not visiting the islands in person. Although the Center has taken painstaking measures to imitate life in the islands, it is doubtful that the PCC is a true representation. I'm sure the islands do not get together a few times a day and have a boat parade in which they compete through dance, similarly, if I entered a village in New Zealand, I doubt I would be greeted with a nice Poi lesson. Webb sums up my feelings best by stating that, "the center is a forty-acre ethnic theme park" containing gift shops, restaurants and anything else a tourist could ask for. Yet this is understandable. In a world of commercialism, the Mormon church is selling a product, in this case the Polynesians. Who wants to watch actors doing everyday things such as disposing of waste and going to collect water? The PCC provides the entertaining points of these six cultures, gives the consumer a few replica grass huts and calls it culture.
Prompt 7
Captain James Cook was an English Explorer that is credited with finding the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands. Cook had sailed for around ten years searching for a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, hopefully somewhere between the North and South American continents. His find of the Hawaiian Islands and its peoples was unexpected and exciting for Cook, yet they would also be the source of his demise.
Horowitz's party saw Gary near some grafitti that contained a racial slur against caucasians and it was assumed that he was the responsible party. When a closer look was taken, Gary was actually cleaning the writing from the rocks. Gary's feelings towards Cook were mixed. His family had been in charge of the Cook monument for years and he could see the progress that westernization brought. Yet, Gary could also see the native's point of view that they were taken over, and much like the New England churchment, Gary believed that the Islands may have been better off not being discovered or adopted in by the western world. Through this story, Horowitz is showing the divisions that remain in the islands, would they have been better off if they had not been found? Would life be better if they were not a part of the Union? Then again, has westernization brought about a better life?
Sahlin makes the point that the Hawaiians viewed Cook as a god. That he came at the right time, fit the description and won the diety lottery. Obeyesekere on the other hand believes that the natives were not that naive. This strange white man and his crew of miscreants arrive, armed, and want to be buddy buddy, being smarter than given credit, the natives took these men in, treated them very well and made them comfortable as to hopefully avoid conflict. Obeyesekere makes a good point, I believe that as with much history, the arrival of Cook and his men in the Sandwich Islands was misconstrued to make the white westerner appear superior to these barberic natives.
Horowitz uses accounts given by the surviors of February 14 to tell of the battle. It seemed ironic that Cook had previously described the natives as so friendly and not the type to make war yet he set foot upon the island in the company of many of his men, who were armed, to retrieve a stolen boat. If the people were so friendly then why was he so prepared for a conflict? Yet there were strange circumstances that surrounded the battle. Cook was received as a god and sent off as such, yet he returns to the islands, which does not go with the native's myth. Why would their god unexpectedly return unless there was something very wrong? By killing Cook the natives may have been ridding themselves of the evil that he must be returning with or his returning may have proven that he was not in fact a god and his deception could only be paid for with his life.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Understanding Cultural Interactions
Culture is a body of learned behaviors and values of a society that shape behavior and consciousness. A practice may be considered cultural if it is widespread or spans about 4 generations. Culture can develop from shared religious views, within a race or geographic location, but doesn't always have to.
We can use the United States as an example. People of the U.S. are viewed as freedom loving, apple pie eating, 4th of July celebrating, Bill of Rights hugging, God fearing, flag waving Americans. Yet within this title of "Americans," there are variations. Being considered an American does not mean that you are of a particular race, that you speak Americanized English or that you were even born in the States. As well, in the U.S., as with many other countries, there are many different regions and varieties of people associated with them.
Cultures have the ability and often do change. Previously, cultures may have been influenced by invasion or traders bringing products from foreign lands. In modern times, economic, political, etc. ties between nations aid in the spreading of ideas. Sometimes this cultural exchange is called "progress," yet this statement is unfair. To say that thanks to ties with the U.S., many countries are making "progress" through taking our advances and making them their own, is stating that other countries are lacking in some way or another and could make "progress" by becoming more like us.
To state that the world is moving towards a global culture would appear to be a stretch. The peoples of the world (mainly Eurasia and Africa) have known of each other and have been trading goods and ideas for many centuries. During this time empires rose to power seeming like they could take over the world, yet they eventually fell. Despite being taken over, nations retain pieces of their identity, at times their language, traditions and religion. Could the world create a global culture that was not specifically of a superpower? Even if the all of the people agreed to let go of their culture/heritage/language/religion/traditions/ideas of government/etc and adopt another more worldly culture, there would more than likely still be divisions. To imagine this creation of a global culture working is difficult. If everyone was the same in thought then there may be a move towards more equality, understanding, fewer differences, it is difficult to say.
To make a person more acceptable in a vast array of cultural settings I would think that knowledge of many culture's nonverbal communication traits would be of the utmost advantage. Body language can tell so much about what a person is thinking without having to say a word such as being able to show respect or graciousness without having to master all of the languages. This way even if you do not know all about the culture you do not appear rude.
We can use the United States as an example. People of the U.S. are viewed as freedom loving, apple pie eating, 4th of July celebrating, Bill of Rights hugging, God fearing, flag waving Americans. Yet within this title of "Americans," there are variations. Being considered an American does not mean that you are of a particular race, that you speak Americanized English or that you were even born in the States. As well, in the U.S., as with many other countries, there are many different regions and varieties of people associated with them.
Cultures have the ability and often do change. Previously, cultures may have been influenced by invasion or traders bringing products from foreign lands. In modern times, economic, political, etc. ties between nations aid in the spreading of ideas. Sometimes this cultural exchange is called "progress," yet this statement is unfair. To say that thanks to ties with the U.S., many countries are making "progress" through taking our advances and making them their own, is stating that other countries are lacking in some way or another and could make "progress" by becoming more like us.
To state that the world is moving towards a global culture would appear to be a stretch. The peoples of the world (mainly Eurasia and Africa) have known of each other and have been trading goods and ideas for many centuries. During this time empires rose to power seeming like they could take over the world, yet they eventually fell. Despite being taken over, nations retain pieces of their identity, at times their language, traditions and religion. Could the world create a global culture that was not specifically of a superpower? Even if the all of the people agreed to let go of their culture/heritage/language/religion/traditions/ideas of government/etc and adopt another more worldly culture, there would more than likely still be divisions. To imagine this creation of a global culture working is difficult. If everyone was the same in thought then there may be a move towards more equality, understanding, fewer differences, it is difficult to say.
To make a person more acceptable in a vast array of cultural settings I would think that knowledge of many culture's nonverbal communication traits would be of the utmost advantage. Body language can tell so much about what a person is thinking without having to say a word such as being able to show respect or graciousness without having to master all of the languages. This way even if you do not know all about the culture you do not appear rude.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Debating Cultural Differences: The Last 13,000 Years
In his writing, Diamond expresses his belief that cultures have developed and vary due to their geologic location. Diamond questions why the Eurasians became the conquerers and the Americans were conquered. From his writing, it would appear that Eurasia held the upper hand due to size (population wise as well as general landmass) and agriculturally.
Diamond raises an interesting point in the fact that Eurasia stretches East to West while the Americas stretch North to South. What does this have to do with development of civilizations I wondered? More than I had ever taken time to conclude. A continent thats mass stretches longitudinally would have a climate that did not vary as much as one that stretched almost from pole to pole. Plants and animals that can survive on the Atlantic Coast of Eurasia are likely to flourish on the Pacific. Yet the Americas have such varying temperatures stretching along their length that it is unlikely that a species (aside from humans with our reasoning and adaptation according to prompt 1) could survive the spectrum of climates. So, if a continent has a more average climate throughout, then plants and animals could move more freely within that area.
Diamond draws the conclusion that when food (plants and animals) can be domesticated and thus controlled, civilization will be soon to follow. Civilization brings sedentary lifestyles which brings about people specializing in one particular craft, etc. Although it is noted that with civilization comes disease, human to human as well as animal to human. This pattern began earlier in Eurasia than the Americas because civilization began there in Mesopotamia. Due to the fact that societal relationships began earlier in Eurasia, the people began building genetic immunities. Therefore when the conquistadors arrived in the Caribbean they were unknowingly starting a pandemic that would wipe out nearly 90% of the native population.
Blaunt's main criticism of Diamond's conclusion is that it is Eurocentric. Diamond's theory did not take into account the greatly varying topography of Eurasia. Although there may be a large continent stretching from east to west within a shorter expanse of longitude lines, Diamond did not recognize the great variances in climate. Olives may grow on the Mediterranean coast yet it would be difficult to find them in Siberia, as is true with many other species that have made adaptations to particular climates. It also seems that Blaunt believes that Mesopotamia was not this great starting point for civilization and culture that Diamond thinks it was. Diamond found the fertile cresent to be a spring board for greater civilizations such as the Greeks but Blaunt points out that the Chinese were doing the same if not exceeding the work of these European nations, just under differing circumstances.
Diamond's theory of geography is fascinating but makes sense only in a 2-D world that does not take all variables into consideration. Climate on the plains will be vary greatly from the climate in the mountains as climate on one coast will vary from that on another and neither one will be anything like the desert.
Diamond raises an interesting point in the fact that Eurasia stretches East to West while the Americas stretch North to South. What does this have to do with development of civilizations I wondered? More than I had ever taken time to conclude. A continent thats mass stretches longitudinally would have a climate that did not vary as much as one that stretched almost from pole to pole. Plants and animals that can survive on the Atlantic Coast of Eurasia are likely to flourish on the Pacific. Yet the Americas have such varying temperatures stretching along their length that it is unlikely that a species (aside from humans with our reasoning and adaptation according to prompt 1) could survive the spectrum of climates. So, if a continent has a more average climate throughout, then plants and animals could move more freely within that area.
Diamond draws the conclusion that when food (plants and animals) can be domesticated and thus controlled, civilization will be soon to follow. Civilization brings sedentary lifestyles which brings about people specializing in one particular craft, etc. Although it is noted that with civilization comes disease, human to human as well as animal to human. This pattern began earlier in Eurasia than the Americas because civilization began there in Mesopotamia. Due to the fact that societal relationships began earlier in Eurasia, the people began building genetic immunities. Therefore when the conquistadors arrived in the Caribbean they were unknowingly starting a pandemic that would wipe out nearly 90% of the native population.
Blaunt's main criticism of Diamond's conclusion is that it is Eurocentric. Diamond's theory did not take into account the greatly varying topography of Eurasia. Although there may be a large continent stretching from east to west within a shorter expanse of longitude lines, Diamond did not recognize the great variances in climate. Olives may grow on the Mediterranean coast yet it would be difficult to find them in Siberia, as is true with many other species that have made adaptations to particular climates. It also seems that Blaunt believes that Mesopotamia was not this great starting point for civilization and culture that Diamond thinks it was. Diamond found the fertile cresent to be a spring board for greater civilizations such as the Greeks but Blaunt points out that the Chinese were doing the same if not exceeding the work of these European nations, just under differing circumstances.
Diamond's theory of geography is fascinating but makes sense only in a 2-D world that does not take all variables into consideration. Climate on the plains will be vary greatly from the climate in the mountains as climate on one coast will vary from that on another and neither one will be anything like the desert.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
The Evolution, Migration and Diversification of Human Cultures
200 million years ago the Earth's continents came together to form one large supercontinent known as Pangea. Evidence of Pangea can been seen in the way that the continents appear to fit together as well evidence of similar species in the geologic record that would have been oceans apart if the continents had not come together. The supercontinent of Pangea brought all of the Earth's species together to compete and evolve. When the continent broke up 180 million years ago, these species were sent to separate corners of the planet to further evolve and adapt to changing continental conditions.
Being the Geology minor that I am:
The Hawaiian islands may not have had a direct role in Pangea or later supercontinents but they have their own unique geologic history. The big island of Hawaii sits over what is known as a "hot spot." This "hot spot" is a plume of magma that has found a way to the surface of the Pacific Plate. The oldest of the Hawaiian islands that we can visit is Kauai, although there are many older islands that lie below the ocean's surface. As the Pacific Plate has moved over the "hot spot," the chain has continued to grow reaching the youngest island of Hawaii. (The term "hot spot" is used loosely in geology because it is considered an anomaly of sorts and is not completely understood. )
The arrival of hominids is debatable but for this purpose we'll say between 100,000 and 40,000 years ago. In our readings, Crosby states that the difference between human evolution versus the evolution of other species is that humans did not have to wait for genetic changes to adapt to conditions. Other species depended on genetic adaptations to meet their needs while humans had the ability to reason and find immediate ways to adapt. There is no need to wait on the genetic lottery to bring a thick coat of fur when you can go kill a reindeer(or ancestor of a reindeer) and use it's coat. To quote Crosby, "Culture is a system of storing and altering patterns of behavior not in the molecules of the genetic code but in the cells of the brain."This adaptation, based not only on need but reasoning, can be considered a step toward creating cultures.
According to Crosby(although this is another debatable point), humans began migrating to Europe around 50,000 years ago, to Austrailia 40,000 years ago and to the Americas from 12-13,000 years ago. The people who migrated to the Americas were more so isolated than their cousins who remained on the larger landmass of Eurasia. Early humans followed herds of animals from Asia, over and through a glacier and into the Americas. When the ice age came to an end, these nomadic tribes were stranded on a new continent surrounded by the two largest oceans on the planet. Similar to when the continents came together and later drifted apart, these early humans had to learn to adapt to the conditions of the Americas.
Going with our history of adaptation, humans and their superior reasoning skills began to become craftsman in the Neolithic Era. Tools were ground and polished rather than chipped and experimentation with metals lead to stronger, longer lasting tools. What did this lead to? Civilization, a sedentary lifestyle, agriculture, writing, culture, etc.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Aloha!
Welcome to my Hawaii blog! Here I will share my thoughts and experiences (and pictures!) of the places that we visited.
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