Blog #4

Culture: Beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. 

Within culture there is material and non-material. For example, the fish bowl. In class, Sal showed us a picture of a fishbowl similar to this. He explained to us how society is like the fish and how the excess things in the bowl such as sea plants, pebbles, castles, are all material culture. Things that we can recognize that separate us from others in a certain culture. However, the water is the non-material part of culture. The part that the fish needs to survive, but doesn't recognize is there (just because it's something it's lived with it's whole life). This was such a great example that really allowed me to understand culture. 




Another aspect in class that I really enjoyed, was the lesson on Culture shock and ethnocentrism. 
It was interesting to recognize how many alternate views and customs existed in this world. For example, the danish parents leaving their children outside of the cafe on a chilly day in New York. It was a natural habit and custom for this couple to do so, that they didn't even think about it twice. There was a lot of ethnocentrism going on in this situation because the community around them (New Yorkers) didn't consider that the parents may partake in a different way of life based upon where they are from, leading them to call the police on the couple, while the couple was being ethnocentric by not recognizing that it ISN'T a common action to leave a child outside of a restaurant, while they eat. Cultural relativity was not present for the parents in this case, because if they had not adjusted themselves to the ways of life in New York.

An interesting aspect of my life that can pertain to this unit, is the varying norms, folkways, etc that i practice in a western and asian lifestyle. By being Korean,  I am exposed to many customs such as elderly respect, taking off shoes within the house, very clear seperation between work that should be done by man or done by a women, language, foods, and an overall community-based lifestyle. These norms in my life my not be present in others lives very similar to the men in the movie "God Grew Tired of us" This documentary portrays the obvious differences between American and African cultures, when a group of men from Sudan travel to America for the first time. Their experience is both humbling and exhausting, however, the learn the customs of Americans while successfully keeping their customs from home alive. It's a great example of what I sometimes feel when being introduced to a new country or group of people, just not as severe.