“Ethnography literally means 'a portrait of people.' An ethnography is a written description of a particular culture - the customs, beliefs, and behaviour - based on information collected through fieldwork.” - Marvin Harris and Orna Johnson (2000) Introduction An ethnography is a form of research that brings insight to specific issues that would be hard to understand as an outsider looking into a certain culture.…
Unpacking: Black in America For the cultural event I attended a seminar at the African American resource center at Cal State Fullerton. The seminar focused on “Unpacking: Black in America” gathered African American students from CSUF to speak upon how they felt as a minority in this country. They also shared out their personal stories and experiences on being African American. Gwendolyn Alexis is a faculty liaison for the African American Resource Center who facilitated the event. Professor Alexis is an advocate for African American and minorities she brings knowledge and support for these communities.…
If there were no written documents of our African history, could we tell the story of back then, according to how we as a people live today? As African American people the answer is no because as African American people, we need to understand where we came from, so we can understand where we are going. In the article “Beyond the Written Document: Looking for Africa in African American Culture,” explains how important history is and all of the information it can provide. With historians in the past to historians today, we can understand where we came from. In this particular article, learning about were African Americans came from, culture, slavery, agriculture, and what happened beyond the written document would improve many African American individuals today.…
Appiah states that African Americans “do not have a single culture in the sense of shared language, values, practices, and meanings” (Appiah, 52). As the African race has become more dispersed over time, African Americans…
Even though there were not many, some African people did go to school instead of just working all the time for Europeans. In the schools that these children went to they learned that European culture was better than African Culture and they learn this from a young age and this will stick with them. A. Adu Boahen, author of Africans Perspectives on Colonialism mentioned how education was like and some of what they were taught about. “They were people who worshiped European culture equating it with civilization, and looked down on their own culture”(Document 2). Some African people had become more like the Europeans because they thought that European culture was more civilized than their own since that was what they were taught since they were…
Various groups throughout the world, let alone the United States, have personal narratives and original stories that set them apart from other groups. These people, whether minority or majority, have faced setbacks, obstacles, and tribulation, but still manage to forge their own destinies; thus they have created their own means of expressing their culture. Though they may be challenged, most are allowed to stand alone without much criticism, or scrutiny. On the contrary, African Americans have a unique experience that has yet to be closely identical to that of any other cultural group. African Americans are constantly under scrutiny, even as far as debating on whether or not our label should read “African American.”…
Culture is constantly changing all around us. Culture adjustment is what drives us to become better. It is what propels us as societies to reach new heights and achieve our full social potential within a group. Although people tend to favor conservatism with regards to cultural traditions, most societies undergo some gradual changes in order to thrive and progress. Without realization, most people live their whole life unaware of the differences in their traditions and practices and often attribute those differences to a natural process while they believe the original action or belief wasn’t modified.…
In an ever globally growing society, a mixture of cultures, community, and desires for control compete. Culture includes the phenotypic differences others perceive, but culture also contains the foundation of inner values and beliefs. Control is the grab for power that has been repeatedly sought after between varying regions and groups; furthermore, the repercussions of this desire is evident throughout history. Community not only brings those with similar backgrounds together, but is a vital need in human experience. Moreover, culture, control, and community are important because awareness of these different dynamics enable a more sustainable, peaceful society.…
The emotions the culture bag drew out ideas and emotions of nostalgia and pride for me. The assignment triggered sentiments of my grandparents and their influence on my beliefs and customs. I now recognize being a first generation Irish, affects my traditions and values more than those in American for generations. Last, I discovered that culture is unique and not predictable. For example, my culture relates to my heritage, but does not for others.…
Culture explains every part of a person’s life. It is the knowledge and characteristics of a particular group of individuals, defined by factors such as religion, language, social habits, cuisine, music, and arts. The world is full of people that belong to different cultures but they are sometimes forced to relate and interact in various ways. The Americans and the Chinese are examples of people with different cultures as anthropologist Francis Hsu illustrates. Hessler shares the sentiments in his book titled Hassle`s River Town.…
White Vs Black The world we live in today is not only diverse through culture, religion, and ethnic background. What most people notice is on the outside to what they can only see. Since 1896, segregation has been one of the world’s biggest issues between culture identities. Two culture identities such as white and African American people have been impacted heavily upon each other in many ways, due to the history and communication that caused enormous amount of unnecessary tension between the two groups.…
There are fifty-four countries in Africa, and all the countries have cultural values that form their identity. These cultural values act as a guide on how Africans ought to live their lives. They guide Africans on many aspects of their lives, including how to treat their elders and other people. Most of the African cultural values such as having respect for elders, hospitality, being in community with others, and hard work makes Africans unique from people from other countries where these cultural values do not exist. However, Africa also has a negative side to their cultures when it comes to beliefs about polygamy and child marriage, which subject women to unfair treatment.…
In this paper, I will share my thoughts and feelings as I made plans to go, and attend the festival. I definitely placed myself in an environment where I was the minority. I will identify why I chose this particular event, how it was a new experience for me, and the various comfort levels I experienced in this new environment. I will reflect on the differences I identified from my own culture and share what I learned about the African American culture. I will explain how it felt to wander the streets elbow to elbow with a crowd that was predominantly African American, and the subsequent motions that surfaced.…
A sentiment connection with group and solid collaboration with the majority of its individuals serve as the premise of the idiosyncrasy of Black people group. Membership of community has been constantly more vitalir importants to African Americans than the feelings of independencey and rivalry among its members. Jagers and Mock (1995) have discussed Afro-social communalism. This communalism is the inclination of African Americans toward collectivist introduction or the inclination for relationship among individuals. Students who are driven by this communalistic introduction can 't portray themselves in individualistic terms.…
Whether, we like to believe it or not society is made up of a dominant culture, the group with power, privilege, and status, and a subordinate group that is seen as objects of collective oppression and discrimination. This is all characterized from Euro centric beliefs and the devaluation of Black culture. Black culture is the less ideal and therefore, causes members of its group to want to withdraw and enter into the leading mainstream culture. The major problem associated with social identity is the refusal of members from the dominant group to acknowledge their privilege. The attitude and racist norms which shape the way it means to be black is framed by whites.…