Luckily, this turned out to not be the case at all. Having done the ethnography project myself, I really feel like I learned something. I don't think I ever recognized the very real differences in culture that can exist in so small a space. I didn't think there was much difference in culture within a single state, much less a city.
Even hearing the cultures that people had chosen for their project, I doubted that there would be any definitive norms or behaviors. And yet when people gave their presentations, I was very much surprised by how many differences there were even within the American campus, much less the mall.
I am glad that we got to do these projects. I feel like my view of what defines a culture has definitely changed. I used to think that a culture was a fixed group of people and everyone had one culture. Now I recognize that everybody's identity is mixed in with multiple cultures and the definition of "culture" can vary depending on the context.
Kit, as you said you recognize that everybody's identity is mixed in with multiple cutlures and the definition of "culture" can vary depending on the context. It is true, you make me thinking about our class and that I did not recognize it before. I am sure that we have people come from difference states in the U.S., in which have difference identities.
ReplyDeleteI guess only me and Maria from difference countries, Vietnam and Marroco. I am sure that you can see how I have very difference from the rest of the classmate in communication and everything else because of who I am and where I am from, and etc.... THat is why the words "culture is everything" which I just have learned from the day Diplomacy Conference with our professor in SIS lounge. I will never foreget this. Now I am learning by heart and apply it almost everywhere. It helps me to understand that at any place, it can always has group cultures and each one of us has different identities.
I defenitely agree that our professor, Hayden given us many concepts about culture through his lectures. Also the meterial he used for each lesson is perfect to give us examples in it.
Lastly, it is very special that we have free research for presentation, which helps everyone need to find out by ourselve what is our weaken and strengthen. So that we can work on it.
Overall, I really appreciated for the semester. I hope I will use the concepts about cross-cultural communication and will research more about it wherever I go that everything is "culture."
I think a lot of people did bring their own experience into the ethnography projects, which I think contributed into making them better. Many people might say that you should not bring your own personal feelings into it because it would affect your judgment. However, I think it's hard not to let your own personal experience get in the way.
ReplyDeleteI too learnt a lot through these ethnography presentations. Like you, I am now more aware of what comprises a culture. At first I thought that only religion and a certain country's tradition count as a culture. But I now know that a college community or even regulars at a coffee shop can be a culture.
I think one major thing we have been learning throughout this semester in this class is how to deal with people of another culture. Through this project we have learnt to do exactly that, and that has taught me a lot.
I feel the same way regarding the ethnography project. At first I didn't think it would really teach any of us that much about culture, but after watching the presentations, I think it definitely did. Maybe it didn't let us completely understand the individual cultures that we observed, but what this project did do was give us first hand experience in seeing how complex culture can be, and how difficult it can be to define.
ReplyDeleteI think now we all have a more broad understanding of what it means to be a part of a culture, and the importance/significance of interactions between cultures.