Imagine living every day without enough money for basic needs like food. Then add studying for exams, three to four-hour labs, and four to five 1 hour long lectures to the top of that… This is what some university students go through every day. After paying tuition, students barely have enough money to buy food for the rest of the term. A sociological study was done to see if students actually experience food insecurity like the university stereotype proposes. She found some great results that bring up the idea that food insecurity is a cultural phenomenon that has both physical and emotional effects but could have been improved with an anthropological approach. An Acadia University sociologist professor named Lesley Frank recently conducted …show more content…
In other words, everyone is a part of a culture and has some role in that culture. This is the case for the culture of university students. Obviously, university students are in their own culture but so are the people who are using hegemonic ideas to manipulate the university students. This proposes the idea that food insecurity is a cultural phenomenon that has physical and emotional effects. This can be observed with the hegemony and ideology theories combined with Geertz’s theory about culture. Geertz’s theory about culture describes how everyone is a part of a culture and has some role to play in that specific culture. When combining this with the hegemony and ideology theories, both the students and the people using the hegemonic culture of the students are part of the same culture. This proposition also agrees in Lesley Frank’s sociological study. Her study showed us that the food insecurity can have both physical and emotional effects on university students. Her findings showed that for some students it is difficult to stay focused in class and even harder to study for upcoming exams while they were hungry. Her study also showed that some students experienced shame and in some cases isolation because they could not go out with their friends for a coffee due to the fact that they had no money to spend on food. Bringing these two parts together this proposition is formed. This could be further proved if an anthropological approach was taken for this
The argument about if college is worth it or not has been one of the biggest arguments throughout the media for decades. Students suffer a lot from the debts that they get from college and also the amount of studying that they do in college and when they graduate they ask themselves “is graduation from college really worth all the money that we paid and all the work that we have done?”
Counihan’s argument is multifaceted: she explores a school of thought that college students follow certain rules about food that have been int...
Authors Michelle Tokarczyk, Peter Sacks, Robert Haverman and Timothy Smeeding all write about certain problems that working class students are facing in education in the U.S. , especially in college education which is usually defined as higher education. Although they focus on different aspects of the problem, they still have some ideas in common. In their articles, all of them discuss how economic and social class occupies a very significant role in the quality of education an American student receives. In order to support their claims, all of them employ studies as their strong evidence. They also imply that college education fails to consider the special issues and conditions that working class students have. In addition, higher education fails to help those students to improve their circumstances and social mobility. Even though all of the problems that working class students face are important, some of them are extremely significant factors to their struggles to obtain a college education, such as the economic and social class of the working class student. The main problems that working class students face in America also occur in the education system in China.
Many students struggle with college for various reasons, whether it is financial, academics, or personal. We may not fully understand why college students struggle the way they do; however, it does not mean help is unavailable. “Clearly, many of the benefits that accrue from a college education are explained by the knowledge, skills, and contacts that students gain from their time on campus and in the classroom (Brock 2)”. A certain degree of success in life can be related to the amount and quality of education which can also relate to income.
In this research I will discuss the anthropological theorists of Clifford Geertz and of Julian Steward in regards to their ideas of culture, the environment and specifics related to each theorist ideas such as meaning and behavior. A brief overview of their respective backgrounds will be given to frame the discussion and add context to Geertz and Stewards perspectives .Furthermore, this paper will connect the ways other theorists have influenced Geertz and Steward in shaping their own understanding of culture and theories related to culture. And ultimately compare and contrast the two perspectives to each other.
Today in American society, one feels pressured and obligated to seek higher levels of education. In the article “College prepare people for life” written by Freeman Hrabowski, he expresses his views on the many aspects in which college prepares one for their life; especially, financially. Having a college degree increases ones ability to get a job in comparison to somebody who has solely a high school diploma. However, many are faced with the irony of having to go into to debt, in order to work towards financial independence and security. In terms of socio economics, those who are stuck by poverty often cannot afford going into debt to exit their current ranking in the qazi caste system of poverty. Many argues that college prepares people for life, however one can disagree due to
Culture often means an appreciation of the finer things in life; however, culture brings members of a society together. We have a sense of belonging because we share similar beliefs, values, and attitudes about what’s right and wrong. As a result, culture changes as people adapt to their surroundings. According to Bishop Donald, “let it begin with me and my children and grandchildren” (211). Among other things, culture influences what you eat; how you were raised and will raise your own children? If, when, and whom you will marry; how you make and spend money. Truth is culture is adaptive and always changing over time because
According to Charon, culture is one of the social patterns in society. It arises in social interaction. It is taught in social interaction. Culture is made up of three smaller sets of patterns: (1) rules, (2) beliefs, and (3) values (Charon p. 56). For these two peer croups, the contrast in their lifestyles and culture can be attributed to the influence, involvement, and expectations of their parents. The parents of the Brothers expect that their children will do well in school, they expect them to stay out trouble, and to refrain from the use of drugs and alcohol. Thus, from their families, the Brothers take away a contradictory outlook. On the one hand, they see that hard work on the part of their parents has not gotten them very far, an implicit indictment of the openness of the opportunity structure. On the other hand, they are encouraged by these same people to have high hopes for the future (Macleod p. 167). In contrast, the Hallway Hangers’ families do not hold high aspirations, they do not expect that their children do well in school, stay out of trouble, or refrain from the use of drugs. In fact they have very little influence in their children’s lives. It is not that the parents don’t want the best for their children, they are just afraid to set them up for failure. The Hallway Hangers have seen their older siblings and other friends fail in school. As a result, they hold a firm belief that children from higher econo...
Clifford Greetz has written “Believing with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun. I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning”. Greetz is trying to say that people make these webs themselves. Those webs are the culture and we all are born into it. Culture might not be a true base of science where we are trying to discover or enforce laws, but it is a science in which we can interpret human behavior. Anthropology is a science which is very flexible and may vary in different cultures. I agree with Greetz opinion when he cites Max Weber as his point of departure to develop
These unofficial requirements for university become a one reason of increasing stress of the applicants. Students needs to concentrate on going to college during their high school years. Unfortunately, not only students get stress while applying to college, but they also get stress after they enroll into college. Due to expensive tuition bill, some of the students need to take student loan. Cook concludes by arguing that high schools should support their students not only enrolling into college, but also basic skills which can be used after college, and college admission processes are needed to be change.
College is a new setting for most students, especially the ones no longer living at home. The transition can be easy and worry-free, or a challenging and stressful time. Brougham states, “Growth and change were often accompanied by the experience of stress. The cause of stress varies from person to person. Overall there can be similarities such as ’academics, social relationships, finances, daily hassles and family relationships’ (Brougham, 2009, pg 86). As student, academics is the reason why we are in school; we are aiming to get educated and to learn. Family relationships vary from student to student depending on how close the family is. My immediate family and extended family have such a close bond that when I am needed at home, I drop everything for them. Social relationships are smaller support systems individuals can count on. Finances all come down to economic status and a person’s unique financial aid package. Daily hassles range from what I should wear today to not having enough time in a day.
Culture has a big impact on how we all fit in as individuals in today’s society, and since this assignment is about that I decided to include some of my own experiences to illustrate my point of view and compare it with those of my classmates and some of the readings.
More and more people are falling into insular poverty. Insular poverty is rapidly growing, in our nation, into a huge problem today. It’s affecting student’s education causing them to work so much harder than the average American. To get a higher education in a poverty stricken home is almost impossible. Research is showing that poverty negatively impacts students during their educational
In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.
Culture. As a society, we’re surrounded by it every day, whether we are aware of it or not. It affects what we do each day and how it lives our lives as everyone, everywhere has their own culture, their own set of beliefs and traditions that shape them, their actions, and the environment around them. Because of cultures large role in the lives of people, culture also has a large role in human geography. But there are lot of questions surrounding culture, like what exactly is culture, why are their differences in culture and what arises from those differences, and how exactly does culture interact with society to shape someone’s worldview? It is in this essay I will be answering these questions.