Ethnography on Cambodian Americans

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I chose Cambodian Americans for my target culture because it was a place I knew very little about. My ignorance of that side of the world is laughable to say the least. Cambodian American was a great choice because both the people and the culture are very captivating to me. While some Cambodian Americans become very westernized, accepting most of America’s cultural norms, some hold strong to their Cambodian traditions and way of life. Through Geert Hofstede’s Taxonomy, I will explore the dynamics of the Cambodian American culture. Through Identity, Hierarchy, Gender, Truth and Virtue I will attempt to describe a culture previously virtually unknown to me. I chose Hofstede’s Taxonomy over Bond’s because Michael Bond himself told me to. “Charlotte, I did this work in the 1980's, and found that 3 of my 4 nation-level dimensions overlapped with Hofstede's and one was distinct.” said Bond to me when I asked him to elaborate on his taxonomy.
The Cambodian culture is very collectivistic and a lot of those values are still upheld by the younger generations of Cambodian Americans. In Cambodian culture, family comes first. Terry Nhim, her in-laws Mon Neang and Roeun Muth and her brother in-law Vanna Neang all greatly emphasized the importance of family and looking out for one another. “Our family is large, not being just my parents and sibling but rather my extended family as well. We try to be close to one another and of course, there are some families we’re not as close to as others. Towards my own family, we hug each other after greeting one another. With someone who isn’t family or just not close to me, I just leave it as the formal greeting. With that being said, if we touch, as a family it is fine, it shows love, but to someone ot...

... middle of paper ...

...ec. 2013.
Kang, David. "Ethnography." Telephone interview. 10 Dec. 2013.
Khoonsrivong, Cathy. "Ethnography." Telephone interview. 01 Dec. 2013.
Khoonsrivong, Vorani. "Ethnography." Personal interview. 23 Nov. 2013.
Mhim, Terry. "Ethnography." Personal interview. 19 Nov. 2013.
Muth, Roeun. "Ethnography." Personal interview. 19 Nov. 2013.
Neang, Mon. "Ethnography." Personal interview. 19 Nov. 2013.
Neang, Vanna. "Ethnography." Personal interview. 19 Nov. 2013.
Serpa, Maria De Lourdes. Cambodian American Interpersonal Communication. Lesley University, 2005. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Toch, Martha. "Ethnography." E-mail interview. 08 Dec. 2013.
Todd, William E. "Cambodians Are Part of the American Story." - The Cambodia Herald. William E. Todd Is U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, 23 June 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Yu, Connie. Personal interview. 05 Dec. 2013.

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