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More handpicked essays just for you.
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Throughout history people have been taught their own culture and way of life. Going into a new country or culture is different for everyone, no matter what age group or nationality. Growing up one way and them seeing something else can be hard for both cultures. Some may not be used to having a dog as a pet or some may not be used to seeing children act so rudely to their parents in public or in general. Many times we see strange behaviors from people and we either do one of two things: we make fun of them and laugh or we wonder if they know that what they are doing is not normal for this type of culture. Things people do in France may be done completely different than things people do in Brazil, it just depends on how they were raised and what they were taught growing up. Throughout this assignment I found three examples of ethnocentrism, a lady walking her dog in a doggy stroller, upperclassmen thinking they are more powerful, and americans getting upset with other cultured taxi drivers in busy cities. …show more content…
Our view in the world is dramatically influenced by the society in which we are raised (Schaefer, pg 58).
While completing this assignment, it took me some time to understand the concept. At first, I was not quite sure on what I was suppose to be looking for, but once I saw some examples it came to me pretty easily. Once I took a step back and realized that I was thinking about it way too hard. I realized that I should be looking for observations of other citizens. I enjoy people-watching when I'm in a big city or a large populated area. So, when I am people-watching the examples of ethnocentrism comes a little
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's ethnic group or culture is superior (Leeder, 2004). In order to gain citizenship David Aldwinkle was subject to investigation by inspectors to prove he was culturally Japanese. These investigations included interviewing his neighbors,
Ethnocentrism is defined as judging a different culture exclusively by the principles and values of one’s own customs. This is one o the major problems that the Lee family faced while being treated….. Before reading this novel, I had no idea what Hmong culture was or that it even existed, as I’m sure that was the same case with many of the health care team. The tragedy in the novel stems from the lack of awareness to the Hmong culture and the opposing beliefs of treatment between the medical staff and the Le...
In the past years, Brazil has celebrated itself as a great economic performer with emerging markets and increasing influence on the international stage. However, in 2013, Brazil was paralyzed by huge demonstrations expressing deep discontent with their governments’ performance. In this paper, I look at the sudden onset of the protest and the absence of it in the previous years. I will argue that despite these protests, the government of Brazil maintains a hegemonic culture that propagates its own values and practices. Brazil experiences the process of modernization from the above, which does not quite reflect the demands of the lower class. Using Brazil as an example, I will expand on how the political leadership establishes and maintains its control.
What is culture? Culture is the characteristics that describe a certain group of people. Culture defines those groups of people through religion, language, food and arts among many more. Culture is made up of many long lived traditions passed on through different regions. Brazilian culture is one of the most diverse out there. Some would say it has similarities to American culture when relating it to a "melting pot". Over 75% of the country follows the Roman Catholic faith. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese due to mass Portuguese settlements in much earlier centuries. Brazilian culture has a main focus on family unity and most Brazilians have a large number of family members.
Brazil and the United States were both discovered and colonized by Europeans even though their population cultural patterns differ. The way that Brazilians and Americans relate to their families differ. While Americans are raised to be individualists, Brazilians are known to have a close-knit family; Consequently, supporting your family members in Brazil is considered an imperative value. As a result, young Americans achieve their independence much earlier than young Brazilians.
Each culture has a certain level of ethnocentrism which can have positive and negative consequences. Ethnocentrism provides a feeling of unwillingness to change one’s culture or specific institution by placing them in a box. They can only see things through their specific lens and when something differs from what they know, they believe that it is a violation of the ways things should be. They become ignorant of the cultures that they may be right in the middle of by comparing them to the culture that they are familiar with and grading it on a scale. This causes a level of unwillingness to change institutions within a society because they are the standard. This makes it exceedingly difficult to relate to other people and the world as a whole because when someone is always trying to look at something while envisioning it as something else; they will never fully see the beauty of what they are observing. They limit their own experience for the sake of comfort and security, for the safety found within the familiar. Ethnocentrism is the safety blanket for many people yet the enervation that prevents them from fully experiencing the world and all of its different
The term “ethnocentrism,” meaning the sense of taken-for-granted superiority in the context of cultural practices and attitudes, described the way Europeans looked at their “culture” as though they were superior to all others. Westerns even stated that non-Westerns had no culture and that they were inferior to the culture that was building in Europe.
Ethnography is typically defined as research designed to explore cultural phenomenon that take place in another part of society or even the world. This requires a researcher to analyze similarities and differences between cultures through a perspective that is not judgmental, but more so open to new concepts that aren’t necessarily normal to their own culture. For my research, I decided to interview a friend of mine who is culturally different when compared to myself. Before beginning my interview I created a hypothesis, which I hoped to prove through my findings. Initially, I believed that most children, who are raised within a specific’s culture influence, tend to absorb the lifestyle and mindsets of their parents. Almost similar to the quote “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” By growing up within a specific culture’s influence, a child will grasp what they learned from their parents and apply it to their own lives.
Having an ethnocentric attitude changes how we view other cultures and limits our capability to be culturally relative to others not a part of our own. Ethnocentrism by definition is the “evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of
According to our assigned text, Ethnocentrism is defined as a tendency to think that out own culture is superior to other cultures (Martin &Nakayama, 2013 p.5). We can observe this through various clips throughout the film. The African characters namely the father of the prince believe their culture is superior to that of the American characters and I understood this to be a representation of ethnocentrism. In addition, differences in economic classes are represented as well within the film. Just as our text explained, there is a disparity that exist among classes although they tend to go unacknowledged (Martin & Nakayama, 2013 p.14). In the film “Coming to America”, there are several observations I made that relate to both ethnocentrism and economic class disparities. For example, King Joffer blatantly states “our son cannot consort with such a girl” which can be viewed as ethnocentrism and economic class disparity. King Joffer offensively refers to the Americans as being beneath them in the following quote “The man is beneath me and so is his daughter” which suggests the economic disparity between the two and are unacceptable from his standpoint. Furthermore, King Jaffore attempts to buy off the Americans thereby insulting them in stating “I know you have been inconvenienced. I am prepared to compensate you. Shall we say one million American dollars”. The American father, Cleo is immediately insulted and infuriated replying to him that he did not care whether or not he was a king in his country and his money was not acceptable. Cleo stated angrily “you cannot buy my daughter”. Furthermore, Cleo stated “this is America” in an attempt to possibly make him aware that their standards were not necessarily welcomed or proper in America. Again these examples display ethnocentrism and economic disparity from what I gathered from the text. The
Ethnocentrism can be defined as an individual’s belief that the ethnic group or cultural they identify with is superior to all others. “The ethnocentric person judges other groups and other cultures by the standards of his or her own group” (Schaefer 34).
Ethnocentrism is when one culture judge’s another culture by the standard of their own (Health, 2001). Stereotypes, biases, and prejudices against other people are all in a sense a form of ethnocentrism (Astle, Barton, Johnson, & Mill, 2014). It is okay to be proud of your own culture, but you need to remember to do so in such a way, that you are not putting down any other culture (Arnold, 2016).
When one encounters a culture that has little in common with own, one may experience culture shock. This is a sense of confusion, anxiety, stress and loss one may experience. One of the barriers in effective intercultural communication is ethnocentrism. It stems from a conviction that one’s own cultural traditions and assumptions are superior to those of others. It leads to a tendency to look the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture. It is one of the fastest ways to create a barrier that inhibits, rather than enhances communication (Jandt, 2012).
... its proper expressions, structure and grammar. Moreover, each language is linked to a specific dialect which is associated with educational, economic, social and historical conditions. Moreover, cultural variations also exist in the rules for general discourse in oral communication. Similar to verbal communication, there are also variations in non-verbal communication between cultures. Gestures, facial expressions, sense of time and personal distance take different forms in different cultures. Furthermore, there is an infinite number of cultural diversities which are at the root of intercultural miscommunication. Variations in values , social relationships, religion, economy and politics consist of only a few of these diversities. These differences can be the source of ethnocentrism, if one becomes over patriotic in regards to one’s own culture. Ethnocentrism, is the concept which states that we tend to judge other cultures through our own. Ethnocentric behavior, can cause racism and chauvinism, as in the case of the Second World War. However, intercultural problems can be avoided if we all develop mindfulness, a sense of flexibility and seek information about the other culture.
Ethnocentrism, as stated above, means the belief that one’s own culture is above and beyond all other cultures. Although this is somewhat of a shallow definition, it still provides an adequate explanation of a very complex issue. We see ethnocentrism every single day, in all aspects of life. The United States of America is a prime example of ethnocentrism is action. The people of this country have a tendency to disregard other cultures, instead believing that American culture is the only way to go. This is not to say that this is how everyone thinks, although most people, at one time or another, have had thoughts along these lines.