For example, 84% of those ages 18 to 29 in Taiwan hold this view . xhr.open('POST', 'https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', true); From our portions to our PTO, here's where we differ from the rest of the world. Foreign tourists might be surprised to find out just how many other destinations in the U.S. have restaurants that are open around the clock. In anthropology, folkloristics, and the social and behavioral sciences, emic (/ i m k /) and etic (/ t k /) refer to two kinds of field research done and viewpoints obtained.. Fair enough! Jeroen Seynhaeve / View all { 18 } / Vertaal naar Nederlands Traditional ways of evaluating cultures, and managing value clashes between these cultures, fail to generate desired results. While every region of the United States has its own quirks and identity, there are also certain customs that are commonplace nationwide. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.". - Ingerlise Kristensen, 68, retired bank employee, Copenhagen, Denmark, "I had a roommate a Californian, when I was in Korea as a college exchange student. The following is an excerpt from one of the excellent papers I received from a student, Emily Ong (used with her permission). Persons from religious perspectives other than Christianity, which emphasizes "individual salvation," may see the individual as equal to all living things, as on a journey toward individual fulfillment, or even as . Warning: "continue" targeting switch is equivalent to "break".Did you mean to use "continue 2"? Sometimes we are even better than them . Basically, I am wondering what non-Americans think of our culture, and of us in general. For example, we can look at Christmas from the perspective of someone who is not a part of American culture. When done well, this is in the finest tradition of foreign correspondence: a genre that soars when offering sharp, deeply reported answers to seemingly dumb questions dumb because they are so basic and self-evident that the smugly well settled never think to ask them, any more than fish inquire about the water. Included 600 grams of cheese. [] detailed search help you gain a new perspective on the Nacirema people. Coming from the UK where a university is used to gain your degree then its a case of thanks for the piss ups, bye! It's baffling. According to the (Journal of Psychology, 2000) culture and beliefs about time is . In most other countries, you take the time to at least park the car and walk through the front doors of the place you're patronizingnot in America, though! 2022 Galvanized Media. Native Americans are adapting to the pandemic with online events and educational videos to share their culture. A lot of dresses, and cars, and all that. Once they do, everyone admires the tree even more. So yes, they are fortunate, and it is God bless America - that's what makes America, America." While many Americans feel their nation is divided as never before, a sampling of the rest of the world reflects a more charitable view. The Americans are more of a tipper, good tippers. The difference is one of cultural ownership and general acknowledgement, of giving credit where it's dueespecially when credit is long overdue to a historically oppressed people. One of the reasons why we see so much of servers in the States is because they are constantly refilling customers' water glasses. Americans love their free refills. And it's a country with quite advanced technology industries. I think that anybody with good ideas, if they want to make a mark, it gives you an equal opportunity in that country. Hash browns or home fries? As is tradition. Sometimes, you need an outsiders perspective to get a clearer and wider view of things. Y'all get snow up there.'" Anyhow, in the morning, more boxes appear, and children act very wild, almost savage-like. But seriously, don't do it. I hate to put even more pressure on . The greasers live on the east side and are known as "hoods". Consider that it was written directly from the perspective of a teenager - experiencing life and writing about it. Here are 33 "normal" customs and habits in the U.S. that weird out the rest of the world. Many say how underrated our beer is. Such houses, I have observed, draw peoples eyes as they pass by. While many love how so patriotic we are as a people, some, to be blunt, find it a bit creepy. 5. No, this isn't the standard bottle of wine in the States, but it's a common sight at any American supermarket or wine store and something you'd rarely encounter in the wine countries of the world like Italy or France. - Liu Xiaodan, 30, hotel manager, Beijing, "My impression of Americans is that they uncomplicated. America permeated their lives - through comics and Coke, through Hollywood and Neil Armstrong, and via the internet, iPhone and Facebook. "Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is . - Rosa Moscoso, 42, Havana, "A country of freedom, particularly freedom of thought. Please enter valid email address to continue. - Pedro Ivan Gonzalez, 35, Havana, "Technology makes Americans American." I did not find any discrimination. - Shitij, 26, sales and marketing worker, New Delhi, "A lot of (consumer) products. Mehta, 34, health insurance agent, New Delhi, "Has a very liberal culture, great people and a country that drives innovation." What one culture does and believes to benormal, others may see as unusual. They are taken to a store where, when presented with a slip of paper, can be exchanged for currency. A thread on Reddit asks the question: Non-Americans of reddit, what aspect of American culture strikes you as the strangest? You don't see cheerleaders at the World Cup, do you? I mean, for the love of our sacredly majestic Bald Eagle, apple pie isnt even American! Let's look at 10 traditions Americans celebrate without even considering how strange the rest of world consider them. You see, I even have two iPhones." (She believed) that the people's voice should be heard." Not only did the geography of precontact America persist, but both the new arrivals and the indigenous inhabitants long retained their respective general characteristics, and it was the fit between . Supersizing Food. But elsewhere, there's no reason why eggs can't sit out on a shelf or counter. I was wearing a T-shirt that said, 'You Can't Get This In The States.' Money rules everything. The idea of being self-sufficient is valued highly in the U.S. There's an undercurrent of savagery and violence waiting to be expressed on a grand scale it seems, and I believe it's because American culture is unwittingly pushing for complete atomization of society, people can no longer rely on the elite for virtuous principles and leadership, and that people are starting to realize that . Why is so much trouble taken to offer the items to people, wrapped and put under this gaudy tree only to be given away? Cultural relativism is the idea that the beliefs and practices of a culture should be understood within the context of that particular culture's background, history, and current events surrounding it. Now without the photo below (but maybe skewed by the photo above) and in the context of the rest of the paper, many students do not recognize this as our daily habit of brushing our teeth. Americans love their red, white, and blueeven when it's not the Fourth of July or Veterans' Day. navigator.sendBeacon('https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', payload); DESCRIBE THE COUNTRY AS YOU SEE IT: "The first word that comes to mind when I hear the word America is 'Arrogance.' cota main grandstand; chocolate pudding with 2 percent milk It has been seen as the land of plenty, freedom and equality where Indian migrants could head behemoths like Google, Microsoft and Pepsi, and a South African could capture the imagination with an electric car. They just like speaking their mind, which is a reason that I don't feel quite comfortable going around with Americans." Still, and after more than a decade following the publication by Headland, Pike and Harris (1990), discussions about insider versus outsider status of the researcher remain alive and relevant. You get a vision of their culture and their way of life. Few embrace the spread of American culture in the predominantly Muslim nations surveyed, although many Lebanese (41%) do want American ideas and customs. } ); The novelty here has at least two dimensions. "Long winter nights and the seclusion of the reservation. Bacon or sausage? Do they think of our wide range of geography and national wonders? Now that you have you hot chocolate, it is time to relax. These Americans, thus, are all quite concerned with the overall presentation of their houses: they make sure other people see and admire them. Your email address will not be published. - Christopher Darroch, 39, actor, Toronto, "I was stunned to see how big everything is over there. But, I digress. Our collective workaholism is totally bizarre to outsidersand quite frankly, we can see why. when we mean "hello", Carding people who are obviously not under 21, Shopping at pharmacies that are mini shopping malls, And prescription drug makers that advertise, Pronouncing the last letter of the alphabet as "zee". It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures.. "It's uncomfortable and I just don't get why," she wrote. I found this quite interesting and maybe a bit eye opening, because as Americans, these things are completely normal to us. 3Peter N. Carroll and David W. Noble, The Free and the Unfree: A Progressive History of the United States, 3rd ed. But, besides the Willy Wonka level of sugar, we use a substantial amount of cheese in everything. While New York City famouslynever sleeps, it's not the only city with 24-hour businesses. In fact, in a 2017 report from the National Retail Federation, 65 percent of consumers reported owning a U.S. flag. The Outsiders was written by a teenager about teenagers. BANGKOK -- The rest of the world may think Americans eat a lot of burgers, have huge shopping malls and are ruled by an arrogant government.And yet the "Ugly American," it would seem, isn't all . You can describe American culture in general, as Miner does, or you can describe an American subculture, such as a specific geographical group (e.g., New Yorkers), a . For inquiring minds, think of our food. American culture, they help younger generations avoid changing their personalities to be accepted. To simplify matters, let's assign letters (yup, engineer at work). used by the People to entertain and amuse themselves.". And so Al Jazeera Americas recent three-part series on Grand Theft Auto V, a much-heralded new video game, went further and harder than many rivals reports. Nacirema, that exotic, far-off place where people do strange things is one of the best ways to help students look at Americanculture as an observer rather than as the standard by which all other cultures should be compared. Miner describes Americans as "magic-ridden people" (Miner 2009, 507). In the United States, pharmaciesthe closest things we have to chemistsdouble as convenience stores, with aisles upon aisles of food, cleaning supplies, and even makeup products. They cannot generate these results, because they are based on, and restricted by, the ethnocentric perspective. This story deals with issues that are very close to the hearts of teens, whether in the 1960s when this book was written or today. Many of the novel's characters, whether they were labeled as Socials (Socs) or greasers . This works in making work more enjoyable too. Contents. The American was easy to talk with and we had a lot of things in common. Innovation is widely viewed as an engine of progress not only for driving economic growth, but also for bringing vital improvements in a variety of domains, from science and medicine to inequality and sustainability. When a young girl there was asked about the low-level warfare that engulfs her neighborhood, her answers heart-sinking simplicity seemed to vouch for this approach of chronicling America as though seeing it for the first time. In fact, Al Jazeera may represent something quite new in the business (though not unprecedented): the foreign gaze for domestic consumption. However, often is not noticed or realized how extreme some people are willing to go to conform to the expected norm of American society, until one looks at the demands that society places upon us from the outsider's perspective of American culture. The Internet has changed that. You might have been counting down the days until spring, but make the most of these chilly and cloudy days. Whether we're dropping by the post office or shopping for groceries, we Americans are surprisingly comfortable with wearing our clothes typically reserved for bed out in public. Americans are gallant." - Zhila Gudzueva, university lecturer, Moscow, "My definition of Americans is those who are cheerful, friendly and willing to communicate." I want an outsider's perspective on why this country is so fucked. Trick-or-Treating. Many are so flabbergasted by the amount of choices we have in, not only our restaurants, but our grocery stores as well. Here is a link to start:https://thesocietypages.org/toolbox/nacirema/(Links to an external site. Americans really love their ice. Starting off your day this way could increase your odds of cognitive decline. By Beth Anne Macaluso, Adam Schubak and Kara Ladd. Everything else, I do not understand.. - Marren Cahilig, 21, bartender, Manila, Philippines, "It is powerful." Suppose we have two cultures in presence. Does the eating of the man-shaped biscuits represent some sacrifice? - Liu Xiaodan, 30, hotel manager, Beijing, "America is a country that produces a massive amount of cultural output such as Hollywood movies, music and many other (forms of) entertainment." An etic view of a culture is the perspective of an outsider looking in. It is a great country and would love to live there. Their approach is different from ours we do it because we care about others, they do it because they get tips they were raised that way." The culture can largely be referred to as Western culture, as much of it is shared with the Western world, but there are still influences that come from Asia, Africa and Latin America. they aren't actually looking for an answer. However, young people both in and outside the U.S. are particularly fond of American popular culture. Many American kids and teenagers leave home for extended periods of time, often for summer camps or travel. The United States of America serves as the global symbol of 'madness' and 'non-stop chaos' in the best and worst ways possible. Romances and horrors are great genres to cozy up to in the dark. - Christopher Darroch, 39, actor, Toronto, "Capitalism. -- Teaching_man, I was not aware that you can buy guns in supermarkets in America. in /nfs/c05/h04/mnt/113983/domains/toragrafix.com/html/wp-content . - Summer Abu Ltaif, outside the American University of Beirut, "I think that they are formed by an ideology. The small and thin trees with exposed branches are often not given a second look and are left with the person selling the trees. Especially if you have school work to do, background music can help fill the silence of late night studying. Fenrir89, I get made fun of all the time in Russia for having an attachment to my college. This is down to the US communication style which is influenced by the need to be direct, clear . If you're a member of B, then . And you don't have to settle for regular milk! In most European countries, service fees are included in the price of a meal, and tips don't usually go above 8 to 12 percent. Now, I am not saying that America doesnt have its own cultural cues and certain ways that we act that makes us unique. - Knut Braaten, 43, handyman, Oslo, Norway, "When I was driving to North Carolina I stopped at McDonald's. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 'Get away!' I screamed." (234) Claudette resists the urge to use wolf like communication to talk to Mirabella to stop chasing her, and instead uses human communication . I threw dirt, I threw stones. The authors' research uncovered four factors: (1) The outsiders were not. Views differ considerably, however, among the country's religious communities - 72% of Lebanese Christians say the spread of these ideas is a good thing; only 23% of Sunni and 13% of Shia . But its way of seeing is foreign, the perspective of the curious outsider for whom nothing is obvious and whose questions are big and nave and, in their navet, important. "hey would you like to come and get bruised with me doing some fast dances to violins?" - Pedro Ivan Gonzalez, 35, juice seller, Havana, "It is a world imperialist power country. But one thing for sure, they cannot make beer." The report reflected the networks seeming vision of the United States more generally: as a nation dynamic and promising and, at the same time, brutal in ways that distinguish it from its rich-country cousins. Why have an 8-ounce steak when you can have a 20-ounce one? To find out, I thought that I should get a view from the outside of the proverbial white picket fenced, good ol Murican home. Cultural relativism is not the same as moral relativism, however. In S.E. To outsiders, Blacks may appear terse or disinterested. Ethnocentrism either restricts us to clear-cut, static, homogenous definitions of us-and-them, or . Not in America it isn't! So what does this foreign gaze, as presented on Al Jazeera America, reveal? "Here in New Zealand, lemonade generally equals . Even when it's the dead of winter, coffee shops are still serving up iced coffee. paper from an anthropological perspective. - Kenni Friis, 28, computer technology student, Copenhagen, Denmark, "They're generous. The term is frequently heard in situations . This writing helped me understand others' perceptive of the things that I find normal. Like, for example, in real life, you cant kill people. I believe they should understand the values that we have as Arabs, embrace them and try to go to a more local level to comprehend why we think and why we live the way we live." All of them wear shorts." To begin, Ill stick with the positives. Americans are, apparently, much friendlier than most people around the world. xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain;charset=UTF-8'); Boy was I wrong. And for more on why we pronounce this letter differently, check out Why the World Pronounces "Z" as "Zed" And Americans Don't. The collector's view of the artifacts as pieces of art is a product of his own cultural background and does not take into account the cultural relativity of the artifacts. Individualism vs. Collectivism. While I thought this over, I also began to think of why people, myself especially, are so enthralled with other countries. They are big and loud and they are in charge of everything." Through the eyes of an etic perspective, we can view the American higher educational system that we all accept as normal and question the system with critical comparisons between ours and those of other . In Japan, open-mouthed, teeth-exposed laughter is thought to "sound like horses," and is considered impolite, and in particular, unladylike, in the same manner Americans consider coughing . But when Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based television empire that has long broadcast to viewers around the world in Arabic and English, announced plans to start a U.S. news channel, it ignited a wildfire of controversy. American Culture: The Outsider's Perspective. - Knut Braaten, 43, handyman, Oslo, Norway, "I think there obviously is the American dream, the idea that unifies them all. - Marren Cahilig, 21, bartender, Manila, Philippines, "Many things their arrogant ideology of a powerful country and above all they have a language that is practically universal and almost everyone depends on that language. When described the way the Miner does, it sounds strange and maybe even a bit gross. In continuation with time, the culture of the native people developed. How big the country is and the amount of time you guys are willing to drive. I think it comes from two places: sports, and a sense of community. He also emptied my friend's fridge, saying he's used to eating and drinking whenever he feels hungry or thirsty. But to watch Al Jazeera Americas reports is to discover that the truth lies somewhere in between these visions the network as fundamentally foreign versus the network as all-American. But in the U.S., people are happy to just toss their card in a folder with the bill and let the server take it away for swiping. All the pomp and circumstance surrounding prom, I have cousins who live in the US and just hearing about the number of hoops they had to jump through to ask someone to a dance is hilarious. An odd ritual occurs the night right before Christmas: children hang socks above a structure that houses a fire although they look far too large to be anyones sock. I don't understand why other cultures are all so primitive. Collectivist cultures are usually contrasted with individualistic cultures. AMS 111: American Culture, Values and Traditions: American Outsiders Section D301 T-Th., 12:30-1:45, Carman Hall, Room 233 Instructor: Kathleen Brennan Kathleen.Brennan@lehman.cuny.edu, Kbrennan@gc.cuny.edu Office hours: Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30, Room 292 Google Documents: Sign In: LehmanAMS111@gmail.com Password: Carman233 This course is designed to investigate issues of American citizenship . They're calm and kind and friendly and they like to smile." By the time you've been inside an American establishment in the summertime for just 10 minutes, you'll be freezing cold and eager to get back out into the sweltering sun. The beliefs, customs, art, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time. Americans can come across as self-interested, aggressive and rude to some outsiders. It comes as a bit of a surprise, then, when these foreigners visit the U.S. and are checked in on every 10 minutes or so as they eat. We have black, asians, white, hispanics, indians just to name of few and yet we don't have massive in fighting between races or religions. In the U.S., every food order requires several decisions. Oh, and side note, the customer service in America is seen as amazing. . Foot binding was to stop the growth of the foot and make them smaller. It's not uncommon to chat up a stranger while waiting on line or traveling on public transportation. Whats more is that once Christmas is over, all of the gaudy gems and balls on the tree have to be removed and the tree must be moved out of the house. Every once in a while, an outsider comes along with a new vision or a new way of doing things that revolutionizes a . They look super fake. There are few countries in which you'll encounter a billboard or bus ad for a divorce attorney or see several personal injury spots while watching half an hour of daytime TV. It did the same for a story from New Orleans on how murder victims survivors cope with their loss. A journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. I had a wonderful time doing my book report on "American Cultural Patterns: A cross-cultural Perspective". ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb. The second one is "B", the one you're attempting to write about (say, Chinese, Vietnamese, French). After considering how Black women might draw upon these key themes as outsiders within to generate a distinctive standpoint on existing sociological paradigms, I conclude by suggesting that other sociologists would also benefit America gave birth to these two soulful genres and in my personal opinion from my search that is that the world is very glad, as these genres gave birth to rock, pop, rap, and hip-hop. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. If movies aren't your style or you need a quieter way to relax, pick up a good book. African . In addition, for some reason, the tree must be a rather large tree with lots of foliage. While other countries boast colorful bills with cultural figures, the U.S. seems determined to keep their barely-green dollars as unexciting and indistinguishable as possible. We love our cheese. For those who are used to a more leisurely meal with little interruption, all of those check-ins and the waiter's eagerness to bring the bill can be a bit grating. Time to forget about any work you have to do, and treat the weekend as a weekend. - Gennelyn Escopete, 33, DVD street vendor, Manila, Philippines, "Probably capitalism, but I see it more as freedom that every person can do what he wants, when he wants - true freedom, but it costs a lot I think, and sometimes it brings you lower than takes you higher." I encourage others to take a step outside, in any situation, to see the broader view of things because what you find may surprise you. We should not ethnocentrically impose our own beliefs and opinions, which are products of our own enculturation. Although the insight of an outsider can clearly observe another's culture, I do not agree with him or her criticizing it as if it is his or her own country. - Ziva Meizels, retiree, Jerusalem, "I think their patriotism, you know, God bless America. After doing a little adventuring on the web and seeing all different kinds of opinions and views from people all over the world, I came to love my country even more. Like so much else in the United States, we go big with our roads, which are a huge contrast to the tight city streets of most European towns and winding mountain roads found in much of the rest of the world. It's the many electronics we have the bridge in San Francisco." This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. We like to eat when we like to eatand if that means going to Denny's at 3 a.m., so be it. Throughout the novel The Outsiders, readers can see just how harshly culture can change people. - Summer Abu Ltaif, outside the American University of Beirut, "I think everyone is very tolerant there, in a way that there are all kinds of people, whether from different ethnicities, different countries, different religions. These kind greetings can catch foreigners by surprise, and usually it takes a few "hellos" before they trust that it's not some kind of scam. There's the American way and then there's everybody else. On my search I was pleasantly surprised to see the opposite view. Wrapping up in a warm blanket with a hot drink and some calming music is one of the best ways to spend and indoor kind of day.