Comparative Civilizations 12 Anthropology Participant Observation
Throughout human history, the rules and orders are established by structured hierarchy. Therefore, a tradition of showing respect to the authority is formed. Interestingly, the ways people show respect varies due to different cultural backgrounds. Some manners of one culture might not be acknowledged or even considered rude by people from another culture. The phenomena of showing respect to people with higher power can be widely observed in various competitions where competitors must first merit required rituals before performing their tasks in front of the judges.
I decided to observe the participants of Richmond Music Festival in 2014. This group consists of Caucasians, Chinese born in Canada [CBC] and newcomers from China. By observing this group, I am able to conduct a cross-culture study that might reveal the relationship between cultures and rules regarding manners. The Caucasians can be easily recognized by their white skin color. The CBCs can be easily distinguished from new immigrants from China in the language they used in conversation with parents and their accent. The conversations between CBCs and their parents were in English; while the new comers communicated with the parents in Chinese (either Mandarin or Cantonese). When the CBCs said their names aloud at the reception desk, they didn’t have any accent. In comparison, those new comers spoke English in Chinese Intonation. In addition to their difference in culture backgrounds, their financial backgrounds are different as well. The Caucasians’ and CBCs’ families might come from middle class. The cars they drove are affordable and useful vehicles in brands such as Toyota, Jeep etc. The clothes their parents wore are in mostly common Canadian brands. In comparison, the new comers’ families seemed wealthier. They drove cars such as