...beliefs, rituals, practice and culture in general. I have come to the conclusion that just as I am comfortable practicing what I believe in, and find comfort in doing so, so are the Nacirema people. As each one of us grows practicing traditions/ rituals, passed on from generation to generation we become used to the " normalcy" of our culture. We do not consider the perspective of an outsider, who might find our rituals, beliefs, traditions, just as odd as we find theirs. Just as I don't view my culture as odd, they don't view theirs. We all derive reassurance and comfort from our practices. This is why we have created them. They serve...
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...Research and Background The Nacirema tribe and their strange behaviors were first documented by Horace Miner in “The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” in 1956. Considerable effort has been extended to the study of this most unusual tribe in the years that followed and many print articles and lectures were devoted to trying to understand these people and their strange customs. Recently, many new research techniques combined with a host of motivated anthropologists and a fresh source of both corporate donations and governmental funds have uncovered new information about the Nacirema. Although there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of Nacirema rituals, ceremonies, and practices that merit intense study and analysis, the focus of this research paper is perhaps one of the most bizarre and poorly understood of all their rituals. This ritual has it’s roots in many different cultures dispersed across the world dating back hundreds of years. This most interesting ritual has been celebrated in a very concentrated region of Nacirema for hundreds of years located in a few costal cities north of the body of water “Gulf of the Land of Maize”. Although this ritual is celebrated to some degree in selected Nacirema cities of this region, the epicenter of this ritual and it’s many strange customs is the city that straddles the end of the big river Ojibwe. This city is “Crescent City”, aptly named for the villages of the city that followed the curvature of the big river Ojibwe. Once per...
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...people certainly did notice. The Oregon-based Nike corporation was forced to pull its “Chamber of Fear” promotion, based on a Bruce Lee movie, after an outraged public objected to the image of a U.S. athlete defeating a kung fu master. In the global marketplace, cultural differences can undermine even the most elaborate promotional campaign. inside Culture and Society Development of Culture around the World Elements of Culture Culture and the Dominant Ideology Case Study: Culture at Wal-Mart Cultural Variation Social Policy and Culture: Bilingualism Boxes Sociology in the Global Community: Life in the Global Village Sociology in the Global Community: Cultural Survival in Brazil Sociology on Campus: A Culture of Cheating? “Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy which has evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of the people's time is devoted to economic pursuits, a large part of the fruits of these labors and a considerable portion of the day are spent in ritual activity. The focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects and associated philosophy are unique. The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics...
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...150 Professor: Ramona Lee Pérez, PhD Email: ramona.perez@qc.cuny.edu Office hours: Th 2-3 PM, PH 315H COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is an introduction to the range of human diversity through an exploration of the peoples of the world. We will cover the basic concepts, theories, and methods that anthropologists use to study variations in cultural norms and social practices, economic systems and rules of law, social organization and patterns of inequality, identity and worldview, and patterns of social and cultural change. Focusing on the culture concept and the method of ethnography, we begin with the historical foundations of anthropology and then follow its attempts to understand contemporary human cultures. Comparative analysis of multiple ethnographic case studies and major theoretical approaches illuminates the range of human diversity, the forces that shape cultures, and how people adapt to a rapidly changing modern world. The central objectives of this course are to develop your intellectual skills, your cross-cultural fluency, and your sense of civic and moral engagement in global society. I hope that this course inspires many of you to become anthropology majors or minors, and grants each of you an anthropological perspective on your own life. REQUIREMENTS This is an intensive course that requires full participation from every student. You must attend all lectures, study all the assigned materials before the class for which they are listed, complete...
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...Ethnicity, Identity and Public Policy Critical Perspectives on Multiculturalism David Bromell Institute of Policy Studies Ethnicity, Identity and Public Policy Critical Perspectives on Multiculturalism David Bromell Institute of Policy Studies First printed in 2008 Institute of Policy Studies School of Government Victoria University of Wellington PO Box 600 Wellington © Institute of Policy Studies ISBN 158 IPS/Pub/978-1-877347-26-9 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced without the permission of the Institute of Policy Studies. Copy editor: Belinda Hill Cover design: Milne Printers Ltd Printed by Milne Printers Ltd Contents List of Tables iv List of Figures iv List of Boxes iv Foreword v Acknowledgments and Disclaimer ix Part One: Introduction and Context of Inquiry 1 Introduction 2 New Zealand Context 3 21 Part Two: Communitarian Responses to Liberalism Introduction to Part Two 61 3 Civic Republicanism: Michael Sandel 63 4 The Politics of Recognition: Charles Taylor 83 Part Three: Multiculturalism Introduction to Part Three 105 5 Multicultural Citizenship: Will Kymlicka 107 6 Common Citizenship in a Multicultural Society: Bhikhu Parekh 151 Part Four: Critical Responses to Multiculturalism ...
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