According to Taylor culture is defined as a complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs ,arts ,morals ,laws and customs and any other capabilities acquired by man as members of the society. Anthropologists like Hertzkorits define it as a man-made part of the environment. Kluckhon and Kelly define culture as all that is historically created design for living explicitly and implicitly, rational and irrational which exists at any given time as potential behavior of man. The first meaning presents culture as an idea and a realm of observable phenomena of things and events out there in the world. The second meaning on the other hand sees culture as an organized system of knowledge and beliefs whereby people’s structure their experiences and formulate facts and choose the alternative.
Several print sources and non print sources have been used to promote the concept of culture relativism and ethnocentrism. This paper therefore explores specific books and videos and how these sources of information have been used to promote these concepts of culture. It outlines specific quotations and uses the art of paraphrasing to outline how this has been advanced.
Firstly, ethnocentrism is derived from the word ethnic. Therefore ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one’s own culture as being superior and to apply your one’s own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people who have grown up in other cultures. Ethnocentrism is usually regarded as being universal. This is because it tends to reinforce social solidarity, sense of value and community among people who share common culture. People everywhere that there are familiar explanations, opinions and customs are true right, proper and moral. In this regard people regard dif...
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...ken care of since the subject of anthropology is well versed with everything that human beings do. Anthropology like any social science studies distinctive forms of human relationships and great achievements of human culture but we deal with altogether in all places all the time.
In conclusion there is need to preserve cultural rights .Cultural rights are rights in groups rather than individual. These included groups’ ability to preserve their culture that is considered positive, to raise children, to continue using languages and not be deprived of their economic base. There has also been a rising notion of indigenous rights. The notion has risen in all attempts to conserve each society cultural base, its core values, beliefs and principles.
References
Nelofer, Pasira. A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of my Afghanistan. New York: Free Press,
2005
Ethnocentrism is the belief of one’s culture as superior opposed to other cultures. Ethnocentrism is a single minded. Cultural relativism in contrast to ethnocentrism, is the ability to view certain practices of a culture in the mentality of the the culture itself. Cultural relativism is more understanding with an absence of judgement. The TED talk from Chimamanda Adichi regarding, “The Danger of a Single Story” illustrates how we all can allow a one-sided story can isolate our thinking. She talks about how throughout her life she experienced many single sided stories that could have influenced her life; however, she learned from them. Adichi uses the analogy of a single story to equate to ethnocentrism. An example she used was when she was
Culture has been defined numerous ways throughout history. Throughout chapter three of, You May Ask Yourself, by Dalton Conley, the term “culture” is defined and supported numerous times by various groups of people. One may say that culture can be defined as a set of beliefs (excluding instinctual ones), traditions, and practices; however not all groups of people believe culture has the same set of values.
Culture Relativism: putting aside any judgment or beliefs against a culture different from one’s own culture. In the narrators experience he is able to collect his thoughts and understand that their way of life is different from his own and that he must not judge them in order to truly understand them.
Throughout this unit, a lot was learned about culture. Cultural Relativism is a counter of Ethnocentrism, however Ethnocentrism is countered by Ex-centricity. All of these are a way to understand and compare culture, but they are all different and unique. For example, Cultural relativism is examining each culture individually and accepting each culture as unique and not judged by the standards of another culture. On the other hand, Ethnocentrism is countered by this. This is because Ethnocentrism is evaluating another culture against the standards of your own culture, thus making your culture superior. The counter to this is Ex-centricity. Looking at a culture ex-centrically means that one makes sicen of his world by means of critical
Anthropology is defined, in the most basic terms, as the study of other cultures. This field can subsequently be divided into more specific sects, and contain more precise defining characteristics, but this definition is essentially all that is needed. Anthropology is a science that attempts to look at other cultures and draw conclusions to questions that are raised while studying. An anthropologist is someone who accepts what is presented before them and is driven by an urge to understand each presentation as thoroughly as possible. Once the concept of anthropology is accepted, one must identify the means of reaching the goal of this field. In the sect of social anthropology, this vehicle is known as ethnography. This technique of studying is fundamentally, participant-observation, an attempt at becoming part of a culture in order to understand most fully. It is in this specific method, however, that disputes have arisen. As cut and dry as the definitions I have given may seem, anthropologists have recently become disillusioned with these methods and have ventured into a new form of interpretation, known as reflexivityan analysis of the self within the fieldwork. This new form is, in essence, a breaking of the "rules of anthropology" established by early anthropologists and, similar to discoveries made in the fields of chemistry and biology, reflexivity is necessary in aiding in the advancement of this field, too.
Growing up in a multi-cultural family can broaden not only your life experiences, but also influence how you view the world. Culture is something that can either be accepted, or something to be apprehensive of. Ethnography helps society learn about culture by fully immersing yourself in the culture. By observing, learning and participating in various cultures it can eliminate a lot of apprehension as well as broaden your ability to accept others. Throughout this essay, I will answer a few questions associated with ethnography and how studying a culture can help our own society progress as well. It is important to know what ethnography is, as well as methods that can be useful (or even detrimental) to your experience. These are questions that
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).
Baker, Aryn, and Loi Kolay. "The U.S in Afghanistan: The Longest War." Time Magazine 08 April 2009: 1-4.
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).
What is culture? Culture is identity; it’s the indigenous or non-indigenous ideology, habits, customs, appearances and beliefs that people are either raised by or adapt to from different nations surrounding. It is a network of knowledge shared by a group of people. Culture consists of configurations, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior obtained and spread by symbols establishing the distinctive achievement of human groups including their embodiments in artifacts; the vital core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values. Culture systems may, on one hand, be considered as products of action, and on the other, as conditioning influences upon further action.
Ethnocentrism causes people to make judgments about people or groups using their own "superior" culture or way of life as the base measurement. Ethnocentrism breeds prejudice and discrimination. It prevents a person from learning about different people and cultures. It promotes closed mind thinking and promotes "us" versus "them" mentality. There is a large portion of the United States right now practicing ethnocentrism. They are denouncing anyone who does not worship God. They are fighting against immigration, LGBT community, and Muslims because their beliefs go against their culture. They believe immigrants and LGBT are not worthy of the right to live in the United States, and anyone who does live in the United States must assimilate
Culture refers to the collection of values, customs, and attitudes of a group of people belonging to certain area, country or a place. It shapes individuals’ habits, knowledge, experiences, and their perspectives. It is important to avoid ethnocentricity since it creates a bias in which, one views their own culture to be superior over other cultures. In the age of globalization, such single-minded bias can prove to be costly as it can lead to undermining positive characteristics of other cultures. This in return can create negative relationship with citizens from other cultures as well as their governments.
Culture may be defined as the sum totaltotal of non-biological activities of a people. For anthropologists like Marvin Harris (1974). Culture is directly related to concrete material conditions of existence. It is a set of altitudinal and behavioral tools as well as a map of adapting to one’s environment. Culture is thus essentially adaptive. Following the concept of cultural relativism espoused by Margaret Mead (1968) it is the view of this article that culture must be seen asbe specific and valid in particular circumstances with value judgement as to its relative significance to other groups, even within the same nation-state or society. The point that is therefore being made is that there are some particularities of culture that characterize
... 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 is when someone judges other peoples cultures, values, or ideas for their own culture. Ethnocentrism is found everywhere, all around us. We are surrounded by people who judge others by their race, religion, and culture which leads to hatred. A negative effect of ethnocentrism is when someone just wants to keep judging others for their beliefs or religion not caring how others might feel about his judging, they are egocentric.