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What are the influences of culture in society
How culture affects a society
What are the influences of culture in society
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bonding with each other always comes first. Living life as a whole, making relationships most important, and recognizing oneself as “we” is a part of the collectivist culture in Guatemala. The value of focusing on relationships with people rather than time is also a norm in Guatemala (Rivers, n.d., Norms section). As several Americans shake hands to greet each other, a Guatemalan folkway is a handshake with an additional hug or kiss to close friends or family. Communication in public is expected to be quiet and private; talking loudly is looked down upon (“GUATEMALA”, n.d., Taboos section). Unlike Guatemalans, Americans do not have such guidelines of speaking in public. It may be considered rude to yell across the street or disrupt the silence
In El Nahra, for example, the cultural ethos is family honor. All actions in the community are based on the strong family bonds that exist throughout. However, individualism drives the majority of America. Our actions seem to be a direct result of the cultural ethos. In that, lied much of the confusion between Bob, BJ and th...
As far back as Rigoberta Manchu can remember, her life has been divided between the highlands of Guatemala and the low country plantations called the fincas. Routinely, Rigoberta and her family spent eight months working here under extremely poor conditions, for rich Guatemalans of Spanish descent. Starvation malnutrition and child death were common occurrence here; rape and murder were not unfamiliar too. Rigoberta and her family worked just as hard when they resided in their own village for a few months every year. However, when residing here, Rigoberta’s life was centered on the rituals and traditions of her community, many of which gave thanks to the natural world. When working in the fincas, she and her people struggled to survive, living at the mercy of wealthy landowners in an overcrowded, miserable environment. By the time Rigoberta was eight years old she was hard working and ...
The Cambodian culture is very collectivistic and a lot of those values are still upheld by the younger generations of Cambodian Americans. In Cambodian culture, family comes first. Terry Nhim, her in-laws Mon Neang and Roeun Muth and her brother in-law Vanna Neang all greatly emphasized the importance of family and looking out for one another. “Our family is large, not just my parents and siblings but rather my extended family as well. We try to be close to one another, and of course, there are some families we’re not as close to as others.
The Central American country of Guatemala fought a bloody civil war for over 36 years. The internal conflict began in November of 1960 and did not end until December of 1996. The key players that fought where the Guatemalan government and the ethnic Mayan indigenous people that where extremely leftist compared to the Guatemalan government. The indigenous persons where joined by other non-government forces known as the Ladino peasantry and other rural poor. This civil conflict would escalate to a bloody series of events that inevitably would see the Guatemalan government regime held responsible for acts of genocide and other human rights violations.
The Hmong also believes that a combination of natural and supernatural cause’s results in illness, and spells or curses, violation of taboos, accidents, fright, and infectious disease are other causes of illness (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008, Queensland Health, 2004). As our textbook states, “Communication includes the willingness of individuals to share their thoughts and feelings” (Purnell, 2103, p. 21). To that end, the Hmong people are primarily illiterate. For this culture, they have a belief that Americans are rude because direct eye contact is maintained when conversing, as well as asking direct questions.
Barret, Alice. "Garífuna Voices of Guatemala: Central America’s Overlooked Segment of the African Diaspora."Council on Hemispheric Affairs. N.p., 14 July 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
As a traditional, collectivistic cultural group, the Latino population is believed to adhere deeply to the value of familismo. (Arditti, 2006; Calzada, 2014). Familism is an emphasis on the importance of the family unit over values of autonomy and individualism”. (Santistaben, 2012). Family is considered to be the top priority in the Latino culture. Comparatively, at times, this isn’t true of our busy, work devoted western culture. In western culture we think of our family in a nuclear sense made up of a: mom, dad, and siblings. Conversely, Hispanic culture focuses on the whole extended family including aunts, uncles, grandparent, and cousins. Their culture believes having close connections with the entire extended family benefits the development of their children. The entire family helps the child by giving them differing levels of social and emotional support. (American Home Resolutions,
I always live as a Guatemalan for the last 15 years, it was hard when I had to move from my country to another that was very different than mine and find out that in this new country is a different languages and different cultures. Maybe for the first time that I was walking to the school, I feel like I was in Guatemala people with the same skin color as me, but when I heard them talked I heard a new word, different accents and I realized that everything was chance.
“The Contact Zone”, is defined by Mary Louis Pratt as “the space in which transculturation takes place – where two different cultures meet and inform each other, often in highly asymmetrical ways.” Pratt describes what she calls ‘contact zones’ and elaborates on the pros and cons of these cultural interactions. She sees the contact zone as a place that allows people to exchange cultural ideas and break down the dividing cultural borders. When a contact zone is started, people are able to interact on new levels gaining a new perspective because they are able to collaborate with people from foreign cultures. If you are always with people of the same culture as you, you become used to hearing everything from the same perspective. With a new perspective, you can see your culture from a different point of view and reanalyze the logic behind your cultural traditions. Every ethnic/ religious/ regional/ cultural group has its high and low points, and it is just as important to learn about the low points as it is to learn about the highs. Gloria Anzaldua’s essay, “how to tame a wild tongue”, focuses on the ideas of losing an accent or native language to conform to the dominant culture.
In the New York Times article, A Wrong Turn for Guatemalan Democracy, Guatemala’s political situation is regarded as a declining state where Congress has most control over corruption, leaving little room for their new president, Jimmy Morales, to consolidate the country’s politics. A democracy is a form of government that reflects the wants and needs of the people through political action. The people of Guatemala are viewed by the author of the article, Anita Isaacs, as the only option to reform the country’s corruption since Mr. Morales has only 11 out of the 158 members of Congress in his political party and the United Nations ceases to assist in aiding the corruption. [Isaacs, A Wrong Turn]. Guatemalan Democracy may be unstable due to the
The Agrarian Reform Law Decree 900 was enacted in 1952 under President Jacobo Árbenz’s government. President Árbenz wanted Guatemala’s financial system to grow and he wanted to transform the rural population through land redistribution and by giving them agricultural privileges. However, these ideals for land reform were short-lived; coming to an end with his coup in 1954. This essay will explain what the Agrarian Reform law in Guatemala was as well as what were its effects on landowners and rural hacienda workers, while touching on why the reform failed despite its progressive ideals.
Racial divisions are evident in societies across the globe, and have been for centuries. While there are distinct differences between these relationships of class and race, many similarities are clear. History has shown a long list of tactics to exploit, terrorize, and manipulate racial minorities and lower class citizens. For the indigenous people of Guatemala and the American Indians, the inception of racial and class discrimination occurred during colonialization and continues to show its impact today.
Peruvians represent a minority group in the United States. Two of the main reasons why Peruvians have migrated to different cities of this country are: political and economic changes in Peru. As most of people who abandon their countries, what motivates Peruvians to come is the desire to improve their life here as well as their families’ life (Paerregaard, 2005). However, even when they migrate from Peru to the United States, they tend to keep their views and values with them, which continues to influence their lives. Even though, this group share similar characteristics with other Latino groups that have Hispanic origins, Peruvians have social and cultural distinctiveness. An interview
When I was a toddler, I had blonde hair, blue eyes and white skin, and still presently do. My parents are Guatemalan, however they fit the stereotype of a Guatemalan, small, a bit chunky, and tan. My siblings also carry the same genes as my parents, but yet I stand out like the moon in a night sky. But just like the moon, the public looks at me different. Growing up in a hispanic community and having a Latino family I gained numerous titles for my abnormality. “Canche” is the George Clooney of my nicknames, it means white boy.
Latin American society places a great deal of importance on the family as a support network; it is not uncommon for several generations to reside in the same house. This emphasis is called familismo, and the mother in the family is usually the most important figure. She “is seen as the primary nurturer and caregiver in the family…[and] plays a critical role in preservation of the family as a unit, as well as in...