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define ethnocentrism and contrast it with cultural relativism
race and ethnicity on society effects
race and ethnicity on society effects
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Ethnocentrism is Everywhere
Ethnocentrism is a commonly used word in circles where ethnicity,
inter-ethnic relations, and similar social issues are of concern. The
usual definition of the term is thinking one's own group's ways are
superior to others or judging other groups as inferior to one's own.
Ethnic refers to cultural heritage, and centrism refers to the central
starting point. So ethnocentrism basically refers to judging other
groups from our own cultural point of view. Even this does not address
the underlying issue of why people do this. Most people, thinking of
the shallow definition, believe that they are not ethnocentric, but
are rather open minded and tolerant. However everyone is
ethnocentric, and there is no way around being ethnocentric.
Ethnocentricity cannot be avoided, nor can it be willed away by a
positive or well-meaning attitude.
To address the deeper issues involved in ethnocentrism calls for a
more explicit definition. In this sense, ethnocentrism can be defined
as: making false assumptions about others' ways based on our own
limited experience. The key word is assumptions, because we are not
even aware that we are being ethnocentric. Westerners have a binary
conflict view of life (right or wrong, liberal versus conservative,
etc.), and we try to impose our "win or lose" perspective of life on
situations in other cultures. As a result, we do not understand how
they experience life, that trying is a basic element of life.
There are many, many examples of such differences in meanings that
make life experience so unique for all the human groups around the
world. For example, English has tenses built int...
... middle of paper ...
...nk people should be "friendly"? Once we realize that we
are not understanding, we are now in a better position to seek more
valid and balanced understandings. If we appreciate that their life
experience can be as valid for them as ours is for us, acknowledge
that we may be misunderstanding, and ask them to help us understand,
most people are more than willing to help us understand better.
Perhaps no one can ever have complete understanding of another people,
without fully experiencing everything they experience. However, this
does not mean we cannot develop a functional understanding, to
interact successfully with others. Like other life skills, practice at
every opportunity helps us develop our abilities to catch ourselves
being ethnocentric and asking good questions to better understand
others' cultural behavior.
The term “ethnocentrism,” meaning the sense of taken-for-granted superiority in the context of cultural practices and attitudes, described the way Europeans looked at their “culture” as though they were superior to all others. Westerns even stated that non-Westerns had no culture and that they were inferior to the culture that was building in Europe.
(1) Ethnocentrism is looking at one’s own culture and placing it above other cultures, constantly comparing it to the other cultures “below”. In America today, many people look at conflicted areas in the globe such as the Middle East and wonder why their system cannot keep a stable democracy. This idea of constantly comparing other cultures to one’s own and expecting them to be alike or follow the example is a problem in reading historical documents and understanding history as a whole. Nomadic invaders such as the Mongols were described as horrible savage people in the written accounts of the sedentary peoples. This must not be taken quite as literally because accounts tend to be biased more often than not. In examining ethnocentrism, one must always remember that few, if not none, cultures behave extremely irrationally as they may seem. For example, referring back to the views of Middle East today, one must remember that the system of Islamic law and customs has held for centuries, and would not have survived that long if they truly are as irrational as they might seem. Referring back to the example of the Mongols, the attacked people were obviously biased and the Mongols would not have had ruled for so long if they were cruel, savage, irrational monsters. Ethnocentrism is extremely difficult to avoid and is apparent in many documents, such as Columbus’s description of the American Natives (in comparison to the “civilized” Europeans), and should be dealt with carefully. In order to understand all sides of an account, one must look at what is written with deference and understanding.
Wade Davis, a famous anthropologist, writer, explorer, and other professions, stated “The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.” The quote means that because a person is not like you or your culture does not make them inferior. It makes them unique in their own way. On the other side of the spectrum is David Eller who stated “Insularity is the foundation of ethnocentrism and intolerance; when you only know of those like yourself, it is easy to imagine that you are alone in the world or alone in being good and right in the world. Exposure to diversity, on the contrary, is the basis for relativism and tolerance; when you are forced to face and accept the Other as real, unavoidable, and ultimately valuable, you cannot help but see yourself and your 'truths' in a new - and trouble - way.” What he meant is that because some people are isolated they think that their culture is the only culture out there and when they later learn about other culture they are forced to accept the reality that there are other cultures. That each culture has their own characteristics. The difference between cultural relativism verses ethnocentrism and which one attitude is more favorable in today’s society than the other.
Ethnocentrism is the name given to a tendency to interpret or evaluate other cultures in terms of one's own. This tendency has been, perhaps, more prevalent in modern nations than among preliterate tribes. The citizens of a large nation, especially in the past, have been less likely to observe people in another nation or culture than have been members of small tribes who are well acquainted with the ways of their culturally diverse neighbours. Thus, the American tourist could report that Londoners drive "on the wrong side of the street" or an Englishman might find some customs on the Continent "queer" or "boorish," merely because they are different. Members of a Pueblo tribe in the American Southwest, on the other hand, might be well acquainted with cultural differences not only among other Pueblos but also in non-Pueblo tribes such as the Navajo and Apache.
William Shakespeare’s famous play The Tempest follows a magician-type man, Prospero, who has been cast out into the ocean with his daughter, Miranda. The deed was done by his own brother, Sebastian. Like in many of Shakespeare’s plays, power and authority were what motivated people to betray their own kin. The events in The Tempest mirror Britain’s thirst for imperialism, and how they came across all sorts of different people and terrain throughout their journeys. One of the most interesting encounters is that of Caliban and Prospero. It is a symbolic merging of the civilized and the so called barbarian cultures. Both characters believe that their way of living is superior. This idea is called ethnocentrism. By definition ethnocentrism is the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture. The ideal became one of the central causes behind the difficulty of the two cultures merging when the English invaded the Native American’s land in the 1400’s. This tale is somewhat cautionary, as it shows the positive and negative of combing cultures; which what was happening in America in the 1600’s when Shakespeare wrote this. The Requiemento, a Spanish document written at the time of Shakespeare. It was used to read on the shores of the new places the Spaniards discover. Generally, the Spaniards use the Requiremento to justify taking over the land forcefully in the name of the lord. This document could have influenced Caliban and Prospero’s relationship, as well as sharing certain mentalities that caused the trail of tears.
In the book The Spirit Catches you and you Fall Down, ethnocentrism can also be seen. Throughout the book the family and the doctors have different ideas of medicine/healing techniques are often disagreed on. It’s important for the doctor to see that biomedicine has its own intentions of saving patient through standard procedures and beliefs. Understanding those terms will shed some light on the culture of the patient, which has their own intentions, beliefs, and rules as well. Breaking down ethnocentrism to find an agreement is a good goal to accomplish in order have successful prognosis and healing. In addition, shedding the ethnocentrism will allow the doctors to see the different cultural beliefs and not judge right away. Although, some cultural remedies may not always work, it’s wrong for people to have the mindset of ethnocentrism without even considering their beliefs first.
A gym as defined by the Oxford Dictionary states that it is a “membership organization that provides a range of facilities designed to improve and maintain physical fitness and health.” Within our society, the culture of a gym or health club is comprised of those who wish to maintain their physical health, as well as form a bond for like-minded people to support one another with their health goals within a shared environment. I have chosen to observe and understand the culture that embodies the Westford Regency Health Club, a local Massachusetts gym with higher than average membership pric es and a higher end reputation in comparison to the average franchised gym, such as Planet Fitness. I chose this particular gym for the sole fact that it is labeled as a “health club,” rather than a gym, which brings about the notion that it is somehow superior in regards to its facilities and membership privileges. For my research, I used an inductive method including participant-observation, as well as field notes gathered from my visits as a new member.
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture and beliefs triumph everyone else’s (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). One patient used God’s power and took it into her own view. Every single person that went into the patient’s room, the patient would tell them how many hours or days they have till they were going to die. The patient told everyone they were demons and would burn in hell. The patient said she knew what the almighty wanted.
Growing up in an American society, we are surrounded by certain customs and mannerisms. We pay little attention to them, as they have been ingrained into our society and is apart of our everyday lives. It is when a new culture or society gets thrown into the mix that we notice the different customs. Our first reaction is to think their way is wrong or weird, but when you take a step back you realize that it’s not weird at all, in fact it is as natural as breathing. They are from a different country, therefore they have different customs and way of living. To them, our ways are just as strange.
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).
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).
We live in a world society that is changing rapidly. It is causing people of various cultures likely to interact with each other. This interaction can be positive or negative depending on respect people have for other cultural groups and the level of sensitivity. These behaviors are directly related to the two very important concept in sociology, which are known as Ethnocentrism and Culture relativism. Negative attitudes toward other ethnic group or cultures can be result of ethnocentrism. On the other hand, positive attitude can be the result of the culture relativism approach. The purpose of the paper is to show why people need to move from ethnocentrism mindset to culture relativism .As America is becoming more and more diversit,we need
Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are two contrasting terms that are displayed by different people all over the world. Simply put, ethnocentrism is defined as “judging other groups from the perspective of one’s own cultural point of view.” Cultural relativism, on the other hand, is defined as “the view that all beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative, depending on the situation, environment, and individual.” Each of these ideas has found its way into the minds of people worldwide. The difficult part is attempting to understand why an individual portrays one or the other. It is a question that anthropologists have been asking themselves for years.
... 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.
Culture has been a pervasive part of humanity since the beginning of civilization. Wood (2010), professor of communications, defines culture as "the totality of beliefs, values, understandings, practices, and ways of interpreting experience that are shared by a number of people" (p 78). The way I see it, culture shapes an individual and creates their worldview. Each culture emphasizes an important aspect of the humans and displays the complexities of our species. Even though culture includes many elements, I will discuss one of Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions, Individualism, and explain how it creates a high or low context culture.