Week 4

This week in sociology we learned all about American culture and what we value in our society. Our reading of 'Bemused in America' gave us insight on how culture may be viewed as different from other cultures around the world. Through this reading we learned all the things we do that are seen as weird by other cultures. An example of this is all the different phrases we have. As Americans, we do not simply say "so and so died" we try to make the situitation sound nicer by saying they "passed away" or are "no longer with us". These phrases are seen as confusing to other cultures as they are more up front about death and are not afraid to come right out and say that this person has died.

This ties into the concept of American values. We value control and fear death, while other cultures value fate and destiny. We always have to arrive at a place on time, or we are seen as rude. In other countries, they value human interaction instead of time. They believe that it is better to be late somewhere due to a valuable conversation than arrive on time but cut all conversations short due to aways keeping an eye on the clock. This is especially true for myself, as I get anxious when I am not in my seat by the bell and personally value it when someone is on time, or even early. I view lateness as rude and would never intentionally make someone wait for me. I believe that no ones time is greater than another persons, so they should not expect me to wait for them if they do not value my time.

A valuable example from class is the movie "Tuesdays with Morrie". This movie depicts the life of a man and how it changes when his college sociology professor is dying. His professor teaches him life lessons and why the values of American society are not what they should be in this day and age. He teaches Mitch (the main character) that we should not be afraid of death, as it is their time to go. He also learns that our connections with people are often times cut short because we are afraid they will not last together. Morrie teaches Mitch the absurdness of this reasoning, as we are going to lose someone eventually so we may as well forge great relationships with people. This movie provided examples of American values and knocked down everything I once valued. Morrie teaches that we should not keep track of time, as it is the people in our lives that mean the most. From now on, I am hoping to keep this idea with me when I am avoiding conversations in the hallway simply to arrive on time to class.

Week 3

This past week in sociology was not only interesting, but informative as well. We started off our mew unit by playing cards in class. We were separated into different groups and were each given a set of rules to play by. Winners of each game moved up and losers down. Then, we started a new game. After a couple of minutes, it became apparent that each group was given a different set of rules to go by. This made playing the game confusing for the winners and losers, as they did not know going into the game that their rules were different. This was connected with culture shock. Culture shock is defined as confusion or disbelief of a different culture or society one is not familiar with. This was also explained with the fish bowl diagram. The fish is literally taken from its known enviornment and thrown into a new one expecting it to be different. The fish will be shocked to learn that the water is not the same, the materials found in the fish bowl are not the same, and the surrounding enviornment is not the same. I have experienced culture shock while on vacation. While on a cruise in the Carribbean, we stopped in St. Maarten. The island was beautiful, though very shocking to experience. The island is split into two sides, Dutch and French. While visiting the French, it became apparent that we were not used to the culture they had. The beaches were nude ans everyone was taking full advantage. The women were shirtless, as well as their young children. My mom even gasped when she first saw the beach.  We were not used to what they see as their norm and were slightly confused as to why they would walk around naked and be comfortable with everyone seeing them.

The feeling that the French were doing something wrong by being naked was my family and I being ethnocentric. We did not feel that their culture was right, as simply American culture is what should be followed. Ethnocentrism is when one does not think of other cultures besides their own. In class, we talked about a Dutch couple visiting the United States. They left their baby outside in the cold and thought nothing of it. In Dutch culture, it is customary to leave children outside as many cafés are smoke filled and not suitable for children. The parents were detained as many bystanders thought the parents were simply not caring for their child. The young couple was ethnocentric because they did not think of the American culture before acting. Additipnally, New York natives were ethnocentric when they did not pause to think if the couple was foreign and followed a different culture.

Our society taught us to call the police if we have a problem; this is the idea of the Social Construction of Realtiy. This simply states that our society shapes us into being the way we are today. For example, I am shaped by my society in many ways. I know it is not appropriate to go out in my pajamas and I am also aware of what is considered good manners during a dinner party. Society has shaped me to not wear pajamas while running to the store and to not slurp my soup while at the dinner table. This duals with Sociological imagination, as my culture teaches me to not slurp my soup and eat a hamburger with both hands and no utensils. In other cultures this would be considered rude or unwarranted, but in America, it is considered normal.