During the first day of class I asked you to write what your definition of “culture” was. I annotated some things on the board which I think encompass aspects of culture. Pictures are attached, see the slide show.
I also asked you to write, individually, what you knew about US culture and what you didn't know.
Then, you got into groups and discussed what you knew about US culture, what you did not know, and some similarities and differences between US and Moroccan culture.
I also asked you to write, individually, what you knew about US culture and what you didn't know.
Then, you got into groups and discussed what you knew about US culture, what you did not know, and some similarities and differences between US and Moroccan culture.
During the class brainstorming section about culture, there were various aspects that were identified in the written definitions. Here is a compilation of those aspects (many were mentioned more than once. If you wrote one which you think should be included but is not, please mention it in the “comments” section).
Culture is...
... thoughts, ideas, morals manners, religion, customs.
... always growing and changing.
... what establishes what is “shared” by a society.
... passed from one generation to another.
... lifestyles and behaviors, as well as clothes and appearances, to include degrees of modesty
... particular to a country, city, or even family (there is culture on many levels)
... unifying—while it brings groups of people together because of commonalities, it also distinguishes them from thers.
... created by human beings.
... family structure and values.
The second part of brainstorming was about what you as students know already about culture. While I intended this exercise for my own information of your prior knowledge of the topic, I am sharing some of what I read. It was at the same time amusing and sobering (I laughed a couple times. There were some nuanced views, as well as some stereotypes. This is ok. Some stereotypes are based on truth, but some are not). I hope that in this class, whether you know a lot about US culture or only a bit, at the end you will have a more comprehensive view of it, as US culture and society are so multi-faceted, you will always find opposing viewpoints.
-history—wars, etc (uf, there are a lot of wars, apparently, British war—War for Independence (if we're looking at it from the US history perspective)—civil war, Mexican-American War, WW I, WW II, The Cold War, Iraq I Afghanistan, Korean War, Viet Nam War, Cuban war
-US holidays (festivals)
-unique sports (BB, Baseball, Am football, Hockey)
-movies, music industry (I like that this person put “industry”, I think that it really does capture how the US
produces some of its “art”)
-built on genocides (!!!???--But true, sadly)
-is a “newer” culture. (yes, by comparison to cultures that have hundreds and thousands of years of history, the US is still a baby, culturally speaking)
-America was discovered by Christopher Columbus—Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean, he never made it to the US. There are links about his later on, for further reading
-Birthplace of Hip Hop
-Influence on other cultures
-Bad tea (!!!!!!--Also, unfortunately true. Unless one goes to a tea shop. Who is my British sympathiser in the class!!--We ought to talk about England, I lived there for 3 years.)
-Scientific research (This is not something that many people think about when they think of the US. However, it is true. However, did you know that many researchers are not actually born in the US. This is a problem that many people who focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) research are “imported”)
-culturally diverse and pluralistic
-buying guns is easy (like many things, in SOME places this is true, in others, not so much)
-Being the only country that contains so many nationalities (I had never thought about this before, not from the perspective of nationalities)
-US ppl are very busy and overworked. (Yes, we might look at some maps, if I can find a projector that works, to compare the US to other developed countries when it comes to benefits, etc)
-elections every 4 years—two-party system
-public vs. private education
-jobs as young adults
-some general things that people mentioned were that Americans like fast food (“US is a nation of fatties”), they like clubbing, they are open-minded and wear mostly casual clothes.
-some icons that were mentioned were the Statue of Liberty, FBI, Hollywood.
Culture is...
... thoughts, ideas, morals manners, religion, customs.
... always growing and changing.
... what establishes what is “shared” by a society.
... passed from one generation to another.
... lifestyles and behaviors, as well as clothes and appearances, to include degrees of modesty
... particular to a country, city, or even family (there is culture on many levels)
... unifying—while it brings groups of people together because of commonalities, it also distinguishes them from thers.
... created by human beings.
... family structure and values.
The second part of brainstorming was about what you as students know already about culture. While I intended this exercise for my own information of your prior knowledge of the topic, I am sharing some of what I read. It was at the same time amusing and sobering (I laughed a couple times. There were some nuanced views, as well as some stereotypes. This is ok. Some stereotypes are based on truth, but some are not). I hope that in this class, whether you know a lot about US culture or only a bit, at the end you will have a more comprehensive view of it, as US culture and society are so multi-faceted, you will always find opposing viewpoints.
-history—wars, etc (uf, there are a lot of wars, apparently, British war—War for Independence (if we're looking at it from the US history perspective)—civil war, Mexican-American War, WW I, WW II, The Cold War, Iraq I Afghanistan, Korean War, Viet Nam War, Cuban war
-US holidays (festivals)
-unique sports (BB, Baseball, Am football, Hockey)
-movies, music industry (I like that this person put “industry”, I think that it really does capture how the US
produces some of its “art”)
-built on genocides (!!!???--But true, sadly)
-is a “newer” culture. (yes, by comparison to cultures that have hundreds and thousands of years of history, the US is still a baby, culturally speaking)
-America was discovered by Christopher Columbus—Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean, he never made it to the US. There are links about his later on, for further reading
-Birthplace of Hip Hop
-Influence on other cultures
-Bad tea (!!!!!!--Also, unfortunately true. Unless one goes to a tea shop. Who is my British sympathiser in the class!!--We ought to talk about England, I lived there for 3 years.)
-Scientific research (This is not something that many people think about when they think of the US. However, it is true. However, did you know that many researchers are not actually born in the US. This is a problem that many people who focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) research are “imported”)
-culturally diverse and pluralistic
-buying guns is easy (like many things, in SOME places this is true, in others, not so much)
-Being the only country that contains so many nationalities (I had never thought about this before, not from the perspective of nationalities)
-US ppl are very busy and overworked. (Yes, we might look at some maps, if I can find a projector that works, to compare the US to other developed countries when it comes to benefits, etc)
-elections every 4 years—two-party system
-public vs. private education
-jobs as young adults
-some general things that people mentioned were that Americans like fast food (“US is a nation of fatties”), they like clubbing, they are open-minded and wear mostly casual clothes.
-some icons that were mentioned were the Statue of Liberty, FBI, Hollywood.
Here are some links regarding Christopher Columbus day, since some people mentioned it during their writing:
-"Columbus Controversy"--An article and video by the History channel regarding Christopher Columbus
-"Columbus Day: How did Christopher Columbus become so controversial?"--An article looking at how public opinion on Christopher Columbus has recently changed
-The Oatmeal's rant about Christopher Columbus, and another guy who wasn't as bad
-"These 8 Cities Just Abolished Columbus Day"--An article about how some cities are changing the name of the federal holiday.
-"Columbus Controversy"--An article and video by the History channel regarding Christopher Columbus
-"Columbus Day: How did Christopher Columbus become so controversial?"--An article looking at how public opinion on Christopher Columbus has recently changed
-The Oatmeal's rant about Christopher Columbus, and another guy who wasn't as bad
-"These 8 Cities Just Abolished Columbus Day"--An article about how some cities are changing the name of the federal holiday.