Ethnocentrism is a situation whereby a group has a belief that their culture is more superior as well as desirable in comparison to other cultures.In Avatar, the humans have an assumption that they have dominance and are superior to the Na’vi tribe. The humans express their dominance by an attack and destruction of the Na’vi tribe’s home tree. The humans are of the opinion that they should educate the Na’vi tribe in the human ways since they consider their ways to be better.
In his Highbrow/Lowbrow The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America (The William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization, 1986), Lawrence Levine reviews the American public culture in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. He believes that American public culture was shared across classes through the mid-nineteenth century. By the later nineteenth century, the upper classes began to divide culture into hierarchal categories, and labels of "high" and "low" came to expressive culture, such as Shakespearean drama, opera, and orchestral music, as well as institutions such as museums.
The Immigrant cultures have affected the American cultural life by food we eat today. Americans do not only eat American food. Now a days we can go to an Chinese restaurant and order Chinese food. Although, the workers are normally Chinese people. Also, there are a lot of Italian restaurants in America. Pasta is one of the main meals people eat here in United States. Mexican restaurants are located all over too, taco Tuesday, for example has influenced many people.
Accordingly, the ideals of America used to be we were many ethnicities, all blended into one, but now we are a bunch of discordant ethnicities living in one country under one name just with different groups. Two essays on this topic are A Quilt of a Country by Anna Quindlen and The Immigrant Contribution by John F. Kennedy. JFK regarded that “everybody is an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant” (JFK page 23). Quindlen characterized that “America was held together by a notion that all men are created equal and that America is made up of bits and pieces” (Quindlen page 13-14). America transpired a unique nation made up of different parts.
Where these culturally sensitive people reside, there isn’t enough effort being put into making them feel at home. Instead these efforts are being exerted to make them feel out of place. In 2012 Wu, Schimmele, and Hou, social researchers at University of Victoria stated that, “In 2002, about one in five racial minorities reported experiencing discrimination or unfair treatment” (p. 387) One in five, that is quite a few. Still to this day prejudice and discrimination are major issues at hand. These problems make it even more demanding for immigrants to feel comfortable.
But, also the idea that Americans can be oblivious to the seriousness of the hypocrisy of certain situations. There is no culture, like that of the American
Growing up as an Immigrant in America, you grow to learn social conformity is prevalent and plays a key role in the systematic oppression of free thinkers. Social conformity does not only dictate the way you view issues but also makes you shy away from letting your own beliefs be heard. There are many ways people conform, television and social norms being the predominant forces. By having observed these behaviors at an early age, I’ve grown to develop my own moral judgment and have met like-minded individuals who share the same outlook on the ills of society.
American History Education Reforms The definition as well as the specific parts of accurate American history is a highly debated topic- especially in regards to educating children on American history. In “Let’s tell the Story of All America’s Cultures” by Yuh Ji-Yeon gives her point of view on the controversial topic of the success of American history education. As the author is a Korean immigrant she has a special connection to this topic, and is writing this article to giver her opinion in the debate of reforming education in America. Ji-Yeon successfully persuades the audience that American history education in the United States is discriminatory by using her personal experiences and emotions as she informs the audience of a possible solution
The United States was perceived as an opportunity for a new life for many of the immigrants. Thus, the many reasons for their immigration was to flee from crop failures, lack of land or jobs, increasing taxes, and shortage of food (famine). Furthermore, many people left to the United States with the intention of having personal freedom and being free from being judged of their political or religious beliefs. As a result of the immigration, tension between nativists and immigrants grew. The nativists in America thought that the immigrants would ultimately affect the future generations of American born citizens. The reason being is because the nativist held the immigrants responsible for the many negative actions in American society. Hence, the
Have you ever wondered why some people act the way they act? It really all depends on the way they were raised, and what culture they were raised in. That’s what I have always wondered, how people act the way they act. While some may say that culture is the only way to learn about others. I believe one’s culture occasionally informs the way one views the world because our experiences are what truly shapes our views, which is illustrated in personal experiences and literature. In some cases, our culture, informs our perspectives but in others, it has no direct influence.
Ethnocentrism is a silent problem which many people are not aware of. Some scholars have defined ethnocentrism as “the making of judgements” based on criteria of one’s cultural groups. It is characterized by applying those criteria in judging other behaviors and belief of people who may be from the different cultural backgrounds. Bennett, a founding director and CEO of the Intercultural Development Research Institute (IDR Institute), has defined ethnocentrism as “assuming that the worldview of one’s own culture is central to all reality”. He also suggested that people who has ethnocentric mindset tend to use their own worldview to interpret other’s behavior and that the idea of a “universal truth” is usually based on one’s own value. Ethnocentrism
A country where all drugs are legalized can be the perfect economic and social compromise. Ultimately, it contains the both of best worlds as it would allow for the economy to flourish due to the infusion of new income from tax reforms. Drug liberalization is the next step for the United States for us to become a new country with limited violence less drug abuse and a better prison system. Drug liberalization needs to happen and happen fast for the progression of the people as a civilization. Portugal in 2001 decided to take the initiative to decriminalize all drugs within the country.
Indeed, you mentioned an important aspect of disparities and it is one related to the disparities affecting racial groups. The United States is a multicultural country so for a healthcare professional to treat a disease or to approach a group is necessary to consider their cultural background, traditions, and beliefs. Despite all the United States effort to eradicate the racial differences in the Country, race continues as one of the most significant factors to take into consideration when we are evaluating health care services or high quality of care. Health disparities among Hispanics most the time is caused by the type of food they consume, and the lack of access to healthcare services. In addition, some Hispanic are not the United States
The phrase “melting pot” was originally used in the 18th century to describe how people from varies of region gave up their original cultures, backgrounds or races and combined them into a common identity. Although this term was created to emphasize the future unification of immigrants in America, this process of “melting into one” could also seem as forcing others forget their own culture and fit them within the new American culture.
Culture is easily influenced and is constantly shifting as it passes through various racial and ethnic interactions and exchanges. “With your liberal minds, you patronize our culture, scanning the surface like vultures, with your tourist mentality, we’re still the natives. You’re multicultural, but we’re anti-racist. We ain’t ethnic, exotic or eclectic” (Prashad, 56). This refers to when cultures are commodified and picked apart without taking both the negatives with the perceived positives.