Discussion Boards

1. Ethics: Culture Shock

It is true, no one is immune to cuture shock. Though I have never been out of the country, I
myself have experianced culture schock on several occasions. There were to main experiances I
have had with culture shock. These experiances are 1. When I went to Pendelton County WV
with Habitat for Hummanty, and 2. When I went to King ememetry school with my Invitation to
Teach program in high school.
1. When i was a sophmore in high school I had the oppertunity to go for one week over the
summer to build a house for the less fortunate in West Virginia with the Habitat for Humanity
club at my school. The town that we went to is one of the poorest towns in the country, so they
told us. The peopel living here live in houses that do not meet the normal stadards of living. Over
85% of the housing in Pendelton County is considered to be in undeseriable living conditions.
This can mean anything from, poor insulation to no running water. The people we went to build
the home for were living in a very run down trailer. The front door bearly shut, it have one
bedroom for four people, no runnign water, no elecricity, and the carpeting was horrendous.
When I walked into the home I almost cried. To think that people had to live like this broke my
heart. It gave me even more motivation to want to build their new home.
2. When I was a senior in high school I was involved in a program called Invitation to Teach,
through this program my class took a feild trip to an inner city school. Coming from a very rich
high school and a fairly decent home I was in for a shock. The school was kindergarten to 8th
grade and each grade had one classroom. To me this was completley insane, because where I
came from you have one school for kindergarten - 2nd grade, one school for 3rd - 5th grade, and
one school for 6th - 8th grade and each of those schools had many classrooms fro each grade. So
to see a school with so few kids was new to me. Another thing that was ming blowing was the
condition of the school, everything was so run down and old. Things look like they had not been
replaced in years. The books for the 8th graders were the sames books I used when I was in 6th
grade, which meant that their education was behind. Coming from a well keep, constantly
renovated school, I was shocked. I felted bad for the kids.
The biggest thing that got to me was when a little boy talked about how when he was four
he accidetly shot his twin brother and killed him. Where I come from I feel like things like this
do not happen because parents have a better watch on their children and would never let their
child be in the position to let something like that happen.
Overall my experiance with cuture shock has been interesting. However, it has given me a
new outlook on life and taught me to not me so closed minded about things.

2. Ethics: Dilemmas
I believe that anthropologist should be fairly involved when it comes to their subject and
or societies. However, I also believe that there is a fine line between being too close and trying to
closely participate and observe. One must be careful to not over step their boundaries. Though it

is important to get close and involved it is also important to respect the subject that you are
studying.
In order to understand ones culture in great detail an anthropologist must involve him or
herself in the daily activities of said culture. Without putting ones self in the situation, it is hard
to judge that given situation.
When it comes to stepping in and making a judgment call, I think that is depends on the
situation. For example, if the problem is malnourishment then most certainly the anthropologist
should step in. However, if it is something minor such as how someone dresses, I do not believe
that it is their place to do anything but observe and respect the culture.
Overall the extent at which an anthropologist should involve him or herself depends on
the situation and the knowledge that they have behind the matter at hand.

3. East Africa: Colonialism

Colonialism in Kenya has had a huge impact on the lives of the natives. Colonialism,
meaning the white men coming in and taking over land, has changed the lives of native Kenyan
people drastically. The white men came in and basically took over. They took land from the
natives and called it their own. Having done this natives were left with little to no respect for
these white men. With the white men settled in, they came up with a new way of living that that
natives were subjected to. These Kenyans were no longer allowed to live by their own ways.
Although some of the changes that the white men made were in fact positive, it is not to be
forgotten of the negative. Modernization and globalization came out of the British settlers and
changed some things for the good.
Overall, colonialism by the British in Kenya has had both devastating and overwhelming
good things come out of it.

4. Africa: Cultural Globalization and Ethnocentrism

As Westerners we tend to think that we came up with the basis for many things, when in
fact there were people long before us who had in fact originally came up with many ideas that we
take credit for. In fact even in modern day society there are things that we cannot take the credit
for but that others can. These are things that we use and have inputted into our society and
culture, but in the end we were not the ones to originally develop them. For example, African art.
Though African art is inspired by some western ideas it is something we take for granite. Due to
our ethnocentrism we take these arts and make them our own by displaying them in museums,
which is not what they were intended for. We have taken our art and based it in a way off of the
Africans and their use of shapes.
Overall, we are blindsided by our own success and fail to see the successes of others at
times. We can get things from other cultures just as they can from us.

5. Africa: Tourism and Africa

I believe the effect that tourism has had in Africa is both positive and negative. In ways it
benefits the native people, but at the same time it harms them as well. Tourism being a source of
income is a huge plus in the matter. With a vast amount of the country being poor, the need for a
source of income is great. In the film Milking the Rhino we are taken to both Kenya and
Namibia, both of which struggle with the problem of wildlife. Although they have viewed
wildlife as a negative due to the fact that it was ruining land and in some instances killing people
the natives have learned that by conserving the land for this wildlife helps bring in tourism.
Which in turn brings in money.
On the down side with all this talk of tourism you must consider how this has ultimately
impacted the traditional lives of the natives. Due to tourism there are groups that have been
misplaces and uprooted, forcing them to create new homes for themselves.
In the end I feel that tourism in Africa is more positive than negative, because it a. brings
in money, b. creates jobs, and c. causes the natives to conserve land for the wildlife. The slight
downside to tourism is the instances of uprooting and displacement.

6. Middle East Forum ethnocentrism and nave realism: Banning the

Veil from Egyptian Universities
Women in the Middle East choose to veil and a sign of respect to their god. More often than
not these Middle Eastern women feel very strongly about wearing the veil. With this being said I
feel that this new law will be unsuccessful. While I see the reasoning behind it and slightly agree
with it, I just do not see women stepping down when it comes to something they feel so strongly
about. In reality there are those people who use veiling as a way to get around certain rules. For
example men have been found to be wearing the veil in order to sneak into the womens
dormitories. Also it has been found is some situations where a male was veiled to take a test in
place of a woman. For these reasons the law is acceptable, however it is also a right that you are
taking away by putting this law in place. I feel that we have our right as women to express
ourselves how we please and if there is religious meaning behind it then it is even more of our
right. Overall due to the fact that the reason behind veiling is cultural respect I do not see women
backing down and unveiling. I believe that in the end this law will be unsuccessful.

7. Middle East Forum ethnocentrism and nave realism:

Ethnocentrism/Nave Realism in Iraq
Elizabeth shows early signs of both ethnocentrism and nave realism. Before she even arrives
in the village she shows us these signs. When she is told that she should veil, she refuses. She
does not believe that she should have to participate in something that is not of her own culture.
She soon learns that it would have been best to have listened. While she is out people stare at
her, making her feel uncomfortable. Soon after her uncomfortable experience she decides that
she will in fact veil as the native women do. Also when she decides to save food for later she is
showing signs of nave realism because she does not think twice about what she is doing. Not

realizing that the leftover food is given to other families. Throughout the book Elizabeth begins
to accept the culture around her and begins to participate as a native would. The villagers
demonstrate nave realism when they treat Elizabeth differently for being dressed in western
attire. They do not relate to what she is wearing and therefor they judge her.

8. Middle East and Honor: Honorable Murder

I completely disagree with the way in which woman are punish. It is unacceptable and cruel.
The most certainly needs to be a change to this system of punishment. I feel that it should not
only be the women that are held responsible for wrong doings, but the men as well. I feel that in
order for there to be any sort of punishment there must be substantial evidence of a wrong doing.
Without this evidence nothing should be punishable. Also the severity of the punishment should
never be death, let alone death by a family member.
Women should not always be the target for punishment, it is imperative that the men are held
equally responsible. The law should change in a way so that everyone is equally punished and
fairly punished. Just because one brings shame to themselves or their family does not mean they
should be brutally killed.

9. Mexico: The Structure of the Marketplace

In the marketplace you can find almost anything you need. Throughout this marketplace you
will often times find strong patron-client relationships. This is in part due to the fact that often
times vendors stands are passed down from generation to generation. With this being said the
customer gets to know the family they are buying from and will often stay loyal to one vendor. I
believe that the strong relationship between the vendor and the shopper is highly important.
Without this relationship one would just simply go wherever the prices were the lost, not
necessarily where they were treated the best. Shoppers will often time barter on a price and in the
end the vendor always includes a little extra, this is what helps keep a good relationship. Overall
this system works very well. It is not just about going out to buy what you need. It is also about
socializing and having a good time.

10.Mexico: Village Life in Mexico

There are several attributes of Mexican Villages that I can see here in the states. Often times
you will see a close sense of family, not just immediate family, but extended family as well.
These people are always sure to make time for each other. It is not uncommon for a large number
of people to live in one home. This is due to the closeness of the family, immediate and
extended. Meaning not only mother, father, and children, but aunts, uncles, cousins, and
grandparents can all be found living together.
These people are also hard working. They will take on any job that they possibly can. I
have heard people say that they do the jobs that we Americans are too lazy to do ourselves.
Coming from farming and hard physical labor, you can often see them here in professions such
as landscaping or construction.

11. Mexico: Life in Mexico

Due to the geography in Mexico many people earn their living by farming. However, with
the growing population Mexicans are finding it hard to support their families. In fact 80% of the
population is considered to be poor. With this being said you have a lot of people who cannot
find decent well-paying jobs. Due to this many are immigrating from the rural areas of farming
to the city where there are factory jobs. Though there are many jobs to offer in the city they are
still not well paying jobs. In fact German companies moved their factories to Mexico because
they knew that the labor would be far less expensive. With farming going downhill and the city
jobs paying poorly, there are many Mexican who try to make it to the United States in hopes for
better jobs and a happier life. This causes a problem for us because now our population is
increasing and some jobs are being taken away by illegal immigrants.