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The question of “How have I been practicing anthropology without realizing it?” isa hard one for me. I am by nature a very analytical person and I consider myself a fairlyculturally aware individual, this is somewhat due to the fact that I have grown up in anera of globalization. I have also spent time in East Africa and in Amsterdam and havespent days contemplating what these cultures and my own culture have in common andwhat separates them. I have especially in the last few years tried to separate what myhuman needs and desires are and what are the things that western culture has causedme to value. I have tried to separate my nature from my environment, which has createdmy social structure. The big thing in my life that I feel goes against my nature but withwestern culture is the desire to be self sufficient.Westerners are all about what they can accomplish on there own, we don’t wantto share with each other the things we struggle with, we want to be self contained. Thisis true, I assume, because we live in a culture of abundance and to admit we need helpis to admit that we are week. I have gone against the dominate culture this year by de-ciding to buy a house with some friends and begin a communal living adventure. Thisadventure has all kinds of anthropological implications.Living with another family puts five adults in one home, and while that itself couldbe the basis of an anthropological study, it is the origins of these adults that intrigues me
 
the most. It would be easy to think that because we are five adults from the northwest-ern states of the USA would have a lot in common, and it’s true but more impressive isthe list of things that we do not have in common.The members of my household all come from different subcultures. My wifecomes from a very conservative christian sub-culture where they see themselves as aseparate entity than the rest of the world. One member of the sub-culture that we arecreating comes from a Seventh-Day Adventist background, which is not only brings withit unique religious beliefs, but also a whole host of cultural differences. How we interact,what we value and even the food we eat, are all things that are affected by the culture orsub culture we came from. This truth causes those of us in our little community to thinka lot about how to deal with culture. Is one right? Is one wrong? What kind of things arewe willing to let go of because we recognize that just because something is a part of ourheritage don't make it the right thing to do or way to be?I guess I think about anthropological things more often than I realized. I seem tobe a product not only of globalization but also of the melting pot. In my short 25 years onthis planet I have been a rich kid, poor kid, an Adventist, a Mennonite, a punk and aprep. Now more than ever, and especially in America, it seems it is easy to flow in andout of sub cultures. I personally have no one group of people to claim identity with. Per-
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