Cultural Anthropology Book Report Essay -- essays research papers

Classical Readings on Cultural AnthropologyWhat do we have to learn through the study of different farmings? I was hoping for some fantastic revelation in the assembly of writings. I may have found one. This book was a difficult read for me. I am not received whether its my age or my inexperience with classical readings. I also found it difficult to formulate a report on a collection of readings, the last report I did was on Laura Ingalls Little House on the Prairie. This reading was a little more challenging. The main point that looked to project out at me is that perceptions change, our theory of reality changes with e very(prenominal) viewpoint. Every culture can seem primitive, self destructive, nonsensical, immoral or just wrong, depending on who is doing the mirror image and what perspective they are observing from.In the first reading, Narcirema, points very clearly to the fact that our own culture could seem very odd, irrational, and ritualistic to an outsider. But aren t we all outsiders to everyone else? Dont we see ourselves as normal and everyone else as abnormal? I think it is human nature more than ethnocentrism. My daily rituals would seem very irrational to another woman of my age in different circumstances. Thats where the saying comes from that you dont really realise a psyche till you bye a mile in their shoes.The second reading of Queer Customs gets right to my point that culture is an abstraction therefore each person doing the viewing views it differently. Culture is pointed out as being a way of thinking, feeling, and believing and since I have never met bothone who thought exactly the way I did about everything, one would have to conclude that we each have our own culture and our own views of other cultures.I wasnt really legitimate that the next reading really fit in with the others in the book. Rapport-talk versus Report-talk seemed insignificant to the other passages. It is a well-known fact, in all walks of life that men a nd women of any race, creed, or culture are different and that we have different and sometimes contrasting ways of communicating with each other. I was surprised to find this patently simple theory in this book. Yet again back to my question am I getting the intended message from the author?The Christmas Ox chronicle made so much more sense to me and had great importance when I read the passage on Potlach.... ...tely cause the demise of the entire culture. sharplys and Bodleys detailed description of simple helpful actions that have generational, historical implications are dramatic and still, and maybe even more so, relevant to new-fangled cultural diffusion. We dont often think critically about our efforts to help others. We just dive in and fix things, this seems to come with the thinking that we know discover than they do. This is a common problem in todays governments around the world. This is the result of ethnocentrism. This book has certainly taught me one thing. Ameri can culture is very ethnocentric. Ours is one that is a nightmare to navigate the good and the bad because there are so many double standards. I think this speaks to the very core of contention among Americans these days. Very few of our leaders do what is right, and each of us has our own definition of right. Maybe if more people could really walk outside of their own daily rituals, beliefs, habits and commandments, and truly look at human kind without a superiority gauge, then the world would be a better place with less war, less suffering, less judgment and more peace, happiness, success, and creativity.