Cultural Musings
Anthropologythe holistic study of humanity in its broadest context in all times and places, ancient and contemporary is not just an academic fielda place where on location research is conducted; also known as fieldwork, or participant observation on various sites anymore. Anthropology gives you a broader lens through which to view other societies and cultures. It helps you better understand yourself and the world around you and your place in it. Anthropology allows you to see more clearly what makes each of us human. This website is an exciting way to explore the relevance of anthropology in our daily lives.
Whether you have traveled to Mexico, Tombstone, Arizona, Falls of Rough, Kentucky, or Rome, anthropology fosters cultural awareness. At age 30, when I first met my father’s familya family is group of people consisting of parents and children living together in a household; family members can also live away from parents or in a different household in Mexico, I experienced how languagea system of symbols that allow people to communicate with each other, also the MOST symbolic way that culture is passed down impacts identitythe name of a person, along with the qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or a group different from others and communication. My relatives were bilingual Spanish-English, but I spoke only English. The language exchanges between us shaped our social interactions. You may have had similar experiences, seeing cultural differences in human behaviors, in your travels. When we live within a dominant cultureculture is not genetically inherited, it is shared, learned, and dynamic- never static, we often think our way is the only way.
Viking Celebration
Yule Holiday, Norway
Spanish Celebration
Feria in Cordoba, Spain
Language is the universal way culture is passed down in the present and to future generationsthose people that are born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively; usually a generation within families is considered about 20 years. It impacts communication and almost everything else we do in our everyday lives. Studying other languages and other cultures enriches the understanding you get about yourself and others. Anthropology perspectives greatly enhance your worldviewpeople are enculturated in different ways, depending upon their everyday life experiences, to picture a certain reality of how the world works; a worldview is based on shared assumptions and principles defining, categorizing and explaining physical objects and living things More.
Cultural anthropology teaches us that we are all complex individuals with diverse behaviors depending upon our enculturationlearning culture begins at birth; it is both conscious and unconscious learning, and both informal (within families) and formal (within institutions, as in church, or school), but most importantly it is passed down from generation to generation from birth. When our eyes are opened, we recognize social dynamics in our community, in the workplace, and within our relationships with others.
Anthropology perspectives can be applied to all our future endeavors, whether in career choices, academic pursuits, community involvements, or our travels to distant lands.
Welcome to Cultural Musings, where current events reflect the significance of anthropology and its implications in your life.
