Based on the inventory of cultures you have been collecting (your cultural background, cultures in conflict, etc), identify three cultural texts that take the form of a story or narrative. These could be movies, television shows, comic books, fairy tales, or any other story that is created within and for that culture.
History, Culture and Ethnography
Texts have power
The power to
maintain themselves across time
extend themselves across space
scale themselves up to larger groups of people
This is true regardless of the form of the text
Oral
Written
Cinematic
Digital
But the medium selected
gives histories different levels of power
selects some things in preference to others
shapes the possibilities through its story preferences
orality favors mnemonic narrative
text favors ideas
cinema favors surfaces and linear time
digital remains to be seen, but enables non-linear narrative
It is said that the winners write history
and that is to some extent true
History is never complete
Things are selected for inclusion
Things are forgotten because they were not included
Language choices will bias our view of events
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter
One countries internment facility is another countries concentration camp
That which is perceived as aggressive questioning by some may be perceived as torture by others
But media and language choices inform our selections
And it is also true that text determines the winners
Over time, truth tends to eclipse deceptions
Those that seen as deceiving lose status over time
Those who speak truth, especially when pressured not to, usually gain status over time
History as "furious debate informed by evidence and reason" (Loewen)
History and culture
There are many histories and kinds of histories
They often compete with each other
But they can be key to understanding culture
Note the root words: "his story" and you get an important sense of
what history is
and the ways in which it can be biased
Family and tribal history
The beginnings of history making and still very much alive
The starting point for myths, legends, and religions
Political histories - events
National histories
Cultural - group histories
Ethnic
Racial
Diaspora
Colonial
Class
Hidden history - gender/sexual orientation
Absent history - that which couldn't be recorded
Intellectual histories - ideas
Social histories - everyday life experiences
Personal
Ethnography - observation of a community by a participant observer/outsider
Participant insofar as they embed themselves into a community
Observer insofar as they observe the community with the intent of documenting it
Outsider insofar as they try to be objective in their observations
Learning via observation
Description in detail (thick description)
Index Card assignment due Thursday
What "text" do you plan to examine for your first short paper? Describe three differences between the culture depicted in that text and our own.
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were written by participants on the Media Space Wiki, operated by Davis Foulger,
and should be cited accordingly. For example (APA): Foulger, D. and other
participants. (August 27, 2008). Intercultural Spr2006 Sess08. MediaSpaceWiki. Retrieved on from
http://evolutionarymedia.com/wiki.htm?InterculturalSpr2006Sess08.
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