Unit 1:
a. Blog
b. Meet the Natives-
I watched episode 4 where the Natives
travel to Montana. They lived with a family that hunted and raised and sold
cows. The Natives were very surprised that this family was raising only one
type of livestock. Where The natives are from, they have every sort including
cows, pigs, chickens, etc. This goes to show how Americans are so dependent on
what one another does, especially when it comes to food and livestock.
Americans depend on the farmer to have a good crop, or a good herd of cattle.
We don't grow it ourselves. In contrary to The natives who grow everything
their own, and completely sustain themselves, their families, and even their
community.
The natives were also astonished at
what the Montana family would give their cows for feed: dried grass and starter
pellets. To an American person living in Montana, that is what they have when
the land does not produce green grass, but The Natives knew that it couldn't be
very good for the cows. I think they are very correct. Grass fed cows honestly
taste better than pellet or silage fed cows taste.
All of the ways the Montana family
survives are to be able to produce a product that can be sold and then made
into a profit and money. Americans are absolutely dependent on money and where
money can get them. Without a product (or a way of getting money) Americans
can't survive. Money is needed to buy everything.
Unit 2
a.
American Indian Ritual-Iroquois
I have recently moved from Upstate New York to
the Seattle area this past September. Since I was young I have been taught more
on the Indian Nations of the Northeast than I have the Northwest. Therefore, I
thought it would be interesting for me to give information on an Indian nation
that I know more about.
The Iroquois
League was once made up of five North American tribes; The Mohawk, Oneida,
Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. Before the Europeans came in contact with North
America, The Iroquois territory extended from Lake Champlain and Lake George
west to the Genesee River and Lake Ontario and from the St. Lawrence River
south to the Susquehanna River. This region is a vast land of deciduous forests
of birch, beech, elm, and maple, until reaching further north towards The
Adirondack Mountains one will reach thick green and fresh smelling fir and
spruce forests. Animals and fish are very diverse and abundant within these
boundaries.
The Iroquois maintained peaceful
relations amongst themselves. They lived cloe to the streams, lakes, and rivers
that cover the land. Most often the Iroquois League lived in long houses and
birchbark houses. These houses covered land enclosing several acres of growing
crops and fields. Their villages were semi-permanent for use all year round.
When soil became no longer fertile, the tribes would move to a new site.
Traditionally the Iroquois were hunters and gatherers. They fished and gathered
berries, plants, and roots. They grew maize, beans, and squash which were very
important in their ceremonial activities. Upon contact with the Europeans, The
Iroquois were civil until their land and ability to trade started to dwindle.
They became aggressive in fighting for their lands, especially the Seneca. Many
believe that the Iroquois fought in protection of keeping “the middle man” of trade
available.
An important ritual of the Iroquois
was the False Face Society. The False Face Society was a healing group that
cast away bad spirits. These bad spirits could be the cause of sickness and
disease, or even bad behaviors. Bad dreams were seen as bad spirits, but the
society knew that they could not “kill” the spirit, but rather they had to
scare it away. Therefore, the dreamer would be told to carve a face on a living
tree. Once the face was carved the tree would be cut down and the face would
then be made into a mask by a wood carver. He made the masks into scary beings
that would scare the bad spirits away. The False society would wear the masks
made by the tree and go throughout the villages scaring the bad spirits away.
One important aspect of this ritual was that the person being helped would
immediately become a part of the Society afterwards. It was important to the
Iroquois that if you were helped you were then willing to help others. After
the contact with the European, the masks then had various mediums to decorate
the masks with, including horse hairs brought over from Europe. Europeans saw
this ritual (as with most other beliefs) through their own lens. They didn’t
believe what the Iroquois believed and in turn found it uncivil and tried to
stamp it out of customs. They lost a large majority of their masks and many of
them are now in museums (against what the Iroquois want).
Works Cited
Index, T. I. (n.d.). Religion, The
Great Spirit, & The False Face Society. Retrieved February 1, 2013, from
Native Americans:
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/northeast/iroquois/religion.html
Reid, Gerald. "Iroquois."
Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 2 Feb. 2013 http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Iroquoian.aspx
b.
Critical Thinking and Its Application
to the Social Sciences
I think
it is very important to not only be open to critical thinking when involving
social sciences, but I think it is a necessity to apply the social sciences to
real life. Critical thinking allows oneself to make significant connections
between what they are observing/reading/researching and apply it to the real
world around them. When critical thinking is done it allows the student (and/or
researcher) to understand the reasoning behind things, identify problems with
the solution, have a depth of understanding, and focuses on organizing
important ideas rather than just a set of facts. Critical thinkers are also
humble enough to acknowledge that they may not always be correct. It’s like
having a completely open-mind, willing to be wrong, but also willing to
question what you have been taught or learn yourself. This can be applied in
doing a research project because it shows the willingness to always ask
questions and not be self-centered or have a ethnocentric view of thinking.
c.
Ethnographic Notes-Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
in the United States is a ritual used to set aside a specific day to be
thankful for all that you have. Friends and families gather together in the
sharing of a feast and publicly declare their thankfulness. Although it is a
time of unity, Thanksgiving also shares specific ethnographic differences among
gender, socio-economic class, generation, family, religion, ethnicity, and
historical context.
On Thanksgiving, the women are usually found
in the kitchen preparing the meal and desserts for the rest of the day. They
prepare, they bake, they cook, and they slave over every detail to make sure everything
is right for the family and any guests that may arrive. Meanwhile, the men can
be found at the other side of the house watching or playing football. This
shows a separation among the genders in that females are the cooks and deal
with meal-preparation, while the menfolk do the more “masculine” things: like watch and play football. The head of the household (most likely the father) will also be the
one to cut the Turkey or ham that is prepared.
The food will also vary depending on the
socio-economic class of a family. Most often turkey is served, but the
side-dishes will vary. Those in the upper-class may serve several types of appetizers,
salads, homemade pies, and casseroles. But, families of a lower class may only
be able to afford a turkey and a few store bought items like canned corn, and a
frozen pie.
Another ethnographic difference is seen
within generations. As stated above, the head of the household will often make
the first cuts in the turkey or ham, and the mother will be preparing the food.
Generationally speaking, children (unless old enough to help the mother cook)
are often found in another room playing together or watching the televised
Thanksgiving Day Parade. Another generation difference is found when eating. A
lot of families have separate tables for adults and children. This allows
conversation to flow comfortably among guests both at the children’s table and
even more so at the adult table.
Unit 3:
a.
A US Religious Affiliation
American religion in comparison to American sports although having different aspects, can be very similar in their ways of worship and way of following.
One similarity is that both religious ceremonies and sports 'ceremonies' take place in often large, ornately designed 'temples'. Church temples are often ornately designed with beautifully designed architecture and sports ceremonies are held in large (sometimes VERY large) buildings or stadiums These stadiums show how important it is for everybody to be able to face what is going on in the game (or teaching).
Another aspect is that religion and belief in a sports team are often followed from generation to generation. Whether it is because they are indoctrinated by their own family beliefs, or because of geographical reasons, religion and sport followers are often found throughout the generations.
Lastly, religion and sport followers are often very dedicated to their team or religion. Whether this means having your family follow the same things or not this adds a certain loyalty to your "team". This often leads to some sort of violence between rivalry teams; this is seen either in riots or even wars based on religious affiliations.
b.
Visual Ethnographic Notes- Shopping
Malls
In the
United States people flock to what they call “shopping malls.” Shopping malls
consist of logically planned out shops, filled with various consumer goods that
people must buy.
Among the stores are tiled walkways leading people from one
store to the next without hesitation. These stores do not have doors, but
simply an open space allowing one another to walk in and out freely.
It is here
that shrines of clothing are produced and represented in a way to get a “buyers”
attention. They believe that if one puts on certain clothes, they will become “skinny”
or look more beautiful. Their worth is found in the clothing and items that are
purchased. Other items that are sold may be shoes, chocolates, jewelry, accessories
like watches and purses, and they even have the ability to take family
portraits.
Above you can see how males and females have separated areas within the stores, females on
one side and males on the other. In order to take any item home, one must pay
the cashier an already decided price, otherwise one will leave with nothing.
Unit 4:
a.
Visual Ethnographic Notes on Campus
1. Capitalist Commodities
on the Campus
Capitalism is an economic system based
on the distribution of goods and services by private owners, based on the
system of Supply and Demand for profit. When demand is high, production is high
and so is the price of such goods, if the demand (or want) is low, price and
production will also decrease.
On The
Bellevue Community College Campus, capitalism of commodities can be seen around
campus. For example, the bookstore at Bellevue College offers students various
school needs, including: books, pencils, writing instruments, and even
materials for art and photography classes. At the beginning of the quarter, books
are in very high demand, prices are raised through the roof and books may even
be on back-order because there is not enough to go around. Students need the
books, or they may not pass their classes, so they must pay the high prices.
Another form of Capitalism is the commodity
of food. Food can be found everywhere on campus, and just about anything. Soda,
snack food, chips, fruit, entire meals, whatever is needed for a student. The
only downside is that absolutely everything has a price, and most prices are
expensive because the college knows students would rather pay for something
then go through the trouble at home making it themselves. Therefore, the demand
is consistently high and prices can remain high.
2. Socio-Economic Class
on Campus
Social Class is, “a class society, is a
set of concepts in the social sciences and political theory centered on models
of social stratification in which people are grouped into a set of hierarchical
social categories,[1] the most common being the upper, middle, and lower
classes.” (Wikepedia) Socio-economic class separations can be seen throughout
the Campus at Bellevue College. One major object of separation is the mode of transportation
student’s use. On campus there are several ways to get around: using your own
car, using a bike or walking, and using the metro bus. Students with their own
car can be seen as students with more of an access to money, whether they pay
for gas themselves, or they get it from their parents, they have access to
money to pay for their car needs. Student’s that take the metro buses, are
students that do not have their own car and therefore rely on the
transportation of the city buses. Lastly, students that walk or take bikes, are
either environmentally friendly, or would rather walk and ride than spend money
filling a car with gas, or spending it taking the city bus line.
3. Sustainability on
Campus
Sustainability
is the capacity to “endure”. Sustainability is based on the principle that “everything
that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or
indirectly, on our natural environment” (EPA).Being from the East Coast, I have
noticed an overwhelming amount of environmentally conscious acts that the West
Coast has applied to their everyday life. As a student, I have noticed it even
more so in and around campus. A major sighting has been the abundance of
recyclable and garbage cans seen throughout campus whether in the open areas,
or more specifically in the classrooms. Students are constantly reminded to
separate their trash from recyclables and to try to have the least impact or ‘footprint’
on the Earth as necessary. By sorting our trash from recyclables we can create
a better environment. Another way the campus has become more sustainable is the
use of the “plug-ins” for electric/hybrid cars. These cars run solely on
electricity and therefore have a far greater impact on the Earth due to their
lower CO2 emissions. Bellevue College strives to make it known that these cars
are better than others by strategically and deliberately placing “plug-in” stations closer
to buildings, elevators etc, so that students would be more willing to buy an
electric/hybrid car.
b.
Choose one of the following per group
member and discuss it. Give feedbacks (comments, questions) to another posting.
You can use the Canvas site for this assignment.
---Found on
canvas
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