Students Share Thoughts Here from Readings

1/30/2013

2 Comments

 
Both sections EMWA at 2:30pm and FMWA at 4:10pm will share this space in reflecting on the readings. More info will guide the process. Patience.
2 Comments
Gavin Andre link
2/5/2013 09:03:28 am

http://theseventhletter7.blogspot.com/2013/02/anthropology-1001.html


“Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” by Richard Borshay Lee, provides us with a first hand experience in the mind of an anthropologist. It shows us how tough it is to get out of one’s own frame of reference and beliefs and observe the customs and traditions of others. That being said, my main take-away form reading Eating Christmas in the Kalahari was how our personal interpretations can interfere and hinder effective communication. Two people can ‘look’ at the same object, but ‘see’ different things. I think this is the one of the main reason for conflict in humanity and is exactly what makes anthropology so important. By studying Anthropology we can begin to understand how we as individuals differ from one another. It provides us with the essential knowledge we need to comprehend different cultures and accept their ways and tradition.
What was perplexing for me when reading Eating Christmas in the Kalahari was the pronunciation of certain words (such as !Kung, /ai/ai, etc). This really stood out to me an was very strange and confusing because I was never exposed to this form of language before. I thought that this language was ancient and absurd (and it reminded me of the old film ‘The Gods Must be Crazy’ lol. It was only upon watching the video ‘A Kalahari Family’ that I learned that the !kung bushmen are called Ju/'hoansi, which literally means ‘people of correct speech and proper grammar’. That seemed ironic at the time, but then I began to think how ridiculous English must sound to the !kung bushmen. I was being naïve. Just as Professor Lee was, when he couldn’t comprehend how the ox that he thought was huge and meaty was considered to be frail and a “bag of bones” by the people of the tribe. Professor Lee kept asking himself, what’s wrong with these people? But he initially failed to take into consideration the difference of culture and perspectives that existed between him and the !kung bushmen.
After reading Eating Christmas in the Kalahari it became very apparent to me how our own frame of reference and social perspective prevents us from understanding things that are alien to us and it has encouraged me to always keep an open mind and reserve judgment to anything that is unfamiliar to me.


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Do Na (Erica) link
2/12/2013 12:31:39 pm

Tales from the Jungle: Bronislaw Malinowski

From this movie I learned that how Malinowski adapted himself to a new culture that he had never experienced in his life. It was interesting to watch how he tried to learn the language so he could learn the culture better, but to me most interesting part was that he had intimate relationships with many women in that culture. I realized that to learn and understand the culture, you have to love the people first and that way you will be more motivated to learn the culture and adapt yourself to the new surroundings.

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