Ethnography Presentation

http://prezi.com/wwstsjuuwr_g/ethnography-presentation/

Film: Race

Race is a social-political structure that has shaped America since its founding. America in its early days seemed like a place where people could immigrate to achieve their greatest hopes and dreams. But this was only possible if you were defined as white by the government and society. Immigrants felt pressure to fit in in order to be accepted into society to achieve their greatest dreams. But without being white this was impossible. Immigrants lived in neighborhoods that were made of people from their home countries and shared the same values, cultures, and language. In order to gain citizenship and reap the benefits that citizenship offered whiteness was the key. As time continued American became a melting pot of European immigrants because they were considered white those who were not like Asians, Africans Americans, and Latinos could not melt into the pot and be true citizens. Those who thought citizenship on the basis of the color of ones skin should not be the determining factor but the beliefs of the person should be. The court system decided that although science could determine who was white the social understanding for who was white created the definition. To be white was an exclusive class that embodied the definition of being a "true" American. After World War II many feared the integration of neighborhoods that had so long been segregated but the government created things like the Federal Housing Administration to stop this. While whites were moving into the suburbs that offered lower priced housing and special financing, blacks were forced to live in the cities largely in public housing because they could not get approved for the mortgages. Whites were told to believe by real estate companies that if their neighborhoods were integrated the housing values would severely drop. This caused whites to move out as the blacks moved in, transforming the neighborhoods. This caused great structural suffering for all those who were not considered "white" they were left out of receiving all the benefits that the government and society set up to achieve the American Dream. They became second class citizens with little access to the opportunities that were available to whites. Today although we may not have racism in the way we used to the government and society has created a system that makes it nearly impossible for minorities to move out of the grasps of poverty and struggles of the social system to move up and create a better life for their families. 

Official Statement of Race

I found it interesting that the AAA stated that  race is defined as of now as an unscientific judgement of someone's culture and society. Biological factors and evolution have proven to be the source of the color variation of people and how the cultures interact with each other. For years I have heard that race was a man made construct. In fact race has nothing to do with how genetically similar one person is to another. Just last semester I remember watching a documentary in which a mixed high school science class took DNA samples from one another, and guessed who they would be similar to. The African-American students felt as though they would be closer related to one another, and the Caucasian students felt the same. However, what the students uncovered was that their physical appearance had nothing to do with how alike they were.  

White Privilege

I found the article on White Privilege to actually be one of my favorite articles of the semester. Like the previous article that we read for today, I had heard of a similar article to this one however, what set this article apart was that it was written by a white woman. Peggy McIntosh, first went out to research male privilege in our society, but then realized that there was an addition secret privilege, and that was white privilege. In the article she wrote a list of conditions that she has come across in her life that had to ultimately deal with race, and racial representation. Although I found all of them to be very explicit and detailed, the one that I found the most interesting would be number 16,  "I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion". Although I can not sympathize with any of her realizations at all...I found this one to be interesting because not only is it true, but in America it seems to be a standard for everyone. I'm sure by now everyone has heard the phrase "This is America and we speak American" (or some variation of that), but yet no one criticizes us. Its almost like we are expected to live in a country where cultural ignorance is bliss, but we are not afraid to state that we are among the world's most diverse nations. This article (although it was focused on race) made me think deeper, and apple what McIntosh was saying more into this new idea of the American vs Hispanics (or rather illegal immigrant) sentiment, and how it has really changed many laws that exist in our country today.  

mixed blood

The mixed blood article was really interesting. I've read similar articles and books that have uncovered the same findings as Fish. Reading articles such as this one though make me realize that society has come a long way (about the topic of race) from previous generations up to today. For example, in the 19th century people who were of mixed races (particularly African-American and Caucasians) they were called mulatto. However, what most people are unaware of is the fact that the term mulatto actually means mule (which is a hybrid between a horse and a donkey and is infertile). For the most part, I would like to believe that our society has evolved, and changed since then. There has been an increase in the number of interracial relationships, as well as biracial offspring. However, critics of these new practices say due to the mixing of races, eventually there will be no "pure" race. While that may be true, I do not think that this may be a bad thing. By all means if this happens then perhaps we could get rid of some diseases that plague certain ethnic groups, and maybe even put an end to prejudice and racism.

Extra Credit: Linguistics Presentation

I found the entire topic to be very interesting. The topic of the presentation focused on the differing lingo of African-Americans in the United States. Personally, I thought that this was a really cool discussion seeing as though vernaculars change in every region of the country. However, this discussion connected with me personally because I am from the south and my boyfriend is from Philadelphia, PA. As expected, our words (and their meanings) often to don't match all of the time, and if often leads to one saying "What does that mean?:. But moreover, Dr. Blake's discussion focused on the language variations that are just found in New York City. What the discussion really made me think about was a movement in the 1980s (I believe) in which some colleges (and high schools) offered courses in ebonics. Within these courses students of other races could formally learn the meanings of African-American vernaculars. Although the movement didn't really last, I do think that there should be more of a focus on the varying speech patterns of African-Americans. I have traveled a bit in my life, and I sincerely can not remember a single place in which other black people have spoken like me. (Which was one of the points of Dr. Blake's session) No matter where I traveled speech patterns were never the same. In Dr. Blake's presentation, she focused on African-American Hispanics, African immigrants, and Caribbean Americans. However, I believe that there are some many other sub-groups to be studied. For example, the gullah people of the Sea Islands have a very unique speech pattern, as well as the Creole people who are African-American and French (found mostly in Louisiana). Overall though, I found the presentation very interesting and relevant, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The other side of immigration

I found this film to be very interesting. In fact I found Germano's entire journey to be very intriguing. Coming form a very conservative state, usually the only thing that is heard on the news are those who are opposed to immigration. I consider myself to be a pretty liberal person, so I personally don't have a problem with it. I know that they are just trying to help their families back in Mexico. However, I think most people down here are just more concerned about the changing faces of America. Personally, I believe that if America is supposed to be this vast melting pot then how could we not expect the "face" of America to be a little darker than in previous decades. However, I just believe that it shows the diversity and progression of our culture. In regards to the film though, I think that there should be somethings implemented so that those small rural towns in Mexico have the opportunity to prosper, and give their people opportunities. I do think that Germano's non profit organization however, is a great idea and an amazing opportunity for children who will need that assistance.

The Help-A prospective in the life of domestics

The Help is a popular movie that was released in 2011. The Help was a movie that took viewers into the life of female black domestics in the south during the 1960s. The film covered the growing racial tensions between blacks and whites as well as the subordinate culture of domestics during that time. I felt as though this movie truly related to the Anderson article that we read. Although black and white relates have gotten progressively better throughout the decades, I believe that both Spencer and Davis made a valid point in the video. They stated that although there isn't (really) a black "help", but instead the help now a days are Mexicans and Guatemalans. I thought that that was a very captivating statement. Especially after seeing the film on immigration. 

Just Another Job-reading

I believe that domestic workers (regardless of race,creed, or legal status) should be respected just as any other employee. However, in Anderson's Just Another Job we found that this is not always the case. The article took us through the process in which women from many different places in the world travel abroad in hopes of finding some type of domestic work to help provide for their family. In other countries (including here) women will  occasionally employ other foreign women to work for them. Though some women hire these workers to help them as well as themselves, others take full advantage of their race or legality. Workers that have come over illegally are in jeopardy of being ripped off for their services because they have no documented papers and work off the books. They cannot complain about issues and have to do what they are told. Sometimes working an average of 12 hours with little pay. I believe that these conditions are unsuitable, and women who continuously work for a family should be treated as part of the family and on the same echelon as everyone else, not taken advantage of to prove your prestige over someone else. 

Gender--multimedia

I thought that this was one of the most interesting stories that has come up recently. In light of the Miss Universe pageant it has been discovered that there is a transgender contestant. Jenna Talachova was disqualified as a Miss Universe contestant because she was born as a male. She was scheduled to represent Canada in the competition, but after her disqualification she was asked to do several interviews. Her story reminded me of the documentary Middle Sex that was on youtube.

The Price of Sex: Video

I actually did not attend the showing of the documentary on campus, but I did have a chance to see it while I was visiting a friend at another university. I was deeply impacted by the film, as I thought that that could have been anyone I knew, or even myself. Although the film focused on sex trafficking in Europe, I am aware that it goes on here. I attached a video of sex trafficking survivors as they share their stories with a panel at the United Nations.

Why Tourism Matters

I found this article (and the lecture) very interesting. Initially, I really wouldn't have given much thought to tourism being an explored field in anthropology. Mainly because when one thinks of a tourist they think of someone is naturally "naive" to the host country's customs, traditions, and people. For example, when we watched the documentary Life and Debt, the tourist seemed so oblivious to the plight of the Jamaican people in a way that almost seemed ignorant. But I Gmelch's article she discussed (overall) some of the positive and negative effects of tourism and how tourism anthropology works. One thing that I found pretty alarming about the whole tourism market is that a lot of developing nations are now havens for tourists. However, in many of those countries as little as .10 is actually given to their economy. In addition,  a huge supply of natural resources with tourism and bring a lot of pollution to the country. So while we see tourism as a positive thing for these less developed countries, we should take a closer look at how we are really affecting their country.

Cell Phones, Sharing, and Social Status in African Society

This article kind of illuminates the differences between American and African society and how different cultures view cell phones, sharing, and their social status. For example, in the Smith claims that cell phones represent a level of economic achievement that is out of reach to most Nigerians. Which I found to be profound since just about everyone here has a cell phone, even children. In fact, I got my first cell phone before I was in high school, and frankly I thought nothing of it. However, when I sit and reflect on, I do see  how having a cell phone could be a status symbol. Back then, everyone thought it was cool to have one, and now as technologies advance cell phones that were popular when I first got mine such as the Motorola Razor are now obsolete when talking about the iPhone. So I do see a correlation but in contemporary society no one really associates a cell phone with social status, or if they do it is pretty rare. Even someone with a lot of money that has an older phone or phone that isn't as popular like an Android or IPhone isn't deemed poor or stingy with their money; they could have just lost their old phone, waiting for an upgrade, or content with the phone they are using. However, I guess with such a high emphasis placed on the phones' that the Nigerian people have they are a lot more likely to not loose it. Another interesting thing that I read was about text messaging being the cheaper means of communication, and how people would deem people who texted, and called far less, as cheap/stingy and/or did not care about the relationship as much. In America, that notion is totally different; most people prefer to text message rather than call, not because it saves money, but because it is more convenient in most cases and you don't have to deal with speaking to another person on the phone- its direct and gets straight to the point.

Life and Debt

I thought that Life and Debt was a very interesting film. I really enjoyed how the film maker chose to narrate the progression of the film. Throughout the course of the film I loved how the narrator conveyed how the tourist felt about what they saw in Jamaica versus what was actually going on in the minds of the native Jamaicans.or example, when they tourists were on the beach tasting Jamaican grown fruit the narrator stated " You wonder why you have not tasted bananas this sweet before..." and the scene then cuts to a dying banana farm that once flourished with employees, but is now down to 15. However, one of the most disturbing scenes that I saw in the film was when the dairy workers had to literally dump all of their milk on the ground because powdered milk was in larger demand than fresh milk. Honestly, I think its very sad what the people of Jamaica are going through. It seems as though all of their industries are dying as year goes by.Which I learned is somewhat not the case. There are three industries that are flourishing in Jamaica: tourism, private security, and coffins. Now that is ridiculous. I find that completely awful, and frankly there isn't anyone to blame except (in my opinion) America. I feel as though the stagnant decline of Jamaica's economy is solely the fault of America. I believe that if you do not give these people a chance to control their own economy (trade and production of goods) than they will continue to struggle is substandard conditions.

Unnatural Causes

I found this documentary to be very interesting. I had seen a previous presentation of similar statistics before however, I did not truly realize that our health crisis had become so connected with our economic status. Personally, I am a huge supporter of universal healthcare, and if there was ever a film that convinced me that I was right, it was this documentary. While watching this documentary, I felt appalled that a person's life expectancy was weighted upon by their income. In fact, I actually find it sad that the country I live in has been reduced to such criminal actions. Recently, I was watching popular blog that I follow with political analyst Tavis Smiley, and he was taking about the healthcare debate that is happening in America. Below is a link to his video blog which covered some great information about universal health care, and also a small program that is occurring in Inglewood, CA.

Film: Covered Girls

I found this film to be very interesting for several different reasons. In one of my classes this semester I examined the family structure in different cultures. When I studied families of Middle Eastern decent (who tend to be Muslim) the women rarely show their independence because their culture is patriarchal. In this culture, the couple's eldest son often has more power and influence in the home than his mother. Therefore, when I viewed the documentary Covered Girls I witnessed that many Muslim women show their independence in many ways. Not only did they participate in sports, but they also flourished in many aspects of traditional American culture. With the documentary being taped so soon after 9/11, I thought that the women would have very disapproving views of America, but they didn't. In fact, the girls were very rational about the situation, and still upheld their beliefs and were very proud of who they were. In fact, they all seemed to be living testaments of the article "Do Muslim Women need saving". All of the girls shown in the documentary were proud of who they were both as a Muslim and as an American. Despite all the people who looked down on them (including one girl's mother) they were still adamant about their religious beliefs and how it contributed to their identity. I found both the article and the documentary to be very insightful and interesting.