Presentations: Some Advice

(image courtesy of microsoft stock images)

Hello Everyone,

Do you feel like this when giving a presentation, like everyone is impatiently staring at you?...like the instructor is watching the clock to make sure you've met the time requirement?

Rest assured, presentations can be nerve-wracking, but I will guide you, ask questions and help make your blog presentations as stress-free as possible. They're meant for the the class to take over, to show what you've learned about anthropology.

Presentations start tomorrow, and those of you scheduled to go might be a little nervous. This example blog is definitely ammended, but I will go first to show you that all you need to do is confidently review the information and images with the class.

Be sure all group members speak and review an equal portion of the information. Each group member will be graded individually, so one person cannot ride the coat tails of another class member.


Review the requirements:
Groups of 3-4 people will each design a “blog ethnography” on an assigned country.
• The blog will present information and photographs on the following information.
o Be sure to cite research the same way you would in a research paper.
• The blog will be graded on the quality of explanations, information and images by anthropological standards.
• The country’s place on the globe/a description of its geography
• Primary and secondary languages spoken/their influence and importance
• How culture accesses food/how food & cuisine are influenced by culture’s environment
• Marriage customs
• Majority & minority populations
• Cultural constructions within the country’s culture: gender roles, significance of art, religions practiced and the influence they hold
• Political and Social Systems/Social issues facing the country
• How Globalization has affected the culture and its access to technology

The U.S.: How Does it Fit into the World?

The U.S. has a unique place in the world. On one hand, it's called the most powerful country to have ever existed. On the other hand, the U.S. has been called the "bully" of the world, a power whose dominance has inspired resentment across the globe.

Either way, it's hard to deny the influence the U.S. has had on world culture. It makes "seeing" Americans as they truly are a difficult thing, as perceptions often muddle the truth.

American culture, as a nation of immigrants from all over the world, is unique, hard to qualify.

Religion in America

(image courtesy of exchristian.net)

(chart courtesy of ARDA)

Religion in the United States is a complicated issue. Many Americans point to Christian Puritan roots when describing an American religious tradition; there is no doubt that Puritan tradition influences religious tradition, as over 80% of Americans proclaim Christianity as their faith.(1) Puritanism also influences the nation's value system; work ethic, Protestant traditions and prudish ideas about sex have pervaded American culture through the last two centuries.(1)


However, many of the founding fathers were Deists, who believed, "in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it."(2) Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin are some of the founding fathers who, inspired by the Age of Enlightmentand Deist philosophy, added wording to the first ammendment to the U.S. Consititution that states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."(2)

This wording in the Bill of Rights, the first ten ammendments to the U.S. Constitution, have led to vigorous debate over the role religion should play in American society and government.

However, in a country that prides itself as a nation of immigrants, relgious diversity is something that Americans, in general, respect. The American government has generally protected freedom of religion, as both a part of Puritan history and the legacy of the founding fathers.

Note the percentage breakdown of religions practiced in the U.S. Approximately 11% of Americans are agnostic, meaning that they are not sure about the existence of God or do not practice any particular religious faith.

Works Cited:
1) ARDA.com. Dir. Roger Finke.2008. The Association of Relgious Data Archives, Pennsylvania State University.http://www.thearda.com
2) Dicionary.com. 2010.www.dictionary.com/deism

What is American Culture?

This blog will explore American culture, humorously nicknamed "Nacireman" culture after Horace Miner's famous article "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema." Miner's article focused an ethnocentric looking glass on American culture, asking the reader to identify with strange cultural pracitices that turn out to describe American body "rituals." Such rituals describe "baking heads" (women sitting under hair dryers) and obsession with seeing "the holy mouth man" (the dentist). The idea is that it's hard for Americans, or for anyone for that matter, to objectvely view their culture.

Read this famous article:
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~thompsoc/Body.html



How do we, as Americans, objectively study our culture? Is is about nationalism, American flags, The Statue of Liberty? The American Dream? What do these concepts, symbols and ideologies have to do with day to day American Life?

Does the famous painting "American Gothic" have as much to do with American culture as the flag?

Let's find out...