Culture
Book Club Culture Discussion Area
Culture's a fascinating thing all the more so because it's so invisible to most of us--the best example of not seeing the forest for the trees. Learning about other cultures and the options you have for perceiving your world is like having stairs you always go down in and suddenly discovering that they also go up.
Become aware what the value of difference is: it's just a difference. don't think you can draw correct conclusions based on your model of the world!
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Things Fall
Apart by Chinua Achebe  Easy and very interesting reading. See what happens when cultures shift and you get left behind. This book will leave you pondering what Okonkwo could--or couldn't have--done differently. Nigeria. Related Student Paper "Learning from Life's Experiences" |
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Drown by
Junot Diaz Puerto Rico (I think) |
| The Good Earth: by Pearl S. Buck. China. | |
| An American in China by Shaun Roundy (prepress edition available soon). Engaging style. lots of details about all this stuff, but mainly a view of what it's like to mix cultures and travel sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. adventure, risk, restlessness and wanderlust--the unstopable desire to experience life and the world first hand. |
Cultural Building Blocks:
Time. monochronic, polychronic. past and future facing. slow and fast change.
Formality. Language, respect, looking, asking questions,
Space. personal space, touch, directional space.
Social Expectations: these vary even within your culture. some think open doors (chivalry) while others may get offended.
Videos:
also watch these to really get a feel for it. once you're more aware, it'll all make more sense to you.
The White Balloon
Gung Ho