An Ethnography!

Here is a link to my Ethnography highlighting my visits and interviews with some automotive technicians from a small town in South Carolina!

Here is the link!

Reading: Cell Phones, Sharing, and Social Statuses...

In Smith’s article about cell phone use in Nigeria, the biggest thing that I took away was the view of cell phone usage as a commodity. Even though the phone cards they purchase cost money, they don’t look at the use of the minutes as cash. They view it more like food or gas maybe. As a college student, I know that if I have a full refrigerator or a full tank of gas, then I’m set for the week and willing to share. I’ll cook dinner and share it with a friend or offer to drive somewhere without thinking twice. But ask me to lend you ten dollars and I’m not so sure I can do that. They view cell phone usage that way. Very rarely do we have to think about minute usage here, unless using a prepaid cell phone plan. There, it is the same scenario as me offering to drive. Lending a friend a phone call there equates to me offering to share my spaghetti with you Pretty interesting!

Link: The Kayapo

I read the Kayapo Resistance last week and was appalled at the treatment of the people and the fact that these people are being removed. It saddens me to see that this is allowed to happen. I followed this link out of interest then realized that it was following the same group that Turner had outlined in his article. I believe this is a petition of some sort but definitely worth taking a look at!

Link to Petition 

Reading: The Kayapo Resistance

Reading The Kayapo Residence, the only thing I could think of was a link I’d followed on Facebook. (I’ll give the link in my next post!)

It is heart-breaking to see what is happening to the native people of our world. The most gripping part of the article that stuck with me was that many people think that these people fear being moved because of economics. Turner says early in the article that this is not just an economic threat to these people. It is a “threat to the continuity and meaning of social life.” Their economy (like any economy, really) is completely immersed in their cultural life. Nothing is separate and nothing is complete without one part of their sphere and for some odd reason, larger groups continue to feel that it is their place to determine the sphere for smaller native groups.

Reading: Encounters with the Elderly

Tsuji had remarkable ideas and accounts of the treatment and view of the elderly. Towards the end of the article she details the fact that many Japanese families would be shocked if an elderly widow was left to live alone despite the fact that she had multiple children. In America, it is not unheard of for a mother to live alone after the passing of her husband or to even enter into a retirement home or assisted living facility. I feel that the Japanese reaction to this is very similar to a typical southern (small town) reaction. Allowing the elderly to live alone is considered negligence on the family’s part and once a parent reaches old age, a “mutual dependency” is established. I liked the statement that the view of old age is as a “period of rightful dependency.” As far as my family is concerned, we owe it to our elder family members and friends to help as much as possible. Even those who are not our “blood relatives” (as we’d call it) need not worry. Those who are able will always pitch in.

Reading: Heading Home...

Shandy and Moe had a really interesting insight into what determines dominance in a social structure. The concept of “protein control” was very interesting but started to make sense as I read farther into the article. The fact that gaining the animal product went along with the distribution of the meat directly aligned an individual with dominance. While women gathered and provided for the family, men in some cultures were responsible for divvying up the protein for an entire group and this responsibility came with the added benefit of power. I’d never understood hunger-gatherers in this way and this outlook makes the study of other societies even more interesting. The fact that women are the dominant sex in many other cultures is even more interesting considering the way food collection and distribution impacts the social hierarchy.

Reading: Berdache Tradition

Williams’ article, The Berdache Tradition, left me feeling refreshed. The widespread traditional thoughts in the Western world on sex and gender differ radically from those found in the American Indian culture he studied. Being androgynous was considered a blessing in the group he studied and I found it interesting that he explained the androgynous individual as being a “mediator” between two sides. These people are seen as peacemakers who can bring two lifestyles together and I feel that this is a very acceptable and logical role for androgynous individuals. I have a few friends that could be considered androgynous and the lifestyle they live definitely requires tolerance from other sides. They tend to unite masculinity with femininity and in my eyes, don’t lack either. It is just a combination of the two unique to what our society is used to.