Cultural relativism is the view that all beliefs‚ customs‚ and ethics are relative to the individual within his own social context. In other words‚ right and wrong are culture-specific; what is considered right in one society may be considered wrong in another‚ and‚ since no universal standard of morality exists‚ no one has the right to judge another society’s customs. Morality is built within communal groups‚ for example a faith community e.g. a church. The morality of one social group is not better
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The Nacirema People: Sadistic Exploiters? It’s difficult to say whether or not a different culture‚ other than my own is politically correct in the ways they go about their daily lives‚ but after reading the article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner‚ it got me to question; What type of society are we making out our culture to be? Often people look at different cultures as primitive and contradictory through the eyes of ethnocentrism‚ and after reading this article
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Are we limited in knowledge‚ in imagination‚ and in understanding by the culture we grow up in? In other words‚ are we ethnocentric‚ and if so is it a bad thing? To answer that‚ one must understand what ethnocentrism is. According to Macionis (2004)‚ ethnocentrism is "the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture". We are not born with culture; culture is a socially learned behavior‚ or set of values that a given groups holds as a norm and are considered to be
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Ethnocentrism & Ritualistic Behavior in the Nacirema Culture Ethnocentrism is defined as a belief that one’s own culture is superior. This article uses metaphors’ to describe our own well to do American society. As we read the article we automatically judge and think that the Nacirema’s are barbaric people who seem very uneducated and masochistic‚ when in fact we follow the same practices. As we read this article‚ we see the Nacirema as a masochistic culture which gave their possessions for
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study on the Nacirema Tribe. In the study he talked about their body rituals‚ and revealed to the world every strange ritual these people had. After reading this study‚ I decided to do one for myself. So I visited the Nacirema tribe. The things I observed still puzzles me. I noticed that everyday around the same time at daybreak‚ young Naciremas are awaken by an unusual noise coming from some sort of object. I have never in my life heard such an agitating sound. The young Nacirema then changes
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Week 1 Anthropology Forum – Cultural Relativism Question: Using your textbook‚ please define cultural relativism and moral relativism‚ using APA formatting for your citations as needed. How is cultural relativism different from moral relativism? For example‚ consider anthropologists who study genocide or another oppressive‚ harmful phenomenon of your choice. Objectives examined: * Describe what is meant by ethnocentrism and cultural relativism * Interpret the ethical issues faced by anthropologists
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The rituals of the Nacirema To most of us‚ hospitals are a place to help you when you’re in need or want to get healthy. But for the Nacirema‚ it’s quite the opposite. According to the Nacirema ritual article‚ they call hospitals a latipso‚ which is hospital spelt backwards without the ‘H’. They discuss and caricature the repulsive viewings on what they think goes on in hospitals (latipso’s)‚ or what they think they do. I will now tell you how in Miner’s perspective‚ the body is ugly and how
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The Nacirema people‚ living in the territory between the Canadian Creed‚ the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico‚ and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles‚ are a group of Northern Americans who have chosen to live their lives in a strange manner. There is a main premise to their choice of lifestyle and that is to rid the body of its ugliness and natural tendencies towards debility and disease. (p. 503). The Nacirema people have devoted their lives to deterring these features of themselves through ritual
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Human Communication. A Publication of the Pacific and Asian Communication Association. Vol. 11‚ No.1‚ pp. 27 – 38 Overcoming Ethnocentrism through Developing Intercultural Communication Sensitivity and Multiculturalism Qingwen Dong University of the Pacific Kenneth D. Day University of the Pacific Christine M. Collaço University of the Pacific Qingwen Dong (Ph.D. Washington State University‚ 1995) is Associate Professor and Chair and Kenneth D. Day (Ph.D. Indiana University‚ 1980) is Professor
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"Body Rituals among the Nacirema" is a document written by Mr. Horace Miner. Miner was a graduate of the University of Chicago‚ with a degree in anthropology. Throughout his life‚ Miner was dedicated to his studies ranging in anthropology to sociology. He was very interested in the study of anthropology‚ but Miner disagreed with the way that other cultures were represented. He thought American anthropologists believed that the American culture was "normal" and‚ that the other studied cultures
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