Creatures of our own culture

I believe in Ruth Benedict’s statement that we are creatures of our own culture to a certain extent. I believe that our culture shapes who we are and is a big part of our environment but only while we are growing up. One big example that I have is of my mom’s brother. My uncle was born in Mexico along with my mom, and when they were about 3 and 5 years old, they came to the United States. My grandparents raised them both with very Mexican customs and as they were growing up, both he and my mom were very much creatures of their own culture. As my uncle became a young adult, he started straying away from his culture and by the time he was married with kids, he had fully adapted to the American culture. His children do not really speak Spanish and they cannot identify with the Mexican culture. This is why I believe that at one point or another we are all creatures of our own culture, however, once we are old enough to make our own decisions, we choose whether we want to live our lives as “creatures of our own culture” or not.

Rationality premise, Perfectibility premise, and Mutability premise.

The three premises that most Americans have are: rationality premise, perfectibility premise, and mutability premise.

The rationality premise is defined as the belief that most people are capable of discovering the truth through logical analysis. The one social institution that I can think of that practice this belief would be a government institution, for example, a court hearing or a trial. Lawyers, judges, and jurors all put their part to figure out whether or not the person being convicted is innocent or guilty. We must use the rationality premise to think logically and figure out if the person is lying or telling the truth and base our decisions on the facts that are provided. I believe in this premise because I have seen this happen first hand. Some human beings are very smart and are able to figure out the truth just by things they observe or people that they may have doubt in, so through logical analysis they are able to figure out the truth and just what they were looking to find.

The perfectibility premise is based on the old Puritan idea that humans are born in sin but are capable of achieving goodness through effort and control. I do not necessarily agree with this, however, I do not disagree with it either. I was raised in a catholic home and I went to Catholic private school so I was always taught that all children were born with original sin.  I can’t say that I agree that we are born in sin because when a child is born, they are so innocent and do not know right from wrong. I do believe that people are capable of achieving goodness through effort and control. I think that we have a general sense of what is right and wrong; therefore most people will try to do right so they can achieve that sense of “goodness.”

The mutability premise is the assumption that human behavior is shaped by environmental factors and that the way to improve humans is to improve their physical and psychological circumstances. This is another premise that I agree with to a certain extent. I agree that the environment that we live in does shape our behavior and often makes us who we are, however this may not always be the case for everyone. For example, I was born in Oakland CA, a city that does not have the greatest reputation. People would always blame school, the environment and other children for the bad behavior of their own children. I think that in this case, the environment is no excuse for a child’s bad behavior. When I lived in Oakland, I had neighbors of all paths of life; drug dealers, older married couples, young families, etc. and I was raised and still have great values. I, nor my parents, allowed myself to be a product of my own environment. I think that the environment that you are raised in does have some affect in our behavior, but it is what goes on in the home and what you are taught as a child that really mold children in how they are meant to be.

Affect Displays in chapter 5

A topic that I found interesting in chapter 5 was affect displays. Affect displays is the presentation of feelings and emotions through nonverbal communication. Affect displays are expressed though facial expressions of body movements. Frowning may be a sign of sadness or dissatisfaction whereas a big grin may mean a sign of happiness and joy. I am the type of person that is very expressive. There have been so many times that people have told me that I look upset or sad just by the look on my face. Sometimes my face will just naturally look upset, even when I am not, but there are other times when there is no denying that I am upset. There are also times when I unintentionally make a face, when I am trying not to. I remember distinctly a time that my aunt had made dinner and when I went to taste it, I felt myself instantly make a face. It wasn’t because I didn’t like but more so because it was so spicy. Thankfully she didn’t not see my reaction, but that is just one of the many examples affect displays are expressed.

Language between Genders

I agree that men and women use language differently to a certain extent. When I have observe a group of men interacting, I often notice that they way that speak to each other is more vulgar and not as respectful. When women are present, they often tend to tone down the vulgar and inappropriate language. This is not always the case however. My male cousins, for example, don’t ever really tone down their cursing and foul language around certain females they are around because they speak just the same as the guys do. When they are around some of my other female cousins, they know not to talk in a disrespectful manner because my female cousins will get offended. Women also have a different style of speaking. A lot of the women that I have interacted with seem a little more tender hearted when speaking, whereas some men are very blunt and say things how it is without feeling bad. Although I agree that males and females use language differently, I think that it also depends on the person. I have met females that can be so nice and respectful but also curse like a sailor and say what they think without caring if they hurt anybody’s feelings and I have also met some males that look as though they would be rude but have a very sweet demeanor. This is why I agree that men and women use language differently to a certain extent. As a woman there are certain things I would never say but other women would and I’m sure there are some things that men say that other men wouldn’t. I think that if we look at the bigger picture, men and women do use language differently, but it also depends on the person.

Judging and categorizing others.

Personally, I don’t think it is possible to perceive others without judging or categorizing them. I think when we initially meet someone we start categorizing them. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a negative thing, however, we can think that someone has a great sense of style when we first meet them and think that they may have money because of the way they dress but they in fact, may not be as wealthy as we think. I will be honest and say that when I first meet people, so many things run through my head. First I observe their demeanor, if they are not very approachable, I will automatically think they are rude or unkind. If they are nice, I will put more effort to carry on a conversation. I think this goes for everyone though, I have heard so many times, “When I first met you I thought you were this or that” without really getting to know me first. I think that first impressions go hand in hand with judging. Another example of this can be when you first meet someone who has a more revealing style of dress. People may automatically think she is easy or is dressing like that for attention, and although a lot of the times that may be true, we can’t really judge the type of person that they are just by the style of dress. I once, read an article about a famous violinist, Joshua Bell, who dressed as a bum and played the violin at a metro station and nobody, paid attention to him. A few days prior to that, he had a sold out performance where the tickets sold for an average of $100. This goes to show that we all judge when we first meet or see people that we do not personally know.

I think that in order to make to judgments more fair, we should first get to know the person and then have our opinions and judgments. This may sometimes be difficult because we all have a first impression of people even before they speak, but we should give them a chance to really get to know them before we start thinking negative thoughts. There have been times where I have judged people because of first impressions, but then we actually end up being great friends once I get to know them.

Concept from Chapter 10

One concept that I found interesting in chapter 10 was extemporaneous speaking style. This type speech is often defined as a speech that is preplanned but should be more conversational rather than reading from note cards or an outline. For me, this has been the most difficult speeches I have had to do.  Personally, I think that I can communicate quite well. I am able to carry on an intellectual conversation and not feel nervous or sound like I have no idea what I am talking about. When I give speeches, however, it is a little harder to be more relaxed and not as nervous. I specifically remember a time in eighth grade when my teacher, Ms. Capra made the class write and deliver an extemporaneous speech about anything we wanted that we would teach something to the class. I remember going up in from of the class and giving a speech on how to make chocolate brownie walnut cupcakes. Although I have made these cupcakes several times and have explained the process to people in my family, for some reason I could not concentrate and forgot some steps, forcing me to read the forgotten steps from the note card , thus not speaking extemporaneously. I can remember I was so embarrassed and I felt beet red. At that time, I could not understand why it is that she was making us give these types of speeches. It was not until college that I was faced with the dreadful extemporaneous speeches again and although I was still nervous, I now knew how important it was to speak extemporaneously and eloquently, especially when giving a speech for people that could possibly be my next employer. 

Social Constructionist Perspective

I think that each one of us have our “own world” merged into one big world. If we think about every culture in the world, not any one is the same. We build worlds through communication by the things that we learn and the way we are spoken to when growing up. For example, I am full blooded Mexican. I speak and write Spanish fluently. My friend is also Mexican and speaks Spanish and writes it fluently as well, but our styles of communication are very different. Even some customs that she has are very different than mine. We may both be Mexican, but we have two very different worlds. Another prime example is one of my aunts. Ever since I was little, she would rub Vicks vapor rub on the bottom of my feet whenever I got sick. Once I moved always to college and did the same exact thing, my dorm roommate looked at me as if I was crazy. This was so natural to me because I grew around it. This was part of my “own world”. I think the fact that we all have different worlds is great because we are able to learn different things about different cultures and we can see that each culture is so different from our own. I think that people who are able to identify with their culture can provide others with traditions that they have grown up with and vice –versa.

My favorite and least favorite speakers.

I think that the best speaker I have heard to this day was my dad’s cousin who is a deacon. At my aunts funeral he read the sermon and followed it with his homily and I must say it was one of the best homilies I have ever heard.  He spoke with so much grace and eloquence that it was so hard not to listen. He started off by summarizing the sermon and explaining what it meant to him. He then proceeded to tell us a personal story of my aunt which tied into how we, as a family, should respect one another and all the problems that we have had should be resolved and buried in the past. This impacted me the most because the week leading up to her funeral, there was lots of bickering and fighting over the most insignificant things. The deacon, not knowing much about the bickering and fighting, really hit the nails on the head with his homily. I thought it was especially powerful because of the way he spoke. I felt as though it was more conversational rather than just being talk to. His non-verbal gestures, hand movements and facial expressions really tied into exactly what he was feeling at that moment. I have heard many priests and deacons preach before, but this one just blew me away. I could tell that he knew exactly what he was talking about and you could hear the confidence he had while he was speaking to a room full of people.

The worst speaker I have ever heard was during a meet and greet with the new director for the division I work for. Being a state worker, I have come across so many different people for different walks of life. Some only have a high school education and others have their PHDs. Well, you would think that being a director for a government organization he would know the proper way to give a speech. WRONG! His speech was not extemporaneous at all; he read directly from his paper and did not give eye contact until he was done reading. His voice was so monotone that it was hard to even stay awake. I was really expecting someone who knew what they were talking about and just exuded confidence, but I was totally wrong. The only thing that I really remember about his speech was his name; he did not keep me interested at all. Overall, it was just a bad experience.

Introductory Post

My name is Jackie Favela and I am from Oakland,  Ca. I currently live in Sacramento, however I attended SJSU from 2006-2009. While attending SJSU I was a Public Relations major, but once I transferred to Sacramento State, I changed my major to Communications with an emphasis on intercultural and small groups. I have really enjoyed the communications classes that I have taken at both schools because I feel that they have helped me learn a lot about myself as well as how to deal with certain situations with others. I enjoy doing a lot of outdoor activities such as going camping, fishing, hiking and golf, but I also enjoy staying home and doing crafts around the house. I like to live my life with no regrets and take each set-back in life as a learning experience and a stepping stone to built a better future.