The Nacerima Lifestyle
Scared- I decided to use this word since it explains a part of why they act the way they do. It's not a bad thing to be scared because life is scary. In places where it is still undeveloped they likely rely on spiritual aspects of life for meaning. Life can be very scary and sad since for humans especially events like childbirth can be very traumatizing and leave the mom and/or baby dead. Human childbirth in a natural setting can be very dangerous and events like this could lead to people seeking spiritual comfort and closure since bad things can often happen without warning.
Strong- The Nacerima people are extremely strong because suffering is a part of their lives voluntarily and has caused this sort of lifestyle. Diseases from microorganisms can be a big part of these peoples life since they are not in the developed world where there is a lot of sanitation. People dying but not having a valid reason like bacteria, virus, or other to help understand what happened. Could lead to different cultures and rituals so it seems reasonable for anthropologists to expect or not be surprised by even the craziest behavior.
Compassionate- They are being tortured and go through a ton of pain because of the belief that it is for the better. It shows how they care much more about the world and how they can help make it better rather than thinking about there own struggles and becoming bitter and depressed. I feel like it shows a lot about us as humans and how much we will go through for feelings of meaning and love.
Spiritual- Religion is all over the world has great importance. It connects people with the nonphysical aspect of life and help people be good people. The Nacerima take it to the next level and their lives are fully emersed in this ideology and ritual world. Although these rituals may be seen as disturbing and bad for me it shows that these people have their own connection with the world and it is a very strong one.
Misunderstood- Although many of these rituals seem like something no one would ever want to do it is important to realize these people only understand life in that way. For reasons we may or may not know they live the way they do and I think it is safe to assume that if we were in their situation we would not act different. The developed world is more unusual since most people likely do not live in this environment but rather a lifestyle closer to the Nacerima.
Part B:
1. I feel incorrect with my word choice now that I see it is about the American lifestyle. Although some of these words apply I picked them because of reasons I thought had to do with the harshness of living in an undeveloped region. I would say that scared and misunderstood would describe American lifestyle out of all these words. The article seems to be describing going to the dentist as a ritual and we are constantly brushing our teeth in front of a mirror.
2. I do not think most of the words show bias but I can see how misunderstood and scared could be biased. I said scared because that is what us as Americans might feel about the world when we lack spiritual connection but other people may find peace when they are scared. Also misunderstood could be bias since as Americans we likely misunderstand most cultures and will always look at them from the view of an American.
3. I could have used the word Aware instead of Scared since the word scared implies that they are weak in a way. Which contradicts the next word I used which was Strong. Being aware can be seen in the way that they are constantly doing some sort of ritual or action to help them from harm and future injury or disease. Instead of the world Misunderstood I could have used the word Uncommon since the American life is unusual and not the normal lifestyle for most humans around the world.
4. I think it is extremely important to be free of as much bias as you can when describing a culture. But in my opinion I think it is impossible to be completely avoidant of cultural bias since we all live in a certain culture and that will always have an effect on beliefs and other thoughts. It is important to always look and constantly check for bias since you never know when you can project onw of your own biases without noticing. I feel like if anthropologists do describe cultures they should be very broad descriptions to avoid bias and ethnocentric judgements as much as possible.
Part A Review:
ReplyDeleteI am only scoring this part of the assignment for completion. I will post another comment on Friday after you submit Part B with feedback.
Five descriptive words recorded. (20/20)
Part B Review:
ReplyDelete1. I appreciate your recognition that your words don't accurately describe the practices that are the focus of Miner's article, but recognize that Miner *intentionally* created a biased article to make the point of the dangers of bias. How can we expect our word choice to be unbiased when it is based upon biased information?
That said, make sure you focus on the fact that the practices Miner is describing are hygiene and healthcare practices. As you note, this would be like brushing our teeth, but also going to the dentist and visiting the doctor in the hospital.
2. "I said scared because that is what us as Americans might feel about the world when we lack spiritual connection but other people may find peace when they are scared."
Okay, but Miner wasn't describing religious practices, correct? He layered religious terminology over his article, but none of the practices actually discussed are religious in nature.
You actually see this in some of the older anthropological articles, where there are everyday practices occurring (cooking, eating meals, growing crops) and the anthropologist give into the impulse to find some religious meaning to it all. (Note: Keep this in mind in Week 7 in the assignment about art!).
3. "I do not think most of the words show bias but I can see how misunderstood and scared could be biased."
If people are scared or frightened, then pointing it out isn't biased. And there is a certain amount of fear driving out healthcare practices, isn't there? Fear of pain. Fear of illness. Fear of dying. "Scared" isn't a word that worries me too much in terms of bias. I think it's probably there. The main word that strikes me as possibly biased is the term "spiritual". Not that Americans are not capable of being spiritual, but that this is not a term that is accurate in describing our medical practices, which are usually science-based, not faith-based.
4. I agree with your points in the last section, but you avoid a couple of key questions in this prompt: First, is it even possible for anthropologists to avoid bias? And second, should anthropologists focus on *description* of cultures (which opens the door to bias) and work instead on *understanding* them, which suggests a deeper, more complex view of the culture?
Part A:
ReplyDeleteThe words you used as description for the Nacerima fit well with what the article was written about, though I am confused on the "scared" adjective that you had used. What would be helpful would be to add some quotes as evidence as to why you thought the way you think while writing this. I want to know, why do you think they're scared? What exactly are they afraid of? As an anthropologist should you be afraid too? What makes the term "scared" so interesting is the fact that in anthropology there may be things where in one culture is seemed as harmless, but terrifying to another. For example, fire, earlier civilizations may have revered fire, while others see it as an extremely important resource.
Part B:
You're not entirely "incorrect", and besides, there is no way to necessarily be incorrect with adjectives to describe a culture, because aside from object point of views, most adjectives could very well be very subjective. On number 3, I see that you would have changed your term from "Scared" to "Aware", yes that seems alot more accurate for the American Lifestyle, because Americans aren't necessarily scared of their surroundings as they are hyper aware of what is going on around them that may make them sensitive to certain things.