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What is culture? (And who has it?) It is a common refrain from many white Americans that they feel as though they don’t have any real culture. Real culture is what others from other countries have. This is clearly not true of course. So how did it come about that people from a powerful country and culture like the U.S. would consider that their culture was either weak or irrelevant somehow?

Facets of Culture Values Norms Institutions Artifacts Values- religious, but also historical (i.e. pacifism in Europe, Japan after WWII), Norms- folkways (saying grace, who go first when opening a door, who pours the beer) and laws (guilty or presumed innocent? Okay to pollute or environmental standards?) Mores- or moral standards, offenders harshly punished. Institutions- holidays, schools, government, clubs, language Artifacts- flag, prom dress, SUV, Vespa

Roland Barthes French philosopher(1915- 1980) Identified process of exnomination Explained why dominant groups feel they have “no culture”

Exnomination "If you are a member of a dominant group, your attributes are invisible. Your role in making things the way they are is not noticeable. You believe your culture is apolitical and non-ideological. Your rules become the rules…"

Some students experience school like this.. School Culture Home Culture

Other students like this.. Home School

Francis L. K. Hsu Hsu said it’s impossible to be entirely objective. One element of Western culture is the myth of impartiality. This means examining the unique strengths and contradictions present in our own culture before we claim to do the same to others. Chinese American professor of anthropology (1909-1999) Anthropologists should seek understanding of their own culture prior to studying that of others

Discuss Hsu’s “A Blueprint for US Culture” Article by Francis Hsu, analyzes North American culture in the same way minority cultures are often analyzed. Discuss your reactions to the set of postulates marked “A Blueprint for United States Culture.” How does the set of postulates make us reconsider our own culture? Mention those postulates that you had never really considered before.

Postulate 10? Monolingualism is the norm. Bilingualism is a temporary state on the way to becoming American. Many Americans accept this as fact.