Anthropology When I Came To America

“ The ideal of the “melting pot” symbolizes the process of blending many strains into a single nationality, and we have come to realize in modern times that the “melting pot” needs not to mean the end of particular ethnic identities or traditions”

The United States has a motto, e pluribus unum, that suggests that in America, embracing diversity creates unity. Long ago, during the 1900s, assimilation was considered to be crucial in order for a naturalization process to occur. Immigrants were forced to assimilate and adopt to the American culture, in which they had never been introduced to before. Over time, things evolved and changed to the point where people began to assimilate to a certain point, but still have their cultural traditions, giving America a nickname known as the Melting Pot. America being known as “The Melting Pot,” defends the claim that in today’s society, The United States of America is moving toward a new standard in which diversity and individuality are encouraged more than uniformity and conformity.

Their most popular monument is this stone of the sun known as the calender stone.

The Melting Pot culture is one where several different cultures come together and adopt other parts into one single society. The problem with people assimilating into any society is that they can lose the uniqueness of their culture. In some cases, people are forced to choose between their own culture and the

Even though I was born and lived in Jamaica for the first seven years of my life I have been somewhat ignorant to its culture and because of this assignment I was able to learn a great deal about my country 's culture through another 's encounters and observations. Not only did I learn about my country but I gained new knowledge about my mother and her experiences as well. Her name is Kayla and she was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She began by introducing her culture 's background. “Jamaica, originally settled on by Taino settlers, was named 'Xaymaca ' meaning land of wood and water. The slaves brought over to the land were of course from Africa which is why we have adopted many of their customs of which I will elaborate later.” As she shared with me her experiences she also expounded on the norm of such things in Jamaican culture.

energy of young people, and the power of fear that could kill you. Society is

Srinivas Maddineni and I come from different backgrounds and cultures. Srinivas—or as he likes to be called “Jake”—is from India and can speak Bengali and Hindi. I, on the other hand, have ancestors from Eastern Europe and speak my religion’s language of Hebrew. Despite these cultural differences, Jake and I met and forged a meaningful relationship because of our shared interest in economic empowerment. Before I talk about my relationship with Jake and how our friendship impacted an organization, I’ll first discuss how I came to know him. Before coming to Emory, I was originally set to attend George Washington University (GW). I will admit that I was not excited about the prospect of going to GW; it was low on my “college list” and I did not feel passionate about the school or its academic

America is sometimes called the “melting pot” in reference to the fact that many different cultures have come together to be represented in one country. These cultures however have had some difficulty maintaining their distinct cultural characteristics when faced with daily life in America. Whether through social, economic, or political pressure, most cultures have at least partially assimilated into the acceptable normal of America. America is not moving towards a new standard in which diversity and individuality are encouraged more than uniformity and conformity.

As an aspiring physician and researcher, I am drawn to Northwester's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. I chose the biological sciences major in order to expand my knowledge about biology. While chemistry, biology, physics are my favorite subjects in school, I also find the development of human cultures to be a fascinating subject and would take anthropology electives at Northwestern to satiate my curiosity. At Weinberg, I am interested in conducting research in order to both expand my knowledge of scientific research and skills and to enhance my undergraduate experience.

What questions do Anthropologist ask? What are Anthropologist main interest, and theoretical orientations? Anthropology the study of people shares many general interest in the nature of human beings, and borrows greatly on the understandings of others. Additionally, the range of clearly stated interest involving people who study people is so broad that it is almost impossible to find a one common denominator that describes them

(case in point, washing dishes) to convictions about theoretical ideas (for instance, time), and is taken in and transmitted starting with one era then onto the next. It can be the nourishment individuals eat, the garments they wear, the safe house they live in, how they move from spot to put, how they guard themselves, what they learn, what's more, the dialects they talk. Social anthropologists will be anthropologists who study both past and present societies. They make inquiries, for example, Why arrives social and political imbalance? How does dialect influence and express culture? What

“Anthropology is the study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies, which helps us understand ‘Human’ better. And you will have classes on different topics and fieldwork to learn about Anthropology.” the professor introduced the concept of Anthropology in my first class in my college life, which indicated the importance of combining course learning with the practice of field work. This first impression of Anthropology has greatly influenced my studies in the next three years. I tried to attend all kinds of research covering different topics that were important in this academic area and only after the process of practicing, failing, reflecting and learning can I get closer to this academic field.

Is it possible to overcome the ignorance of bigotry and prejudice by practicing anthropology in one’s daily life? Is it possible to engage in the study of cultural anthropology and still maintain individual core beliefs? These are the questions that will be addressed in the next few pages.

The “melting pot” culture refers to people from various cultures coming together to create a new unique culture. (Lorenzo, 2000) In other words, these cultures have ‘melted’ together in a ‘pot’. For example, Chinese, Koreans, Germans and more cultures blended in together to create a whole new American culture. They are not Chinese-Americans, Korean-Americans or German-Americans anymore but just Americans. On the other hand, “salad bowl” culture refers to immigrants who do not lose the aspects of their cultures. . (Lorenzo, 2000) To put it in another way, you can still clearly see the different ‘ingredients’ in a ‘salad bowl’. As a contrast to the melting pot theory’s example, Chinese-Americans, Korean-Americans and German-Americans will still keep the unique traits of their cultures while living together in the country. America has been traditionally referred to as a ‘melting pot’, but recently; there are people who argue that ‘salad bowl’ will be a better description of America’s society today.

The time that I have spent in this anthropology course brought many concepts to my attention. Life is full of so many aspects but we always seem to pay attention to the ones that interest us the most. This course made me realize that I do not have to like something to have knowledge about its existence and principles.