Blog #4

Dialect is certainly an interesting subject. In California, most of us don't have recognizable dialects like the rest of the country. Sometimes there is the layed back stereotype of a California dialect, with is long and mellow annunciations, for example you hear "hey bro, take it easy". This is usually attributed to hippies or surfers, but is certainly not common amongst most Californians. We don't have the southern drawl that you hear in the south, or the thick accents of New York and New England. It always makes me laugh when I visit my family from Chicago and when they pronounce words with a heavy "o", like "coffee" is said "kauwfee". The only recognizable thing I can think of is the vernacular used here in northern California when people say "hella" to replace words like "a lot". But I think the lack of an instantly recognizeable accent in California has to do with the large size of the state and the diversity of cultures here, which in it's own way, makes California very unique. 

Dialect can easily be looked over, but it is a very important part in understanding cultures. It can tell us where we are from, where we went to school, who you hang out with and what your job is. In some regions like the UK, what social class you are in is based off of your accent. so understanding dialect is fundamental to understanding a culture. 

Blog #3

This week certainly had the most interesting lecture and discussion so far. 
This week focused on the aspect of rituals in cultures. We defined rituals as habit and behaviors that communicate ideas and values to both participants and observers, most of which we defined as specialized events that entail ceremonial acts such as oral performances, dances, special foods, dramatic lightings, ceremonial attire. Rituals are highly organized and structured within their communities. These rituals can then be broken down into to sub groups 1)a rite of passage or 2) initiations. A rite of passage marks an important stage in someone's life, usually signifying the transformation from childhood to adulthood. two examples of this would be bar mitzvahs for those in the Jewish community, or a quinceanera in Latin American cultures. Initiations on the other hand signify loyalty and respect to rules and are seen in gangs, colleges (fraternity or sorority), and the military. examples of initiations include pledging or hazing and can often times be violent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO4xwGPKPb4).
A more innocent form of initiation can be seen in sports. In high school I played football, and a tradition at our high school is that the underclassmen carry the pads of the seniors during spring training.  Everyone did it and it integrated you into the special fraternity that is the football team.
A stranger right of passage we saw was that of the Sambia people of Papua New Guinea in the Secret of the Flute. The right of passage that transformed young men into fierce warriors involved drinking the semen of the elders. Although very strange and inappropriate by are culture, in the Sambia culture it is a sacred tradition that all men must adhere to.

Blog #2

This week we looked into four research methods for our term papers: questionnaires, interviews, observation and participant-observation. The one that struck me as most important was observation. Some of the advantages of observation include the ability to passively participate, take notes, and being able to experience first hand. Reading appendix B in The Emergence of Folklore in Everyday Life, discussing rural folklore in context and character, shed some light into observation. The author observed the character of individuals in small rural communities, and tried to determine if their values were diminishing due to growing infrastructure and communication. From observing a teacher,Ray Vaughn in one of his classes in small town North Vernon Indiana, the  author was able to show how the rural culture came out in Mr. Vaughn's expressions and personalities.

"What's this? Looks like a drunk chicken walked across this paper," he jokes with a student. "How about 96 percent. No I don't give 100s. Everyone knows 100s are scarcer than hen's teeth."

I believe using observation could prove to be the most informative research method. If I want to study a groups religion, for example, knowing nothing of their culture, attending a sermon or something of similar stature would be an easy way to get an insight to that groups values. Of course interviews would also be informative, but my belief is first hand experience has the most substance. The author of appendix b could have interviewed Mr. Vaughn and came away with the same thesis, but by showing the observation of the interaction between Mr. Vaughn and his students showed in an interesting way how the culture actually acts.

Blog Entry #1

What I took away from class discussion is first how do we define culture. To understand culture, it must be viewed from a holistic stand point, that is across time and space and all dimensions of human interest. So culture is our traditions, beliefs, rituals, norms, values, morals, customs and other capabilities that make you unique to your family, your peers and your society. Culture is also integrated, learned and shared. For example, belonging to a religion is unique to being part of a culture, you are integrated into the religion, taught it's values and share it with others who follow that religion.
What also struck me as interesting were the main genres of culture: material, verbal,  and customary. Folk speech, for example is verbal. I remember when i was in Indiana visiting family, when we went to the grocery store they didn't sell soda, they sold "pop" (same thing but that's just what they called it). This type of culture is learned informally through family and peers. an example of material would be the kind of food a particular group eats, for example if you are raised in the south it is normal to eat grits. Finally customary would be certain traditions, like decorating a tree during Christmas, cutting the cake at a wedding, or going to church on Sundays. as we discussed in class, one of my customary traditions going to church with my grandparents every easter (even though i am not very religious) it is a family tradition. Of course all three of these genres have fuzzy boundaries, and can be combined at times, like a wedding vow can be customary and verbal.
Finally, there are culture groups we are accustomed to seeing. Pop culture is what is perpetuated by the media to be en vogue. Elite culture is seen as wealthy, upper class, that is usually taught by scholars and less temporary, like Beethoven. And folk culture is culture that is passed down through generations.