"Think modern dating is tough? Try hunting for a husband or wife in the Druze community—adherents are forbidden from marrying outside of the faith. This desire to marry someone within the faith is not just a preference—the religion prohibits exogamy. If a Druze marries a non-Druze, it will not be a Druze wedding, nor can the couple’s children be Druze—the religion can only be passed on through birth to two Druze parents. There are no conversions into the Druze faith."
Here are just a handful of the 12 million men, women, and children who arrived at Ellis Island, New York, between 1892 and 1954 to start a new life in the USA, often dressed in their finest clothes. The portraits show immigrants wearing the national dress of their country of origin, including military uniforms from Albania, bonnets from the Netherlands, and clothing of Sámi people from the Arctic regions.
The photographs were taken between 1906 and 1914 by amateur photographer Augustus Francis Sherman, the chief registry clerk at Ellis Island, then the country’s busiest immigration station. In 1907 some of the photos were published by National Geographic.
See staff at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo try traditional Norwegian Christmas dishes. Se ansatte på den amerikanske ambassaden i Oslo smake på norsk julemat.
We sometimes describe this mingling as 'cross-pollination’ or ‘cross-fertilization’ — benign, bucolic metaphors that obscure the force of these encounters. When we wish to speak more plainly, we talk of ‘appropriation’ — a word now associated with the white Western world’s co-opting of minority cultures.
Discrimination exists in every industrialized society in every part of the globe, the result of poverty, ignorance, and hatred. The US is guilty of it just as much as any other nation, evident by the continued existence of income gaps between whites and blacks in the US, as well as the policy of the US in its handling of our native populations. Chinese discrimination against ethnic Tibetans has long been documented and observed within the West, meeting the condemnation of much of the Western world, and such cultural discrimination has continued in other provinces within China. As the coast has exploded in wealth per capita, and the culture there becomes increasingly westernized, these other cultures and peoples are in danger of inevitably being wiped out. This is the result of Chinese policy, which has actively worked to suppress and kill of these resistant cultures, for the sake of national identity and unity. Is America in a position to judge others for how they treat their ethnic minorities? Not at all- just look at the demographics of our prison system and our families who fall below the poverty line. Such racism has long been a facet of human civilization, and it is up to us to make it a thing of our past and not of our future. For these cultures in China, I fear the worst will inevitably pass, and the world will sit passively by as they are lost forever. It saddens me, and I hope that I am proven wrong.
China is gaining control of a whole group of people who some have changed their nomadic way of life to that of a more current and modern lifestyle, but others feel forced and unable. China is not giving the pastoralists the help they need, but still want them to assimilate to the country's currently way of life. Geography is important because it is important to understand that these nomadic people are losing their land, or rights to roam their country's land.
The Chinese communist government is predicated on power and control. Its philosophy of governance runs counter to freedom, liberty, and openness. Once again, this dark reality has been evidenced by China's treatment of its nomadic-pastoral people. Citing bogus scientific research that herding and grazing is detrimental for the environment, Chinese authorities have forced minority indigenous groups (often descendants of the Mongols) to surrender their traditional ways of life and sedentary, modern people who participate in a monetary-based economy. A gaping problem with these dramatic changes is that these new relocation centers for settlement are highly inadequate. The former herders were coerced into settling down and discovered the promises of good jobs, optimistic modern living, and benefits like healthcare were lies. The ethnic Han majority, which dominates all aspects of Chinese life, may not feel obligated to provide adequate and sustainable resources for these ethnic minority groups. Cultural reasons aside, the drive behind the Communist Party's decision to relocate these nomads is geographic. 40 percent of China's territory is open grassland in central Asia. Its unfettered access is hindered by the occupation of roaming nomadic herders. For public relations reasons, China cannot simply eliminate these people, but China wants them gone in order to expand and develop out west. With no true love for these ethnic minorities, China has decided it has the resources and willpower to finally bring these people into the modern world and take their ancestral lands and their herds in exchange for a subpar home and small amount of money. It is a tragic game of deception and greed.
Spain's monarchy decimated the Jewish population by expelling, killing or forcibly converting Jews in 1492. Now the country may offer their descendants Spanish citizenship.
Can we all agree that a 522 year apology is outdated? Honestly, Karavani, a citizen of Israel who benefits from the new policy, summarized my reaction to this when he stated, “I don't think that anybody owes me anything — definitely [not] if it happened 500 years ago.” The people involved in this situation are dead five times over at least. I think it is time to move on and if you can’t, then you have bigger issues in your life. Personally, it would make more sense for the government to remember past mistakes and learn from them by applying knowledge of discrimination to any issues of discrimination that is currently happening in the country.
I kept wondering if giving citizenship so many years later would actually be seen as a justice apology. The citizens aren’t being recognized as Jews. Plus the expense being incurred to even take the test sounds unpleasant given some of the complaints mentioned in the article. I didn’t realize that a large amount of the Israel population would actually leave for Europe. Upon realizing this, I found the trend to be amazing in a world where increased immigration is normally seen in a negative light for the nation who is welcoming the immigrants. Never did I realize that a member of Israel would view it as “a European way — to destroy this country.” I do doubt that was there intent as there are far more effective way to destroy a nation. Yet, when someone is losing a large amount of their population (some of whom speak an almost dead language) I can see how the statement was made. I guess this member of the Israeli population would be considered a person against globalization in this instance.
Leaving Israel isn’t a bad decision though. Given the instability in Israel, I think it is great that more immigrants can go someplace else. Furthermore, I think it provides a fantastic opportunity to people, like Karavani, who want better jobs. While it might be sad to see such drastic change for Levy, people can study like his cousin and keep their heritage. The world is a bigger place now that is easily traversed. I think people needed to realize there is no longer one absolute location to live and that isn’t the end of the world. It is just a new way of life.
Summary- After almost 550 years, Spain is finally allowing decedents of expelled Jew citizenship. In 1492 Jews were forced to convert, be killed, or flee Spain. A law now grants the Jews descendants citizenship under a draft law by the Spanish Government.
Insight- As explorers of religion in this unit, we ask out selves: Why were the Jews expelled and now let back in so long after? The expulsion was caused by the Spanish Inquisition, a goal to maintain catholic orthodox in spanish kingdoms forcing all Jews out. They are finally let back in after Spain realized that there is now no reason to keep other people out.
Gathered around the Thanksgiving table, Americans tell stories about colonists and Native Americans coming together. But do Native Americans even celebrate Thanksgiving? And what would Native American heritage food look like? This November, With Good Reason takes a look at the indigenous side of a Thanksgiving table.
INDIA’S general election will take place before May. The front-runner to be the next prime minister is Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, currently chief minister of Gujarat. A former tea-seller, he has previously attacked leaders of the ruling Congress party as elitist, corrupt and out of touch. Now he is emphasising his humble caste origins. In a speech in January he said 'high caste' Congress leaders were scared of taking on a rival from 'a backward caste'. If Mr Modi does win, he would be the first prime minister drawn from the 'other backward classes', or OBC, group. He is not the only politician to see electoral advantage in bringing up the subject: caste still matters enormously to most Indians."
It was interesting to read about Modi's run for prime minister- I recently read a TIME magazine article about him, his original platform, and his subsequent work in office- and to see so much of Obama's run for office in Modi's struggle. Modi's support among his own caste, traditionally one that has been discriminated against in Indian society, is not at all different from Obama's support among the African American community. It goes to show that, for all our differences, people are a lot more alike then we'd care to think. Beyond that, it was interesting to see how much power the old caste system continues to hold in Indian society, much like the issues with race that Americans continue to struggle with within our own society. Appeals to different castes have been employed successfully by politicians and other forms of media; I once read that the most popular Indian films are often love stories revolving around "forbidden love" between two members of different, opposite castes. In a society that is so rich and complex, with hundreds of different languages and beliefs, it is so easy for lines to be drawn and for differences to be focused upon in a negative light. Happily for India, it has come a long way to address these problems and to move forward. While not perfect, India's future looks bright.
i dont understand how a country like india that is mostly modern and on the world scale can still have such an ancient system of labeling people be such a prominent practice in their society, i hope modi gets elected so he can start to eliminate this
The caste system in India still takes place today because it is slow to change. Even though Gandhi went to extreme measures to end the caste system. A caste system is a hierarchy of beings based on heredity. So if your not one of the lucky ones who is born into a top caste there is virtually no way of climbing the social ladder. In elections in particular voters all across the nation are swayed by the caste of the candidates. Caste is also very prominent in rural areas. If someone were to marry someone of a lower caste in rural areas they could face death because that is disrespectful to the norms of these particular areas. Even though many caste laws have been eradicated to benefit the people its still the people that are practicing this tragic system. Its tradition to them, some cannot see past the social injustices that this type of system permits.
"Brash, baroque and steeped in native Andean symbols, the mini-mansions are a striking sight on the caked-dirt streets of El Alto, the inexorably expanding sister city of Bolivia's capital."
Indigenous peoples across the world are beginning to take pride in their heritage once again, after being told by the forces of the imperialism in their countries, that it was not as good as European culture. This article shows how in Bolivia, the Aymara people, a native group of the country, are rising to political, economic, and social prominence in the country. Even the country's leader is from this group. The architecture of this new rich class reflects native heritage but has elements of globalization. The "castle" mentioned in the article has indoor soccer pitches (originally a European Sport) but it has so much popularity in South America, that the region is known for it today (look no further than Argentina's Lionel Messi or Brazil's Neymar). The ballrooms also have European chandeliers, but so strong is the native influenced expressed in the houses, that they take these global factors and make them their own. I believe this is a beneficial fact, the indigenous people across the world should be proud of their heritage and diverse backgrounds.
I should not have seen the squatters video first. I know this is a different location but its just amazing economically how you have people, mind you humans who live like the squatters just trying to survive and not because of things they did wrong after all in the other video the gentleman trying to support his family had a job in a state bank but just because they can't catch a break or the way the system is set up. In this video everything is rich and people have no worries about a roof over their head or food in their stomach. I know this happens across the world but just imagine everyone enjoying the same rich benefits and having no economic classes.
this is a magnificent example of a new style of architecture sprouting up almost overnight, and a style which is inspired by new ideas. its fantastic to see none traditional architecture becoming big.
"While Germans tend to talk about privacy and how the internet takes away our freedom, chief Almir of the Surui tribe in Brazil came up with an idea when he first came in contact with Google Earth. He saw it as a great tool to visualize the devastation of the rainforest. With the help of Google providing the knowledge and equipment he started the project and provided an unfiltered perspective never seen before. This is a growing project on a growing problem that should matter to all of us. It’s never a service or product itself that matters; it’s what you do with it. Check the video and see for yourself."
Globalization inherently brings serendipitous juxtapositions. In this clip we see the merger of geospatial technologies to protect indigenous cultures and their cultural ecology.
This is a great example that shows the positive and negative effects of globalization. The negative effects is that the chief Almir and the Surui tribe have changed from their original roots through contact with the outside world. Their language and clothing has been altered because we see the cheif speaking brazilian portugese and the tribe wearing western clothing. The positive aspect is that they are trying to protect their ancient rain forests by using the benefits of globalization. I think its great that Google is helping this tribe, of course Google is getting tons of recognition for this, but they are doing wonders for this group of people. With the technology provided the tribe will be able to be put on the map and educate its group.
this will help protect the forest and decrease deforestation hopefully, also protecting global climate and environment. How does this affect the large companies in paper mills, timber and especially the specialty tree plantations.........roads cutting through the rainforest ......wildlife........
This is an interesting way to educate people around the world of the places that most people don't think about. its interesting to see the technology with the tribes people to see how it actually benefits their folk culture by preserving the land.
For 50 years, high school students in Rabun County have chronicled their region's disappearing traditions and mountain people, from blacksmiths to moonshiners, in publications and a living museum.
"Forced to choose between limiting population or trying to increase food production, we chose the latter and ended up with starvation, warfare, and tyranny. Hunter-gatherers practiced the most successful and longest-lasting life style in human history. In contrast, we're still struggling with the mess into which agriculture has tumbled us, and it's unclear whether we can solve it."
"Amid calls for a three-day weekend in Ghana to allow residents to attend more funeral parties (with the emphasis on party), here's a look at some of the country's famous customized coffins."
the idea that funerals should be festive is an idea with a large history. it is also, i think, a very good idea. many people already get together after a funeral and drink and talk about the good times they had with the dead person, and it helps with a sort of closure.
I've never heard of this type of burial traditions. The typical burial that I hear about and experience are the old, wake and funeral the day after the wake. I've also heard of funerals that are held in New Orleans, when someone died the people of New Orleans paraded down the street singing and playing happy music. This was a celebration of there life. Wakes and funerals that I'm used to are always sad and depressing and held at a church and funeral home then the deceased are to be buried at a cemetery. In this article, caskets are designed differently, as you can see in the photo above. Some caskets are in the shape of a shoe, fish, car, or even a camera. Interesting way to celebrate the deceased.
I have actually seen this before, in the travel documentary "The Moaning Of Life", star Karl Pilkington (also star of previous travel documentary "An Idiot Abroad") travels the world to explore other cultures to see how they deal with issues differently than the rest of the world. In episode 5 "Death" he travels here and even gets his own custom coffin made, a double coffin for him and his long time girlfriend in the shape of a Twix bar package. This cultural attitude is an interesting one to say the least, especially compared to the way others interpret death.
What's the epitome of summer for a lot of Americans? It's communing around a grill, with friends and family, waiting for a slab of meat to cook to juicy perfection.
In Peru, people like to gather around heat and meat, too. Except the heat — and the meat — are buried in the ground. It's called pachamanca, a traditional way of cooking that dates back to the Inca Empire. The pit cooking technique has evolved over time but remains an important part of the Peruvian cuisine and culture, especially in the central Peruvian Andes all year-round for family get-togethers and celebrations.
Pop culture is taking over the whole world and few folk traditions are still around today. I believe this article shows a great example of how societies are still honoring their heritage and ways of life. Even something as simple as a way of cooking preserves cultures that are being lost. PC
(South America) This article describes a technique of Peruvian cooking showcased at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. I had never heard of pachamanca, the Incan cooking method that involves layers of potatoes, corn, vegetables, and meat steamed in a hole in the ground. The system involves a bottom of hot volcanic rocks, then a layer of vegetables that must be cooked for longer, followed by a layer of 3-4 types of meat. Then vegetables with shorter cooking time goes on top, with another layer of hot rocks in between. Then the hole is covered with flavoring and fabric and cooked for 1-2 hours. This way of cooking has survived through centuries of conquest and war and remains a vibrant part of Peru's culture.
Most people have had great memories at family barbecues. I for one love cooking on the grill with family on a nice sunny day. being a lover of barbecue i would love to try and cook this way one time. This method called pachamanca is an ancient Inca method, but shares similarities to other methods used in today's pit cooking techniques in america. Though it seems the Incas perfected it many years before us
While watching this movie I found the over idea of tradition to be quite accurate because everyone wether they are from Russia, the United States or another country has traditions that come from many years ago. These traditions tell how the people should dress, sleep, work and eat all in the eyes of God. Traditions come from a group and then are passed on for generations, everyone has some type of tradition wether it is in their family or in another community. Tradition helps the people to gain an identity for themselves so he knows and everybody else knows who he is as well as what God expects. The main focus in this movie is not only tradition but also to please and have God in mind at all cost.
This video was nice because it had a little song that played and I thought that it showed the culture well. Before the Industrial Revolution played out, this way the way it used to be in many places. Riding horses and pulling a wooden carriage to deliver milk that had been freshly squeezed from a cow. It's funny to think that this was't that long ago and how culture can change quickly.
This video is the intro to a movie that shows the basis of this folk culture. It gives a good representation of the different elements of folk culture. Folk culture is made up of so many different elements. In the video there is music that begin stye culture being showcased. Then the man's attire and his environment. The infrastructures show the folk culture as well and so does the accent.
Insight
This video revealed the elements of folk culture. It tied them all together and gave a good visual and good sound to what makes up a culture. Culture consists of so much from language, to dress, to food, to music. A video really gives a good eye into what the folk culture is like in this.
"There’s no denying that the Amish are fascinating to the rest of us ("the English," in Amish terms). We buy their furniture and jam, and may occasionally spot their buggies when driving on country roads through America’s heartland. Many may not realize, however, that though the Amish make up only a tiny percentage of Americans (less than 0.1 percent), the Amish population has grown enormously since the early 1960s, with much of the increase occurring in the last two decades."
Tags: population, USA, folk cultures, culture, religion.
The Amish community is a very intresting one, they are in thieir own little world where life is simple. This makes them a very intresting community with a growing population.
This article relates to our chapter in class because it is about the Amish and their culture. I think it is very cool that there are still so many Amish today, found in 30 U.S states! I am jealous that the Amish children only have to be in school until age 14 though. The culture interests me.
This article shows the religious culture of the Amish people. Lately their religion has been spreading throughout about 30 states. The article give quick but precise description of the Amish lifestyle.
The Nagoya protocol is an international biological diversity convention. The protocol would at it's core require permission, acknowledgment of source knowledge or practice and compensation for the use of cultural wisdom.
i don't see Nagoya as a perfect solution - there is a lot of room for language interpretation so slick corporate lawyers will find ways to legally cheat indigenous peoples from their share but I do see it as at least A small step in the right direction.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 4 billion people, 80% of the world's population, use herbal medicine in primary healthcare.
Cherokees Believe and have practiced healing from plant and water for thousands of years. Every and any human sickness has a plant who can cure it. Every plant in the world has a purpose if we but learn to hear and understand what that is - there are no weeds to the Cherokee.
"Over the course of human history, thousands of languages have developed from what was once a much smaller number. How did we end up with so many? And how do we keep track of them all? Alex Gendler explains how linguists group languages into language families, demonstrating how these linguistic trees give us crucial insights into the past."
Summary- This video explains how so many languages came to be and why. By the early existence of human there was a such smaller variety of languages. Tribes that spoke one language would often split in search of new recourses. Searching tribe would develop in many new different ways than the original tribe. new foods, land, and other elements created a radically different language than the original.
Insight- In unit 3 we study language as a big element of out chapter. One key question in chapter 6 was why are languages distributed the way they are. It is obvious from the video that languages are distributed they way they are is because of the breaking up from people which forced people to develop differently thus creating a different language. As this process continues, there become more and more branches of a language family.
"There have been calls for clearer labelling of halal products in shops, restaurants and takeaways. But what is halal food? And why are campaigners so concerned?"
Halal means permissible, the opposite of Haram which means forbidden or illegal.
Halal meat means that has been prepared in accordance with Islamic traditions and is therefore permissible for an observant Muslim to eat (very similar to Kosher for Jewish people).
Within the European Union more Muslims are migrating to Europe. Some Europeans, however, feel that the Halal labeling and marketing is a change to the cultural landscape that they are not comfortable with, and don't want to see it become more mainstream. Other meat companies try to present their products as Halal, but don't adhere to all of the customs according to some more strict Muslims. Halal, then is a lightning rod, in either direction right now in Europe. - From Seth Dixon
I am not surprised some European governments aren’t taking a stronger stance, but I think the market might sort itself out in this instance. This issue is another battle of a minority group trying to keep their culture in a different country. Muslims, who are typically discriminated against in Europe, would like there to be more clear labeling, along with Jews (another minority). As mentioned in the article, most countries (excluding Denmark) allow suppliers to kill without stunning for religious purposes, but buyers are having trouble identifying the meat they can eat provided by these suppliers since most Europeans don't need to know this information. The author pointed out that the economic trend is showing that Muslims have enough of a "spending power" that the slaughterhouses will want to respond to their needs in order to profit. It would be nice for the government to step in, but I really doubt that will happen given how this group is typically marginalized. So in this instance, the Muslims are lucky that money motivates.
Overall, I sympathize with the Muslim's desire to want more labeling even though I don't agree with it. The reason I am against eating meat rests largely with how the animals are treated from their time on the farm being raised to the time they are slaughtered. I myself wish their was more information in regards to this so I could eat meat in good conscious. Killing without stunning isn’t the most humane, but that is what these people's conscience need due to their religion. So denying or harshly judging this desire would just be plain hypocritical of me. Therefore, I hope the economy can actually take care of itself.
To get content containing either thought or leadership enter:
To get content containing both thought and leadership enter:
To get content containing the expression thought leadership enter:
You can enter several keywords and you can refine them whenever you want. Our suggestion engine uses more signals but entering a few keywords here will rapidly give you great content to curate.
Your new post is loading...
