Class Discussion
I want to begin my short essay about how culture has a hand in shaping an individual since early childhood by discussing Feral children. It is hard for us to imagine a human being not influenced by culture, however, there happen to be in this world some people that are living in total isolation from any form of contact with other human beings, these people are usually called Feral children. Usually they are separated from the society or the family that they belonged to from a very young age – (does this remind you of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book?). It is hard to believe that such children can survive, but some animals usually take care of the child in such a situation. Such children do not experience culture, therefore, they never develop real language, they imitate what animals do, and they eat what animals eat. I hope that with this example I have shown how much human beings need culture and cannot live in isolation.
The values we have along with language, beliefs, manners and behavior are all due to the impact of culture on our lives. Everyone of us has underwent a process of Enculturation in both its forms – (Formal and informal) – we have all as children acquired the culture of our family and peers, and we all showed it in the way we sit, the way we talk, the way we eat, the way we show gratitude, the words we use, the words we do not use and so many other things. Furthermore, the educational system we enroll in whether primitive or highly organized also aids in our enculturation. In my opinion this is the first cultural experience we have. However, these experiences may not have a fixed impression on us forever, we can undergo a process of Acculturation and have cultures other than our own impact us and reshape some aspects of ourselves. The way that western cultures and eastern cultures are always impacting each other is a good example for this process. Any observer would see that Yoga and meditation techniques are adopted by the west same as western fashion is being adopted by the east.
This short essay is a response to a class discussion with professor Tiba about how culture might be learned when an individual is an adult.
According to our discussion in class I do believe that culture might be learnt when the individual is an adult; However, I think that culture is shaped by some habits. For example, growing up as students in school we were used to standing up as a respect for teachers as they enter the classroom. This example may also be considered as a way of informal child training. Therefore, In my own opinion I think that culture is learned during early agesand shaped by some habits but not inherited.
ReplyDeleteI would like to thank Dr.Tiba for her very lovely and interesting class discussions.
great essay fatma!!!
ReplyDeleteIn my point of view I think culture is earned not inherited. A great evidence about our beliefs in that aspect is what fatma mentioned about Feral Children. For example, Victor the French wild boy was captured in the woods in the Aveyron district France. In his case living with animals and the isolation without any contact with human beings prevented him from earning any culture. He didn't go through the process of Enculturation, he only acquired the animal's behavior!
I would like to thank DR.Tiba for giving us such a great chance to talk about our class discussion :-)
Fatma Al-Abdulrazzaq.
We all admit that culture shaped in early age, but we get to face different cultures in our life stages. What we acquire from preschool stage differs from the culture we acquire in school and collage later on , for example we don’t stand up when we speak to our parents unlike what we do when we speak with a teacher in the class room then we stop doing that when we are a collage students . So I think that in one point or another we must acculturate and acquire new cultures we came through. Anyway I think the case you used shows us that there is a certain age the we learn how to earn and acquire culture in if it pass then it impossible to do so.
ReplyDeleteThank you fatma for this Brilliant assay & thaks to dr. taiba for starting this discussion
sarah mohammad