Barbara Rogoff's Ethnography Summary

Barbara Rogoff studied cultural transmission in several families across different indigenous cultures. Her ethnographic research tries to show that cultural factors combine with biological factors to shape a child’s behavior, values, and gender identity. She was inspired by the work of Vygotsky, who claimed that human activities and skills take place in cultural contexts and that development is mediated by linguistic, social, and cultural interactions. This made sense to her because humans change with their societies and/or communities. There are very few communities that have not accepted change, such as the Amish or some Hasidic groups. Rogoff claimed that people use and transform cultural tools. On page 37, Rogoff states “Human development is a process in which people transform through their ongoing participation in cultural activities, which in turn
People and their cultural communities mutually create each other. Cultural communities change and evolve along with the people within them. There is no “best” or “correct” way to do culture. Rogoff mentions some historical/sociological assumptions which she then tries to counter. One is that an individual is separate from the world and is only secondarily influenced by culture. Rogoff argues that it cannot be true because we speak of only what we see. This is a very etic perspective to think that way because we are only understanding within the context of our culture and way of life. Just because this is what we know, it does not necessarily mean that it is the same thing others know as well. This also relates to many Americans and their misconception that they do not have a culture. Even white Americans have a culture even though they might not recognize it as a culture. They are still influenced by the values and beliefs of their