Intro to Chicano Studies

David E. Dominguez April 21, 2013 ECC RM 169 Introduction to Chicano Studies Midterm Have you ever noticed the numerous similarities between you and your peers? No? Perhaps the way you speak upon one another, the tone, maybe the diction, or even the syntax of your voice can all be apart of ones culture. However, communication is only one of the very many key elements when taking in and digesting the term, ‘Culture’ along with its eclectic and widespread meaning. Now, when I say, “take in and digest”, I simply am referring to act of embracing and understanding the complete meaning of the word and its effect on our everyday life. Many professionals such as Anthropologist, Doctors, Psychologist, Economist and many more Scientist have their own definition of what culture may be, as well as your regular neighbors, classmates, co-workers, and even teachers. So why is this measly word so important? Well figure this, there is only one race everything else is culture, here in the United States of America we are what is defined as a multi-cultural society, nationwide. This means that within our country resign many different ways of life, entertainment, appearance, language, social classes, and even many deaths due to disease, thus resulting in a grand amount of what are called cultural clashes. Categorized as conscious and unconscious, these confrontations have an enormous effect on our civilization. Culture is an essential part of conflict and conflict resolution.
Cultures are like underground rivers that run through our lives and relationships, giving us messages that shape our perceptions, attributions, judgments, and ideas of self and other. Though cultures are powerful, they are often unconscious, influencing conflict and attempts to resolve conflict in imperceptible ways. In other words, there are many circumstances in which these types of conflicts are in a sense, uncontrollable, meaning our regulatory system of life may have been