Ethnocentrism & Ritualistic Behavior in the Nacirema Culture Ethnocentrism is defined as a belief that one’s own culture is superior. This article uses metaphors’ to describe our own well to do American society. As we read the article we automatically judge and think that the Nacirema’s are barbaric people who seem very uneducated and masochistic‚ when in fact we follow the same practices. As we read this article‚ we see the Nacirema as a masochistic culture which gave their possessions for
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Ethnocentrism is an important topic for modern anthropology for many reasons. Firstly‚ we must understand that ethnocentrism is the incorrect belief that ones own group is in some way superior to others‚ and the standard by which others are judged. This belief has unfortunately been an important factor in the history of the human race. It has been in existence forever‚ and therefore is very pertinent to the field of cultural anthropology. Secondly‚ ethnocentrism has been the cause of many wars
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Miner is successful at making his point clear‚ his point was that we are in a routine and have our faith and placed on doctors and technology‚ that those have become customs. In Miner’s view‚ “The Nacirema have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the mouth‚ the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on all social relationships”(Miner). Miner is correct‚ we choose to keep our mouths clean‚ I consider this relevant for the reason that this has become a routine
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about their culture as those Yankees feel about their USA. What do we call the sense of cultural superiority? Sociology has a term called ethnocentrism‚ which is defined as “the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one ’s own culture” (about sociology). Many claim that ethnocentrism occurs in every society. The opposite of ethnocentrism is multiculturalism‚ which is the belief that all cultures are basically equal. Ethnocentricity is essentially a double-edged sword‚ and
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In "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" Miner is ridiculing how much society cares about their appearance. He talks about the unnecessary rituals that we go through just to please society. An example the author uses is how people are never pleased with what they have. Everyone is trying to fit in with what society thinks is right. Since society has its own perception of what is beautiful women try and do whatever it takes to fit into that definition. This is why women get breast implants or breast
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After realizing “Nacirema” is American spelled backwards‚ it becomes evident that Miner is criticizing American culture. He describes the “tribes” behavior with a focus on changing personal appearance and magic-based rituals. Everybody goes to the “Latipso” to see “medicine-men” when they are sick and often are given potions or end up dead. This is like a looking glass into American culture. In our culture‚ there is a huge focus on physical features‚ but we don’t pray to fix it. Instead we take vitamins
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According to Potter & Perry (2014)‚ ethnocentrism is defined as “members of ethnic groups that display a tendency to view their own way of life as more valuable than others” (p. 111). Ethnocentrism can become a cultural conflict if a nurse does not understand the cultural differences and resorts to using their own values and beliefs when caring for a patient. It is
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Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary clearly defines ethnocentrism as the “characterization by or based on the attitude that one’s own group is superior.” To address the deeper issues associated to ethnocentrism requires a more explicit definition. In this sense‚ ethnocentrism can be defined as the making of false assumptions regarding others’ ways based on our own limited experience. The key word is assumptions‚ because oftentimes we are not even aware that we are being ethnocentric -- we don’t understand
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Please define and compare and contrast ETHNOCENTRISM and CULTURAL RELATIVISM. Discuss how you have experienced OR witnessed both concepts in our American Society. Ethnocentrism is viewing your own culture as more superior than any other culture‚ that all other groups are measured in relation to one’s own. Ethnocentrism can lead to cultural misinterpretation and it often distorts communication between human beings. + while cultural relativism is "the concept that the importance of a particular
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different people may hold different attitudes. One may criticize on a backward culture‚ and others may judge on it fairly. Like the authors of “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” and “Voodoo in Haiti”‚ they hold quite different attitudes and views to these exotic cultures. Broadly speaking‚ Horace Miner‚ the author of “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”‚ criticizes Nacirema’s uncivilized culture. In the article‚ Miner describes how the tribes perform the strange sadism rituals to very extreme level. The holy-mouth-man
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