The world is full of different cultures. Every country and continent on earth has several different cultures with several different belief systems and values, and anthropology studies all these cultures throughout time. Aspects of anthropology like enculturation and ethnography I found particularly interesting because of possible impact they have. The process of enculturation is defined as the process by which a society's culture is passed from one generation to the next. It is interesting that the lives and practices of grandchildren and great grandchildren are impacted so heavily by their grandparents and great grandparents. Ethnography is defined as the process where by an anthropologist goes to live among a different culture to study and record the practices of that culture. The amazing thing about ethnography is that the anthropologist has to live with and totally assimilate themselves to a new culture for an extended amount of time. .
I found six concepts that were used in class presentations. Each of them is different in meaning, but are often found in the same culture. Rites of passage, acculturation, dowry, ranked society, adaptation, cultural relativism, and enculturation are the concepts that stuck out most to me. Cultural relativism is the thesis that one must suspend judgement on other people's practices in order to understand them in their own cultural terms. Through listening to all of the class presentations, I learned that the United States is rich in diversity. I learned that culture is everywhere. .
The first concept I chose is rites of passage. This concept was used in the marriage presentation. Rites of passage is defined as "rituals, often religious in nature, marking important stages in the lives of individuals, such as birth, marriage, and death" (Haviland, 490). The marriage group presented rites of passage in three forms, leave parent's home, establish home, and establish a family.
