Pamela De Santis – English II, LM – Task 1A – March 23, 2009
New York and “The Bronx”
INTENTIONAL MATRIX
A. Values (beliefs/affects/wants)
1. Multiculturality and tolerance. The multi-cultural environment makes New York City unique and worth admiring. It also has a greater level of tolerance for a variety of ideas, thoughts, beliefs.
2. Degree of gender. Males dominate a significant portion of the society and power structure. Females are more assertive and competitive.
3. Family. Small nuclear family environment; people may not share individual accomplishments and initiatives with their elders. In most families, once the child has become a teenager and graduated from High School, he or she leaves the home and leads an independent lifestyle.
4. Proud of individual initiative and success. The importance of individuals is very high and this is reflected in the family unit. Most Americans take pride in their country and consider themselves patriots.
5. Friendliness and informality. American people tend to not wait to be introduced, they begin to speak with strangers as they stand in a queue, sit next to each other at an event, for example. Furthermore, a handshake, a smile and a “hi” are all that is needed. However, they value also their privacy a lot.
6. Time is money. Americans ascribe personality characteristics and values based on how people use time. If you are not on time, you are not considered to be reliable. If there is an unexpected delay, it is customary to inform people by calling them about the delay and apologize.
B. Cultural dimensions
1. Horizontal culture - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hierarchical culture
USA SPAIN UK ITALY INDIA
2. Male society - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Female society
INDIA ITALY USA UK SPAIN
??????
SPAIN
ITALY HOLLAND DENMARK
FINLAND
[ITALY IS HALF MALE BECAUSE MEN HAVE POWER BUT HALF
FEMALE BECAUSE MEN USE PERFUME AND PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO CLOTHING.
I'M SIMPLIFYING GROSSLY, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA. FINLAND IS VERY
FEMININE, NOT BECAUSE FINISH MEN PAY ATTENTION TO APPEARANCE BUT
BECAUSE THEY, AND THE WHOLE SOCIETY, ARE CARING: THROUGH SOCIAL
SECURITY, CHURCH INITIATIVES, ETC.]
3. Open family relationships - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -Restricted family relationships
USA SPAIN UK ITALY INDIA
[I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT “RESTRICTED” FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS ARE.]
4. Individualist culture - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Collectivist culture
USA UK SPAIN ITALY INDIA
Pride in their country- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pride in their traditions
USA SPAIN UK ITALY INDIA
[THIS
IS NOT A POLAR OPPOSITION. A POLAR OPPOSITION WOULD BE:
PRIDE IN
THEIR COUNTRY -------- PRIDE IN WORLD CITIZENSHIP (NATIONAL
CITIZENSHIP NO)
OR
PRIDE IN THEIR INVENTIONS -----------PRIDE
IN THEIR TRADITIONS
DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE FROM YOUR “CULTURAL
DIMENSION” WHICH HAD TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VALUES? YOU MUST
HAVE THE TWO OPPOSITE VALUES OF THE SAME AREA. ]
5. Direct communication - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Indirect communication
USA SPAIN ITALY UK INDIA
Friendliness - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - -- - - - - - - - -Distance
USA SPAIN ITALY INDIA UK
[THIS IS NOT EXPRESSED PROPERLY,
SINCE ALL CULTURES THINK THEY ARE FRIENDLY. PREFER:
IMMEDIATE
CONTACT
------------------------------------------------------------------
RESERVEDNESS
USA SPAIN ITALY INDIA
GERMANY HUNGARY UK JAPAN]
6. Form trusted - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Form distrusted
USA UK
SPAIN ITALY
INDIA
[SINCE YOU ARE THINKING OF
LEGAL FORMS OR PUNCTUALITY, SO OK.
BUT BEAMER'S DIMENSION (FORM
TRUSTED / FORM DISTRUSTED) REFERS TO OUTWARD APPEARANCE AND IN THIS
CASE AMERICANS ARE SUSPICIOUS OF PEOPLE WHO DRESS TOO WELL.
SO TO
AVOID CONFUSION, USE:
CARRY OUT ENGAGEMENTS
---------------------------------COMPLY ACCORDING TO CIRCUMSTANCES]
C. Resulting maxims
1. I can enriched myself from the differences.
2. I’m a woman and I have the same rights and will-to-succeed as a man.
3. I can do what I want alone as long as it doesn’t interfere with others.
4a. I can over come any obstacle.
b. I am sure of my possibility.
5. I can speak up spontaneously.
6. I live every day as if it were the last.
LINKS FOR THIS TASK: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/usa.html
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=New%20York%20City
http://www.immihelp.com/newcomer/american-culture-and-behavior.html
[Overall
comment:
This attempt is certainly better than the previous one.
But I'm surprised that it isn't A LOT better.
I usually judge the
interest in the research projects that I propose to students on the
basis of the creativity they demonstrate in doing them. Here the
amount of creativity seems limited:
1. you analyze each Value Statement with just one or two dimensions. Is that really enough to uncover all the implicit meanings of the value statements? I don't think so. A culture would be very simplistic if the values of the people in that culture could be adequately expressed with one or two dimensions and that's all.
2.
your “bibliography” consists of two Internet sites
(besides the two I gave you). Not much research, it would seem. Do
you really think that you have researched enough to feel what it
means to be and American from the Bronx? And to be able to teach
your partner to think and act and SPEAK like an American from the
Bronx?
Sometimes when I give this assignment to students
they watch characteristic films (in your case, a Robert DeNiro or
Spike Lee film about the Bronx) to absorb the culture. Or they
listen to highly characteristic music (like we heard in class for
Ireland): in the case of the Bronx, it might be the Hip Hop of the
Black community (but which has now spread to all social groups)
which is the opposite of, for example, country music you hear in the
Southern states. Of course, because the Bronx is multicultural, you
hear all kinds of other music, too, Jewish, Italian, Latino, etc. and
this mixture creates the mentality as well. But Hip Hop is probably
more characteristic of urban life.
So why don't you learn a
few verses from a KRS One song? And say them (or sing them) in
class. If you send me the lyrics you choose I'll make photocopies so
everyone can sing with you.
And
also think about the hidden dimensions in each of your Value
Statements and make them explicit.
And also think about OTHER
value statements that descrive the Bronx way of being and speaking
even better than your five values, which are mostly true of GENERAL
AMERICAN. Indeed, the values you propose are the ones that Italians
notice because they are different from the corresponding Italian
values. But to really understand the Bronx, you have to see not just
what is anti-Italian, but also what is uniquely Bronx. So unique,
that you have a hard time imagining it. How to find it? As I said,
through movies, music, even the chat conversations or blogs made by
people from the Bronx and that you can find on the Internet.
Think
about what you can do to FEEL the American English spoken in the
Bronx. Use your creativity. ]