Week 10+11 - Professor Elise Maragliano PDF

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Professor Elise Maragliano...

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Journal 10: The PowerPoint for this week focuses on the different types of kinship, ways that families are formed and maintained, the roles of sexuality, love, and wealth, and lastly the threats that may disrupt a family. The rules of kinship and marriage vary greatly throughout the many cultures around the globe. For example, some cultures’ kinship are unilineal - tracing the lineage through one parent’s line, whether that is the mother (matrilineage) or father (patrilineage), and others are bilateral. Who is considered incest may vary among the cultures so it is crucial to know how to trace the line of descent. The main portion of the presentation analzyed the differences in family and marriage rules for the !Kung, Trobiand Islander, and traditional Chinese cultures. Moving onto the textbook reading, we read about how soap operas might be a good way to learn about what is important for the families in other societies. The authors then go on to explain the family composition of a typical American family and the lack of linguistic distinction we make between our mothers’ and father’s siblings, etc. The rest of the chapter compares and contrasts the !Kung, Trobiand Islander, and Chinese cultures. We read about the family composition of each type of society, their family cycle, the role of sex, love, and wealth, and lastly the threats on their families. There is even a reference to Marjorie Shostak’s Nisa that we are reading in class. Ultimately, the textbook reading provides us with detail that we don’t get from the PowerPoint, allowing us to grasp a better understanding of how families work in societies across the globe. The article, Arranging a Marriage in India, by Serena Nanda begins with a conversation that the author has shared with Sita, a young college graduate whose parents are in the process of trying to find her a match. The author explains to her how she doesn’t understand how Sita could be okay with marrying someone she barely knows and loves. The more Sita explains to the author why she thinks an arranged marriage is the best option, the more the author starts to question her own beliefs. Nanda visits India and joins her friend’s journey to find a match for her son and discovers many things about the process as a result. She mentions the different factors that are taken into consideration when a family is trying to find a wife for their son. Such factors include job stability and safety, level of education, and even some phenotypical features like height and even skin color. Nanda soon starts to become impatient, realizing how complicated the process was. Two years later, when she returns to India, she finds her friend’s son a match and is invited to their wedding. An update from the author reflects on the expected role of women not just in these marriages but in general, highlighting larger issues of powerlessness for these women. Lastly, she analyzes the changes that have occurred in contemporary Indian marriages. Ultimately, the article gives us an insight into how marriages go about in a specific culture, in this case, the Indian culture. We’re able to put the knowledge we learned through the Powerpoint and textbook into a specific example. The film, Dragon Bride, follows the story of Tsering who will be married off to multiple husbands, a polyandry, through their parents’ arrangements. We learn about desirous traits like: a wife who is hardworking, strong, pretty, etc., and a husband who doesn’t beat his wife, smoke, drink beer, etc. Tsering says that when she is married she “won’t be free anymore.” One of the women states that the men’s duties are to provide while the women’s duty to love them equally. Women of the village tell Tsering of the hardships of having multiple husbands as well as some of its benefits. Tsering mentions how if she were a boy she would’ve been able to go to school

but she must do what the elders say and “obey”. The bride’s home is prepared with lots of food and cleaning. At the groom’s house, the family prepares costumes for the men who go to pick up the bride. The wedding is a way for the two villages to reinact the story of how a 6th century Tibetan king won his Chinese bride. The goal is for the groom’s side to win the bride by answering a series of riddles correctly in song. Tsering spends the day crying, upset at the fact that she is leaving her parents and her home. The mother too cries after sending her daughter away to a place so foreign to her. Chapter 10 of Nisa goes into the positive and negative changes that the Tswana and Herero settlements in the Dobe area brought to the !Kung. The tribes entered politics when Isak Utigile was appointed as a headman, and he dealt with things like divorce, adultery, fights, and even murder. As the years went on, the !Kung moved farther and farther away from their nomadic lifestyle. Nisa is asked to become a co-wife to her cousin’s husband, and she refuses multiple times. For a brief time, Nisa finds herself being lovers with Besa, considering marrying Kantla, and having an affair with Tsaa. She, after some disagreement with her parents, ends up marrying Besa, who helps bring up Nisa’s kids. They have some conflict, Nisa has some lovers, and we see an abusive side of Besa. Despite all of this, Nisa continues living with him. Chapter 11 compares and contrasts the power that men and women hold in the !Kung. Although they are generally equal, Shostak writes that men seem to have the upper hand. The author then dives into specific roles that women and men have and what duties they dominate in. Nisa’s story continues with her parents death and her messy separation from Besa. She has other lovers, and Besa tries to get back with her, which Nisa refuses. Bo enters Nisa’s life, and Besa continues to make attempts to win Nisa back. She has had enough of him and eventually starts yelling at him and saying how disgusted she is of him. Ultimately, Bo and Nisa marry and she expresses the great love they share and the strong marriage they have.

Discussion 10: Marriage and family is dealt with in many different ways across the globe. We’ve learned about the many traditional practices across different cultures through our many readings and film throughout the course of this semester. Nisa showed us that the !Kung usually had their girls marry young and the match was usually an arranged marriage. Though it may look like women in the !Kung lack power when it comes to marriage, which is far from the truth. In fact, Shostak writes that the women have the ultimate say in whether or not the marriage lasts. If the bride wants a divorce, there’s almost no stopping her, especially if there aren’t any kids in the picture. Even further, the film we watched for this week, The Dragon Bride displayed a marriage that consisted of a polyandry. This marriage was, again, arranged but unlike the !Kung, consisted of one girl being married off to several boys. !Kung men would sometimes have a second or third wife, but if their first wife didn’t approve of such a thing, it usually didn’t occur. Over the years the “ideal” American family displayed in the media has shifted to be more inclusive. Sitcoms were, and still are, the biggest genre of television shows that portrayed these families. Previously, shows like The Donna Reed Show and I Love Lucy displayed only an image of a middle-class white as the typical American family. In addition, things like social issues were never touched on. Today shows like Blackish and Fresh off the Boat represent a

more realistic vision of life in America while diversifying what can be deemed as the “ideal” American family. To top it off, these shows don’t shy away from discussing the issues that surround the lives of minorities in America.

Journal 11: The Powerpoint for this week introduced to us the cultural construction of identity. We learned about what social identities are and the different types: individualistic/egocentric and holistic/sociocentric. It became evident to us that individuals use their identity toolbox to emphasize certain characteristics of theirs when around certain societies. For example, a teacher will speak and act a certain way while teaching, but their manner might change completely when they’re with their friends and family. We also learned about the rites of passage, things like baptisms, graduation, or marriage. These rituals/ceremonies mark the end or beginning of a chapter of one’s life. Lastly, we looked at the importance of gift exchange in different societies, the difference between commodities and possessions, and examples of gift exchange rituals around the globe. The textbook reading for this week, once again, provided us with details that the Powerpoint lacked. We learned about how language and kinship are both very important identity markers for people, and that religion can also be important for people of many cultures. An important part of the reading was its explanation of gender roles within societies. These roles include the names we give children, the clothing they wear, and even how we speak to them. The authors even mention that “women are constrained to minimize their expression of opinion”. I believe this may be due to the fact that women have been under the patriarchy of society for so long, that they have inherited ways to step back and keep their opinions in the shadows. The reading then looked at the ceremonies that took place to mark a boy’s transition to manhood. The importance of masculinity is also examined in fraternities of America. The truth is that the boys in these fraternities use their acceptance with the brothers as a way to boost their self-esteem and develop their social identity. A harsher truth came out that the men of these fraternities, used women, whether they consented or not, as a means to brag about their “sexual conquests.” Moving further into the chapter, we look into gift-giving during Christmas and making moka in Papua New Guinea. The article, Reciprocity and the Power of Giving by Lee Cronk explores the value of giving using examples from all over the globe. It starts off by providing a couple of historical examples of a gift exchange that occurred many years ago. The author looks into the way gifts offered by the Native Americans were treated by the new European settlers. To the Native Americans’ surprise, the new settlers didn’t give anything in return and were thus seen to be rude, thoughtless, and hostile people. The author points out that reactions to gifts varies all over the globe. The !Kung, the Turkana, and the Mukogodo all treated the gifts as never being enough. This was a way for them to diminish the expected return. Some important things to consider when gift-giving is the time waited before reciprocating, and what is reciprocated. The latter is largely determined by the motive behind the gift. Gift-giving can also be used as a way to “fight with property”. It became a war of wealth between tribes. Cronk then goes on to explain how gift exchange is also very prevalent in the US, and that there are some communities that have circular networks of exchange as well. A danger of countries’ willingness to keep giving to

others is that it comes at the expense of Third World countries. Donors become so focused on bettering their status as a “giving” country that they don’t realize how dependent the countries that they are giving to become. The film, Potlatch Keepers, follows the journey of Lindsay Mae Willie and her two cousins where they return to their tribal land to learn about their fading culture. The elders ask them to organize a potlatch for the next year. Lindsay mentioins many new things that she has learned about her culture, and that she gained a new level of appreciation for the traditions and values of her people. She talks about dealing with her father’s past, and how he influenced her to get involved with her cultures’ practices. She also learns about the ritualistic dances of the potlatch and the fact that each lyric and movement has a powerful meaning behind it. Ultimately, it’s a journey of self discovery for Lindsay and her cousins. Chapter 12 of Nisa looks at how the !Kung view and talk about sex. Shostak mentions the fact that affairs are quite common and that they can be dangerous, possibly leading to violence or murder. She goes on to explain that gift-exchange between the lovers is also quite common, although not necessary. Shostak ends with the point that the !Kung tend to have a good deal of self confidence because there isn’t much competition. Nisa’s story starts off by her explanation of how lovers provide benefits for the woman, and despite having affairs, the woman will always put her husband’s needs first. She then goes on to explain how her mother had lovers and that she knew about them from a young age. Nisa describes ways that lovers have made her life difficult as well. Ending this chapter is Nisa’s explanation of the gossip that !Kung woman and men do about each other’s sex lives. Chapter 13 discusses the gods and spirits that the !Kung believe in, and the work that healers do when someone has fallen ill. The healing ceremonies include hours of dancing, singing, clapping, etc. Nisa explains the n/um’s power and states that the ultimate result of the healing rituals is controlled by God. She goes on to explain that her mother taught her how to trance and her uncle taught her how to cure others. Discussion 11: From birthdays, to graduations, and to weddings, we are constantly exchanging gifts with our friends and family. The functions of gift exchange range from religious purposes to simply wanting to maintain a relationship with your loved ones. This isn’t to say that gifts are necessary to have friends, but they are indubitably the easiest ways to show each other our appreciation for one another. The thought of somebody going out to pick something specifically out for another makes the receiver feel loved and appreciated with minimal effort. There are, of course, other ways to provide this feeling, but gift exchange is the most common method in doing so. Despite its positive effects, gift exchange can also be used as a means to climb social ladders in society. The more expensive and shiny a gift is bought, the higher the gift giver feels they are in the social hierarchy. In addition to this, as the article for this week pointed out, a gift can also be used to humiliate the receiver. If the recipient does not feel they can ever repay a gift of such a high level, they will inevitably feel embarrassed and subservient to the donor. It then becomes a competition rather than a means to show love and appreciation for one another. Even further, when gift-giving is brought into politics, it becomes evident that countries capable of donating find it to be a way to better their status. Due to this, they don’t realize their extensive donations make third world countries slowly but surely dependent on them. Although donating

goods to others is much appreciated and shows kindness, it is more important to help those countries find ways to self-sustain their people and land....