What is the basis of American Culture?( Help! Student brain fry!)

[Lady Freedom]

He really loves to hurt my poor mind on a weekend. Case in point:

The second assignment asks you to examine our culture.
Whether we are talking about the United States, North America or the Americas
may matter – you decide what the focus should be on for this paper.

[Lady Freedom]

1. This would be easier if the American Culture was not so mixed.

Let's face it. America is one big mix of cultures that we can't really narrow it down without leaving alot out. The only thing that is in common in our United States is Technology. Maybe that should be my focus, but how? Hummmm...

[Lady Freedom]

2. These are some questions he has put up to give us a jumping off point.

The following questions are to help you construct your perspective. You don’t need to answer every question, and there may be points you include in your paper that aren’t addressed by the questions, but use the questions as a jumping off point.

• What is the culture, language, and changes that have occurred in the culture?
• How is the idea of self government reflected in the culture?
• How is the basis for American values tied up with religious commitment?
• What are some of the themes of American culture?
• What role does prosperity play in defining American culture?
• What are the “natural rights” of participants in American culture?

[AKPacker]

4. My first thought

was immigration (and native americans also) and how the contributions of each unique culture added to the whole. It would be hard to narrow the scope though.

Your technology angle may work if you could narrow it down to one aspect. Maybe how the internet has shaped modern culture??? :shrug:

Good luck!

[cleofus1]

3. e pluribus unum

american culture is based on diversity...

[tigereye]

5. good grief

what a huge question! What kind of class is this?

[Lady Freedom]

6. COMM 305: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
To identify the difference between intracultural and intercultural communication.
To apply concepts of communication theory to intercultural situations.
To demonstrate interpersonal skills in adapting to intercultural contexts.
To demonstrate sensitivity to language in intercultural transactions.

[Spider Jerusalem]

7. The basis of US culture?

It seems to be taking things from OTHER cultures and bastardising them in the name of making a buck.

[Initech]

8. You can sum up your paper with a gigantic dollar sign.

The basis of American culture is money, there's no ifs, ands or buts about it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Pakledness

[kwassa]

10. America has a culture? What news!

now, just what is it, again?

[Lady Freedom]

That's what I am trying to figure out!

Gee Wiz!! My teacher is really a brain pounder type!!

[Lady Freedom]

11. That's what I am trying to figure out!( See what this has done to me?)

Gee Wiz!! My teacher is really a brain pounder type!!

Edit> This has me posting in doubles!!!

[CatholicEdHead]

12. Money, money, money, and more money

If you want to go that route. From the Spanish and English colonialists out to make profits for their companies, to our breakaway over money (Taxation without representation), to our stealing of native lands for pennies, to slavery to enrich the few, to shoddy Civil War (or war of Northern Agression whatever you call it) products, to the current "military-industrial complex" of endless "war" for profits, to today, money makes the US go round.

[Lady Freedom]

15. But is it? Is that all the U.S is?

What about our belief in self government? And the natural rights of participants in our culture???

[hfojvt]

13. my first thought

is that if I help you with this, by quoting Wendell Berry or something, that it is cheating on the assignment. You are supposed to give "your" perspective of American culture as "you" understand it. There really is no "correct" answer for you to produce. Just try to back up your conclusions with observations.

Either that, or just quote Toqueville - "'more money'. There, in two words, you have the American character."

[Lady Freedom]

14. It is not cheating, we are suppose to ask people and get there opinion.

That is what we are suppose to learn about the intracultural aspects of this class. but I don't have many I can ask face to face due to it being a internet course. So I come to the one place I can talk about this stuff without getting crazy looks. Apparently many John Q. Public I live around thinks this is a wast of time or, in the case of school, that having time to set down and discuss things like this when not in a class room is hard to do. Then my love of my life is having the same problem I am having, this subject is so huge and has so many ways of going.

That is why I like to post these questions here. To get a perspective on what others think of them and then use all of the different information to come up with some sort of a hypothesis to write about.

[hfojvt]

16. then check Wendell Berry's "The unsettling of America"

"If there is one constant in American history it is that sooner or later, every settled population becomes "redskins". That is, they become the designated victims of a subsidized exploitation."

But I am paraphrasing, without any time to look it up. Also, in the "Poverty of Affluence" and "The Acquisitive Society", Wachtel and Tawney say that our society is built on money making as the most important thing. The American ideal is to advance in your career much more than it is about friends and family. But consequently we have alot of lonliness and fear and frustration.