American Cultural Patterns

American Cultural Patterns
Author: Edward C. Stewart
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2011-06-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0983955832

A fully revised edition of the seminal classic This classic study was originally written by Edward Stewart in 1972 and has become a seminal work in the field of intercultural relations. In this edition, Stewart and Milton J. Bennett have greatly expanded the analysis of American cultural patterns by introducing new cross-cultural comparisons and drawing on recent reseach on value systems, perception psychology, cultural anthropology, and intercultural communication. Beginning with a discussion of the issues relative to contact between people of different cultures, the authors examine the nature of cultural assumptions and values as a framework for cross-cultural analysis. They then analyze the human perceptual process, consider the influence of language on culture, and discuss nonverbal behavior. Central to the book is an analysis of American culture constructed along four dimentions: form of activity, form of social relations, perceptions of the world, and perception of the self. American cultural traits are isolated out, analyzed, and compared with parallel characteristics of other cultures. Finally, the cultural dimentions of communication and their implications for cross-cultural interaction are examined.

Beneath the Tip of the Iceberg

Beneath the Tip of the Iceberg
Author: Darla K. Deardorff
Publisher: University of Michigan Press ELT
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: English language
ISBN: 9780472033331

This textbook addresses the parts of U.S. American culture that are hard to see and teach--the beliefs and values of the people of the United States. Because learning a language also involves learning about a culture, Beneath the Tip of the Iceberg introduces students who are new to the United States to the deeper levels of U.S. American culture and provides a stimulating springboard for discussions regarding culture, beyond knowing about U.S. holidays or historical events. The main purpose of this textbook is to help students gain a deeper understanding of general U.S. American cultural patterns beyond what they may see portrayed on TV or in movies--in order to be more effective and appropriate in their interactions with others in their communities. In addition to helping students hone their intercultural competence, the textbook offers practice activities to improve reading, vocabulary, writing, and speaking skills in English. It also includes activities that will encourage interactions outside of the classroom. Each unit includes stories from people from all geographic regions of the United States, representing people from both urban and rural areas and a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Made in America

Made in America
Author: Claude S. Fischer
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 523
Release: 2010-05-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0226251454

Our nation began with the simple phrase, “We the People.” But who were and are “We”? Who were we in 1776, in 1865, or 1968, and is there any continuity in character between the we of those years and the nearly 300 million people living in the radically different America of today? With Made in America, Claude S. Fischer draws on decades of historical, psychological, and social research to answer that question by tracking the evolution of American character and culture over three centuries. He explodes myths—such as that contemporary Americans are more mobile and less religious than their ancestors, or that they are more focused on money and consumption—and reveals instead how greater security and wealth have only reinforced the independence, egalitarianism, and commitment to community that characterized our people from the earliest years. Skillfully drawing on personal stories of representative Americans, Fischer shows that affluence and social progress have allowed more people to participate fully in cultural and political life, thus broadening the category of “American” —yet at the same time what it means to be an American has retained surprising continuity with much earlier notions of American character. Firmly in the vein of such classics as The Lonely Crowd and Habits of the Heart—yet challenging many of their conclusions—Made in America takes readers beyond the simplicity of headlines and the actions of elites to show us the lives, aspirations, and emotions of ordinary Americans, from the settling of the colonies to the settling of the suburbs.

The Jazz Cadence of American Culture

The Jazz Cadence of American Culture
Author: Robert G. O'Meally
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 696
Release: 1998
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9780231104487

"The Jazz Cadence of American Culture offers a wide range of eloquent statements about the influence of this art form on our world ... a comprehensive collection of [35] essays, speeches and interviews about the impact of jazz on other arts, on politics, and on the rhythm of everyday life."--Back cover.

Routledge Handbook of Strategic Culture

Routledge Handbook of Strategic Culture
Author: Kerry M. Kartchner
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 515
Release: 2023-10-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000956350

This handbook offers a collection of cutting-edge essays on all aspects of strategic culture by a mix of international scholars, consultants, military officers, and policymakers. The volume explicitly addresses the analytical conundrums faced by scholars who wish to employ or generate strategic cultural insights, with substantive commentary on defining and scoping strategic culture, analytic frameworks and approaches, levels of analysis, sources of strategic culture, and modalities of change in strategic culture. The chapters engage strategic culture at the civilizational, regional, supra-national, national, non-state actor, and organizational levels. The volume is divided into five thematic parts, which will appeal to both students who are new to the subject and scholars who wish to incorporate strategic culture into their toolbox of analytical techniques. Part I assesses the evolving theoretical strengths and weaknesses of the field. Part II lays out elements of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the field, including sources and components of strategic culture. Part III presents a number of national strategic cultural profiles, representing the state of contemporary strategic culture scholarship. Part IV addresses the utility of strategic culture for practitioners and scholars. Part V summarizes the key theoretical and practical insights offered by the volume’s contributors. This handbook will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, defense studies, security studies, and international relations in general, as well as to professional practitioners.

African-Centered Pedagogy

African-Centered Pedagogy
Author: Peter C. Murrell Jr.
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2002-02-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780791452912

Integrates the historical, cultural, political, and developmental considerations of the African American experience into a theory for the educational achievement of African American children.

American Culture in the 1930s

American Culture in the 1930s
Author: David Eldridge
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2008-10-08
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0748629777

This book provides an insightful overview of the major cultural forms of 1930s America: literature and drama, music and radio, film and photography, art and design, and a chapter on the role of the federal government in the development of the arts. The intellectual context of 1930s American culture is a strong feature, whilst case studies of influential texts and practitioners of the decade - from War of the Worlds to The Grapes of Wrath and from Edward Hopper to the Rockefeller Centre - help to explain the cultural impulses of radicalism, nationalism and escapism that characterize the United States in the 1930s.

The Marines, Counterinsurgency, and Strategic Culture

The Marines, Counterinsurgency, and Strategic Culture
Author: Jeannie L. Johnson
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2018
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1626165564

The US Marine Corps has traditionally been one of the most innovative branches of the US military, but even it has struggled to learn and retain lessons from past counterinsurgency wars. Jeannie L. Johnson looks at the clash between strategic culture and organizational learning through the US Marine Corps's long experience with counterinsurgency. She first undertakes a fascinating examination of what makes the Marines distinct: their identity, norms, values, and perceptual lens. To do this, Johnson uses an innovative framework for analyzing strategic culture. Next, she traces the history of the Marines' counterinsurgency experience from the expeditionary missions of the early twentieth century, through the Vietnam War, and finally to the Iraq War. She shows that even a service as self-aware and dedicated to innovation as the US Marine Corps is significantly constrained in the lessons-learned process by its own internal predispositions. Even when internal preferences can be changed, ingrained biases endemic to the broader US military culture and American public culture create barriers to learning.