Culture of English Speaking Countries - Week 1 -  Course Introduction

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 1 of the course Culture of English Speaking Countries for the bachelor's in English teaching at ULACIT. This week we will review the course syllabus, articulate our starting point ideas about culture, define what we mean by English speaking country, and discuss the idea of cultural relativism.

Today's Goals:

• Review the course syllabus, evaluation structure, and calendar of important dates.
• Articulate your starting point ideas and questions about the topics we will explore in the course.
• Discuss the phenomena of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

Guiding Questions:

• How can I become sensitive to the invisible dynamics of culture?
• How does my own culture influence the way I view others?
• What do I hope to learn in this course?

Warm Up: What do you see?

Click on your assigned link below and describe your image to your partners with as many details as possible. Try to determine what are the similarities and diffrences between your images.

• Group A: CLICK HERE
• Group B: CLICK HERE
• Group C: CLICK HERE
• Group D: CLICK HERE

Now, let's consider another image (CLICK HERE). Discuss these questions with your partners. 

• What does this new image make you think about?
• What do you think the artist's message could be?
• How might this image serve as a metaphor for teaching?
• How might it serve as a metaphor for culture?

Task 1: Reconstruct the Poem

Click your group link below and work with your partners to reconstruct the poem then discuss it's significance.

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE
• Group 3: CLICK HERE
• Group 4: CLICK HERE

Task 2: Articulating Our Starting Point Ideas and Questions

We are about to spend 14 weeks discussion the topic of culture generally and cultural aspects of English speaking countries more specifically. Let's begin by articulating what you already know, believe, or wonder about the major questions we will explore in the course. On the last day of class you will review these responses to see how your thoughts have grown.

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE
• Group 3: CLICK HERE
• Group 4: CLICK HERE

Task 3: Cultural Investigation - The Nacirema People

To wrap of this first session, let's analyze a summary of a famous ethnographic case study that is often discussed in most introductory anthropology courses to see what insights it can give us about cultural perspectives. Click your group link, read your text, and discuss the questions. Be ready to summarize the main ideas in your own words when we get back to the main room.

• Part 1: CLICK HERE
• Part 2: CLICK HERE
• Part 3: CLICK HERE

Now let's read some quotes from the introduction to our main textbook, Teaching Culture: Perspectives in Practice. How do these quotes connect with the ideas we just discussed about the Nacirema?

• "Milton Bennett makes the point that ethnocentrism is the natural state for peoples of the world. Our instictive reaction is to assume that our culture, our way of life, is the right one, and that all others are not. Whether we simply tolerate these other ways of life or treat them as enemies, our attitude toward them is essentially the same - ethnocentric."

• "Overcoming these ingrained cultural perspectives, according to Bennett, has to be consciously learned. Developing sensitivity to cultural differences, in other words, does not come naturally (Moran, 2001, p. 7)."

• Cultural Relativism and Ethnocentrism: CLICK HERE

Task 4: Thinking about Culture

Let's take a closer look at some of the important questions to consider at the beginning of this course:

• What do we mean by culture?
• What do we mean by English speaking?

Click the link and follow the instructions:

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

References:

Miner, H. (1956). Body Ritual Among the Nacirema. American Anthropologist. 58(3), 503-507.

Moran, P. (2001). Teaching Culture: Perspectives in Practice. Heinle Cengage Learning.