Extended Family

Question: What is one practical solution to challenge ethnocentrism within a society? Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's culture and traditions are superior to all others and all others are inferior and should not be taken into consideration. What would be the best way to challenge this and promote cultural understanding?

Answer: Why?

Question: What are ethnocentrism and cultural relativism? With these concepts in mind, why can it be difficult for anthropologists to describe and make sense of what they observe in other cultures?

Answer: because each anthropologist goes in with a subjective opinion in mind. ethnocentrism is favoring and placing your culture over everyone elses while cultural relativism is that we should understand and accept that every ones cultures has customs. with that being said, a male anthrologist may into a culture studying the females roles and saying that they do nothing for the community. while a year later a female anthropolist goes in and says whoah the female in that society cooks, cleans and does the house work. because everyone goes in with a different opinion on how things should/are they look for how they want the things to be in the new enviroment they are going to be in.

Question: I need to ask questions about ethnocentrism, cultural relativism and the relativist fallacy? that will start a discussion in my sociology class as a part of a presentation i am doing.. any suggestions.

Answer: Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to their own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion. Cultural relativism is the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of his or her own culture.Cultural relativism involves specific epistemological and methodological claims. Whether or not these claims necessitate a specific ethical stance is a matter of debate. The relativist fallacy, also known as the subjectivist fallacy, is a fallacy committed, roughly speaking, when one person claims that something may be true for one person but not true for someone else.

Question: Is ethnocentrism an approach to psychology? I was just reading my Psychology textbook, and well I was wondering if ethnocentrism is an approach to psychology.

Answer: No. Ethnocentrism is judging another culture on the basis of one's own. Psychology is the study of and individual's internal psyche, not in relation to others. Ethnocentrism is a concept found in sociology.

Question: Ethnocentrism between social classes of the same ethnicity? Is there such a thing? Does it matter that they share the same ethnicity, even though they are really apart of 2 different cultures? This is particularly concerning 19th century Swedish upper class versus peasants.

Answer: I know very little about Sweden specifically. But in England, traditionally, where virtually everyone was ethnically white, there were several social classes based on economics and social standing. The class structure was hereditary through the 16th to 19th centuries and there was relatively little movement from one class to another. Essentially you were born, lived, and died in one social class. The king and upper aristocracy were at the top, doing no work of any kind, but receiving income from the state. They owned most of the land and went to Parliament often as well as to court. They married other aristocrats, whether from England or from other nations in Europe, and considered everybody else beneath them. If they were educated, it was by private tutors at home. Servants dressed them, bathed them, did their hair, cooked and cleaned for them. They hunted while mounted on horses, dressed in finery, and never got their hands dirty. You can hear what they sounded like by listening to the queen today -- that rather silly high voice with its so-called Received Pronunciation. Then in each county of the country there was another regional accent, which the local spoke in. The middle class was comprised of people who were engaged in business, buying and selling -- the merchants, the factory owners, the ship owners, the people who ran things generally. They occasionally became wealthy enough to marry some member of the aristocracy who had gambled away all their money and needed some moolah and who then married off a destitute daughter in exchange for cash. Thus a few well-heeled middle class folks made it into the upper class, but they were heartily despised and called by the French term "nouveau riche" which means "new rich." Which was supposed to be an insult. They sometimes became educated at what the British called "public schools," which to an American means a private school. In other words, they paid big bucks to go there. Then there was the working class, who still speak with those regional accents, who worked in the factories and in the businesses owned by the middle class, who sailed the ships owned by the other parts of the middle class, and who most decidedly did not get rich doing any of that. They stayed poor all their lives although they worked harder than anybody else. They did not become educated until the 20th century when the government began to use tax money to send them to school. Before that they went to work at the ripe old age of 5 years and kept going until they dropped dead. Which was often very young. And they worked very long hours in between, often as much as 18 hours a day, sometimes more. If you'd like to know more, read the things that Karl Marx wrote, because he was primarily writing about the British workers, oddly enough, even though he was German. Below the working class were the farmers. They had originally worked land that actually belonged to the upper class, thinking that, in a way, it was really their own land. But in the 19th century, the rich folks threw them off that land and so they became utterly destitute. Many flocked to the cities to become the homeless, or the new working class if they were lucky. Others emigrated. Some went to America, some to Australia. And others just died. Each class in England tends to think that it is the "salt of the earth" and should be the ones about whom Jesus spoke in the famous Beatitudes, the ones who should inherit the earth. The rich think they've already inherited the earth and everybody ought to move over and let them have at it. The middle class think they're doing all the work and everybody else ought to hush and let them do the running of the show and not complain about how. the working class think that they do all the real work and nobody should give them orders and the rich and middle class are just parasites and the poor aren't doing their fair share and should be dreadfully ashamed of that. And the poor think nobody cares anything about them and the others have taken all the slices of the pie and left nothing but crumbs and that isn't fair. I lived in England and that's my conclusion.

Question: Is the Canadian Justice system Eurocentric? Is there a sense of ethnocentrism throughout Canada's government? This was asked in one of my lectures today... I'd like to know what you think. Eurocentrism involves addressing others from a broadly defined European culture and assuming that the audience would like to be a part of that culture.

Answer: I guess you could argue that our justice system is somewhat Eurocentric since common law and the code civil are both European. I assume that's not what you were getting at considering most of the world is using one or the other. From our proximity to the US, I think we are actually more likely to have a US-centric justic system, but I don't feel that we do. I believe that our justice system is actually quite heavily focused internally. We are highly concerned with Canadian values and Canadian society. I don't think that Canadian society in general is all that European aside from generally being socialist. I also don't believe that our government is ethnocentric. Canada is a country with such a large immigrant population, and I think our government is actually very accomodating to other cultures and ethnicities. The one exception is Quebec. Quebec is fiercely protective of the Quebecois culture and the french language. The Quebec government makes a considerable effort trying to convert immigrants into french speaking Quebeckers in order to preserve their language and culture. The separatists have some hostility towards citizens who are not "Pur Laine" since they tend to vote No in separation referendums.

Question: What are examples of ethnocentrism in Lord of the Flies? Ethnocentrism is viewing your own culture as more superior to andy other culture.

Answer: Golding’s examination of the human condition is a situated and culturally informed examination. His book is based on ideas that are specific to the cold war of the fifties (Ramanan 29)4 and relies on Darwinian ideas about social struggles (Page 27). Karl Marx criticized Darwin’s ideas for their ethnocentric flavor : It is remarkable how Darwin recognizes among beasts and plants his English society with its division of labor, competition, opening up new markets, “inventions,� and the Malthusian “struggle for existence.� It is Hobbes’ “bellum omnium contra omnes� [war of all against all], and one is reminded of Hegel’s Phenomenology, where civil society is described as a “spiritual animal kingdom,� while in Darwin the animal kingdom figures as civil society (Hubbard 90). While it may be true that animals instinctively struggle against other species for domination of environmental resources, there are other allegedly evolved behaviors that Golding pays little attention to, such as altruism.5 Furthermore, the boys’ reaction to the island is a reaction grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition that gives man the right of dominion over nature: “Eyes shinning, mouths open, triumphant, they savored the right of domination� (Golding 27). If the intention is a critique of Western culture then these Notice that all the characters in the novel are White and British. Ramanan doesn’t really elaborate on this statement, but I agree with it since this era was very fearful of the outbreak of a third World War, an atomic end to our species. This is the context in which Golding situates his novel. Evolutionary theories on altruism have always interested me, because I believe that if there is one human characteristic that has allowed us to be successful as a species, it would be our altruistic tendencies. Human society is at least partially successful because of our ability to care for our weaker members (and not despite it). It has been our ability to divide the work and share the products that allowed us the free time to explore abstract theories and ideas (Suzki). ethnocentric ideas are well placed. However, many cultures do not feel they have the right to dominate Nature, and instead believe humans are to harmonise themselves with nature. As a study of the human condition, Lord of the Flies fails.

Question: In what ways did the ancient Hebrews and Greeks demonstrate ethnocentrism? Please, will someone please anwser this question for me and try and not use big words

Answer: Erm, if you want to see ethnocentrism in ancient Hebrews you couldn't do much better than reading the Old Testament. As for the Greeks, look up the etymology of the word barbarian. It's a good example.

Question: Do you think that not teaching about other religions in schools creates ethnocentrism? In Britain we have to learn about all six major religions throughout secondary school and I think that this helps to ease religious intolerance. I understand in the states that this does not happen and I just wondered whether this creates a narrow minded view about other religions?

Answer: I support a broad based education in religion; the history, political significance, literary and artistic traditions, the formal theology, etc. I don't find instruction in any of those subjects to be a threat to secular governance and society; in fact, quite the opposite. I'd like to see the American electorate more informed about the world's religions, all of them. You are correct about the States; the conflict isn't about teaching religion per se, but about showing favoritism and/or state endorsement to one religion, namely Christianity. As such, the issue becomes a polarizing one, with the proponents on both sides taking an "all or nothing" attitude, and forgetting that there is more to talk about here then just Christianity and secularism. I wish the topic of religion in school was about education, and not politics.

Question: What is the importance of extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles) living close by? How important is extended family to you (personally)? Do you live near your parents and family? How important is that family to you? Do you think a parent function with out family close by? Do you think it effects a child’s well-being emotionally having family around?

Answer: Great question. We lived about 1100 miles from both sets of grandparents until my daughter was about 16 months old. I don't think it hurt her any, but it was painful to watch her shy away from grandma's kisses at Christmas. For almost a year we have lived in the same town as my husband's parents. I thought I would love being so close to family. Admittedly it is great for my daughter, she really really loves to be with Grandma and Papa, but I am still adapting to having them so close (privacy seems to be a thing of the past). In the last year my daughter has become much less shy and has learned many thing socially. I can't honestly say that this was caused by having her grandparents closer, but maybe it helped. Thankfully families who have to live far apart can communicate so easily through telephone, cell phones and e-mail. A new parent can quickly call their mother or father across the country and get the advice and support they need. The distance does make it difficult for a young child to get to know family though.

Question: when did you tell your extended family? i had a m/c back in january so kind of wanted to wait until after the first trimester to tell everyone in our extended family. our immediate family and close friends already know. i will be ten weeks on thursday. so on new years eve i will be 12 weeks, anyways when do you think is safe to let everyone in on our exciting news? THANKS!!! babydust to you all!

Answer: I will be 11 weeks tomorrow and i only told my partner and my mother. I have had 2 m/c before and im so terrified and praying that everything works out ok. I have another sonogram @ 13 weeks and that will be the 30th and im not planning on telling no one until the beginning of the year. Sorry for you loss and Wish you all the luck in the world!

Question: Is it rude to only give christmas gifts to close in-laws and not the the whole extended family? i am very close with my partners dad but not his step mum or step sisters. However i am also very close to my partners Mum and step dad and his brothers and sisters. Is it rude to only give them a present and not the other extend family that i'm not close with?

Answer: Send a Christmas card, wish them merry Christmas. You're golden.

Question: How to say extended family in Japanese? I have to write a children's story for my Japanese assessment, and I can't figure out how to say extended family. I realise that family is Kazoku, but when I mean extended family, I mean the ENTIRE family (aunties, uncles etc.) Thankyou.. :)

Answer: It's shinseki. �ん�� In Kanji, it is 親戚, but children can't read the second character. So 親�� or �ん�� is suitable for your context. Your aunty is �ん������ん. Your uncle is �ん������ん. By the way, the ENTIRE extended family is 親��中 or �ん���ゅ�. If you say �ん���ゅ�������, it means that the entire extended family got together. Incidentally, 拡大家�（�������） is a sociological jargon.

Question: What is an example of a blended, extended, childless, and cohabiting (common-law) family on tv? Looking for specific tv examples of: Blended family (step-family) Childless couple Common-law couple (not married - preferably with children) Extended Family (preferably 2 parents, children, and another family member eg. grandparent, aunt, cousin etc. living together). Modern TV shows are preferred! Thanks! Now I'm just looking for tv shows where a couple is living together but isn't married (preferably not planning to get married either!) They can have kids together or not. Oh, Abby and Larry on Dharma and Greg!!

Answer: ~Blended Family- "Step By Step" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101205/plotsummary ~Childless Couple- "King of Queens" http://www.cbs.com/primetime/king_of_queens/about.shtml ~Common Law- I HAVE NO IDEA! ~Extended Family- "King of Queens" or "Everybody Loves Raymond" (although, they live across street, but are always over) http://www.cbs.com/primetime/everybody_loves_raymond/about.shtml

Question: How are your extended family get togethers on Thanksgiving and Christmas, on a 1-10 scale? The "Holiday Season" is coming. Many people will travel thousands of miles to see people they love or hate. How are the family get togethers for you? On a scale of 1-10 (ten being great), how is it at your family get together? Tell us your family story!

Answer: My Mom was the big family gatherer and has passed on. My Dad,now 80 yrs-hobbles around but won't really drive. That means we must go to his house which his new wife (who I do love but is a pack rat) has taken from a "model home" to a piled junky mess. She also smokes while cooking-ugh! We started a tradition of going camping in the dessert and burying the turkey-we hike and play hide and seek in the rocks at Joshua Tree Natl' Monument. The food comes out great and we have good times-and also avoid being mean to the rest of the family. I arrange a big dinner before Christmas as my BD is in December-we have my parents and brother out and have a great time-that seems to work-so we stick with it.

Question: How can I approch extended family members about donating a kidney to me? I have been on dialysis for 2 years and no one except my younger brother has come forward to offer to donate a kidney to me. My brother was not able to donate because he was the wrong blood type. None of my cousins, aunts or uncles have shown any interest. I feel like I shouldn't have to ask, that they should volunteer. I don't know what to do. Should I ask one on one or just send it out through the family grape vine?

Answer: I would gather your family together and tell them all how much you want to live a dialysis free life where you have a shot at being healthy and one day a mom and wife...... and ask them to help You make your dream come true by getting tested to see if any of them are a match and would be willing to donate a kidney to you as it is usually much more successful with a closely related person as a donor.. As a nurse I am sure there is someone in your family who would be willing to do this for you if they knew it is what you wanted and needed to be happy and healthy. As a nurse I can tell you....Sometimes people just to not think and have to be woken up to the need you have..

Question: How do i show a step child of extended family on a family pedigree/tree? My aunt is married, has a baby with her husband, but also has a child from a previous marriage. How would i show this child in a family pedigree as a part of their family? I know there's some way to draw it but i've forgotten.

Answer: What I've always done is next to the parent that the child belongs to, I put a short line and the childs name. Then you do the usual lines down from the parents and the childs name that they have together.

Question: How often do you talk to your close family and your extended family? Do you ever feel bad for losing touch with your family when you don't call them or something?

Answer: .never

Question: Anyone got any good ideas for a holiday with an extended family of 2 parents and 7 kids? We are an extended family, two adults with 7 children and we wondered if anyone has any ideas for holidays next year. We don't want a butlins type and would prefer to go abroad, possibly France. I can't seem to get anywhere to help with this number of kids!!

Answer: If you can get yourselves there definitely try a camping type holiday in France. Eurocamp has some great sites but they tend to be a bit pricey. We have found Fleur Holidays to be better priced but they don't do so much organised kids entertainment. If you pick the right site that number of kids should entertain each other. The campsite environment is always very safe allowing kids more freedom than at home. Fleur are very helpful to deal with on the phone and can probably accomodate 9 people although you may have to take a small tent to pitch next to your accomodation. I've done that myself. I've taken a variety of ages from 0-17(six of them in total) and they've always had a brill time! Good luck!

Question: Is it wrong to invite some extended family to my wedding but not all? I have 11 aunts with 11 uncles, who each have about 2 grown children who have spouses. This comes to over 50 people just for my side... But I want to have a small wedding. I haven't seen some of this family in many years, but I'm worried it could start a family feud if I don't invite all of them.

Answer: My mom has 8 cousins, all with spouses, all with (mostly) grown children. I'm only going to invite the cousins and their spouses. Then, of those 8 couples, there are only 3 total of their children that I am actually close with. Those 3 will actually get invites. If anyone has anything to say I'm going to be honest. "We couldn't afford to have everyone, so I invited those I'm closest to." Not to mention, I haven't been invited to 3 of the weddings for those children, so why should I include them when they haven't included me? Why not just invite the 11 aunts and 11 uncles. Perhaps you could talk with your parents to see which ones to possibly cut out? In my case, I don't have the option of inviting all 16 cousins/spouses plus their 12 children plus their spouses plus their children! What if they all showed?! And, in my case, they will all show. So I cannot count on inviting them all and getting RSVP for no. If you truly want to keep it very small, just have your immediate family, very close friends, and the 1 or 2 aunts or uncles that have been closest to you your whole life.