UNIT 1
UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE
OF THE UNITED STATES
0
Main Contents
1. Course Overview
2. Why do we study American Culture and Society?
3. Geography of the United States
4. History of the United States – the Making of the Nations
5. Life in the United States
6. Cultural Pluralism in the USA
1
1. COURSE OVERVIEW
2
1. Course Overview
1.1. Course Schedule
Week Topics
1 Understanding the Cultures of the United State
2 Traditional American Values and Beliefs
3 The American Religious Heritage
4 The American Frontier Heritage
5 The Heritage of Abundance
6 The world of American Business
7 Government and Politics in the US
8 Ethnic and Racial Diversity in the US
9 Education in the US
10 How Americans Spend Their Leisure Time
11-13-15 Presentation
12 American Family
14 American Values at the Crossroads
16 Course Revision
3
1. Course Overview
1.2. Course Resources
Prescribed text(s) and readings
Maryanne Datesman, JoAnn Crandall, Edward N. Kearny (2014). American
Ways: an Introduction to American Culture (4th Edition). Pearson.
Recommended text(s) and readings
Eckhard Fiedler, Reimer Jansen, Mil Jordan-Rích (1998). America in Close-up.
Longman.
Keith Brown et al. (Advisory board) (2005). Oxford Guide to British and
American Culture (New edition). Oxford University Press.
Neil Campbell and Alasdair Kean (2012) American Cultural Studies (3rd Edition).
Routledge.
4
1. Course Overview
1.3. Assessment
Mid-term: Group Presentation (30%)
• 3-4 students per group formed by students
• The topics are chosen by students and designed based on 12 chapters of the
course book “American ways”.
• Students hand in topics (by Week 6) and outline in week 8.
• Students should look for other sources other than the textbook.
• Each presentation will last 15-20 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for Q & A.
Mid-term: Mid-course quiz (10%)
5
1. Course Overview
1.3. Assessment
Final- test: Written test (60%) (60 minutes)
• Mulitple choice questions, Gap-filling
• Open-ended questions
Test date: to be confirmed at the end of the course
6
1. Course Overview
1.4. LMS course guide (download on LMS for more details)
Task 1: Preparing
Task 2: Watching the lecture
Task 3: Discussion
Task 4: Weekly quizzes
Attendance
You need to complete all of the tasks in part A listed to be marked present.
Lack of and poor performance of any task will lead to being absent.
7
American Culture and Society
8
American Culture and Society
9
2. WHY DO WE STUDY
AMERICAN CULTURE AND
SOCIETY?
10
2. Why do we study American Culture and Society?
Culture hides much more than it reveals, and strangely enough
what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants.
Years of study have convinced me that the real job is not to
understand foreign culture but to understand our own.
Edward T. Hall (1914-2009)
11
2. Why do we study American Culture and Society?
What is culture?
12
2. Why do we study American Culture and Society?
13
2. Why do we study American Culture and Society?
• Culture = art, literature, music, architecture, history, religion,
traditions...
• Culture as the way of life of a group of people, developed over
time, and passed down from generation to generation
(Datesman et al., 2014, iv)
• Culture is “not so much a set of things... as a process, a set of
practices”. Culture is about “shared meaning” (Hall, 1997, p.2).
14
2. Why do we study American Culture and Society?
• To broaden cultural and background knowledge
• To understand the context of the conversation, stories, or reading
texts
• To have some common topics to communicate with Americans
• To get some useful information about American education system
and other aspects of American lfife for those who are interested in
studying or working in the USA
• To reflect on and understand your own culture
15
3. GEOGRAPHY OF THE USA
16
3. Geography of the United States
3.1. A Brief Description of the U.S.
FAST FACTS
• OFFICIAL NAME: United States of America
• FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitution-based federal republic
• CAPITAL: Washington D.C.
• POPULATION: 329,256,465
• LANGUAGES: English, Spanish (no official national language)
• MONEY: U.S. dollar
• AREA: 9,826,630 square kilometers
• MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Rocky Mountains, Appalachian
Mountains
• MAJOR RIVERS: Mississippi, Missouri, Colorado
17
3. Geography of the United States
3.1. A Brief Description of the U.S.
18
3. Geography of the United States
3.1. A Brief Description of the U.S.
• The world's third largest country in size
• More than twice the size of the European Union
• Nearly the third largest in terms of population
• Located in North America
• Bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and to the east by the
Atlantic Ocean. Along the northern border is Canada and the
southern border is Mexico.
• There are 50 States and the District of Colombia.
• Each state has its own capital city
19
3. Geography of the United States
3.1. A Brief Description of the U.S.
American Flag
20
3. Geography of the United States
3.1. A Brief Description of the U.S.
American Anthem - The Star-Spangled Banner
21
3. Geography of the United States
3.1. A Brief Description of the U.S.
American Great Seal
22
3. Geography of the United States
3.1. A Brief Description of the U.S.
American emblem – American Bald Eagle
• Chosen in June 20, 1782
• Reasons
long life (~20 years)
great strength and majestic looks
(wingspans 1.8-2.3 m) (mass 3-6.3 m)
exist only on America continent.
• Appears in money, in the Great Seal
• Represents freedom
23
3. Geography of the United States
24
3. Geography of the United States
• Long-range weather
• Well-suited for growing
many crops
• Northern part is colder
than the Southern part
• Annual precipitation
East: 51-152 cm
West: variable but
highest
25
4. HISTORY OF THE USA –
THE MAKING OF THE NATION
26
4. History of the United States-The Making of the Nation
• Pre-Colonial Before 1600
• Colonial America` 1600–1776
• A New Nation 1776–1849
• Civil War and Reconstruction 1850-1899
• Progressive Era and World Wars 1900–1949
• Mid-Century and Cold War 1950–1999
• New Millennium 2000–
27
5. LIFE IN THE
UNITED STATES
28
5. Life in the United States
United States is a nation of immigrants
29
5. Life in the United States
United States is a nation of immigrants
30
5. Life in the United States
United States is a nation of immigrants
31
5. Life in the United States
The change in the immigration patterns in the 21st century
White American of European
• The number declined
• Many White Americans of European origins married Americans
of other origins -> their next generations do not think they are
Irish, German or English.
32
5. Life in the United States
The change in the immigration patterns in the 21st century
Latin America
• In early 2000s, over 50% of immigrants
• Hispanic (16%) > African America (13%)
• 6000 elected Hispanic leaders nationwide
• Historic-own businesses, Spanish-language media
• 20% of Hispanic students at schools
• In 2010, about 30% of immigrants
33
5. Life in the United States
The change in the immigration patterns in the 21st century
Asian
• In 2010, over 35% of 1st generation immigrants (even more
than Hispanic)
• 6% of the whole popularity
• Increased impacts on American culture
34
5. Life in the United States
• Immigrants brought different languages and cultures to America.
• Immigrants also assimilated to the dominant American culture.
• The dominant American culture has survived and also absorbed immigrants’ culture
• Immigrants has contributed to culture diversity in the USA
Ø literature
Ø movie
Ø music
Ø language
Ø religion
35
6. CULTURAL PLURALISM
IN THE USA
36
6. Cultural Pluralism in the USA
37
6. Cultural Pluralism in the USA
• Established around countries to share common languages and
cultures
• Bilingualism and biculturalism
• Maintain ethnic heritage and cultural traditions
• Increased number of interracial marriages
• Be sensitive with language used to describe racial or ethnic group
Black Americans – African American
North Americans – Native American/ American Indian
Hispanics (Spanish speakers) – Latinos
Mexican – Mexican American
38
6. Cultural Pluralism in the USA
Evidence of Racial Acceptance in the USA
39
6. Cultural Pluralism in the USA
Melting Pot Salad Bowl
40
Homework
• Do the exercise on pages 25, 26, 27
• Read chapter 2 (pages 28-34)
41
