Introduction to British and American Studies – Presentation Outline Topic: American Beliefs and Values
1- The context of Tradional American values - Tuấn
Phần Người thuyết trình Nội dung
(Trang Slide)
1. The context of Tuấ n (Slide 0)
Tradional American
(Slide 0 - 5)
values
Hi everyone, and thank you for being here. We are from Group 4 and today,
we’re diving into a fascinating topic in country studies: American Beliefs
and Values.
(Slide 1)
Before I start with the topic, there’s some typical questions that many
people have asked to answer but didn't know the answer to. For example:
“Why do so many people want to come and live in the United States? Or
What is so attractive about the American Way of life and the values of the
society?”
These questions are another doubt that will be answered throughout all
the presentations. So let's start!
(Slide 2)
From the beginning of the history of the United States, there has been
diversity. Here you can look at this picture to have better comprehension of
it: There had been Native Americans (aka The Red man) throughout the
North American continent, black slaves brought from African countries
(ancestors of Black people), Spanish settlers (ancestors of Hispanic or
Latino American) in the Southwest, the ancestors of White people like
French missionaries and fur traders along the Mississippi River, Dutch
settlers in New York, Germans in Pennsylvania and, of course the British
colonists, whose culture, eventually provided the language and the
foundation for the political and economic system in the United States.
(Slide 3)
Most early Americans recognized diversity or pluralism as a fact of life
even if some people were not enthusiastic about it. The large variety of
ethnic, cultural, and religious groups meant that accepting diversity was the
only practical choice.
(Slide 4)
Historically the United States has been viewed as the “land of opportunity”,
attracting millions of immigrants from all over the world. The opportunities
they believed they would find in America and the experiences that most
people actually had when they arrived nurtured a unique set of values.
Three traditional reasons why immigrants have been drawn to America: the
chance for individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and material
wealth. Of course in order to achieve these benefits, there were prices to be
paid: self-reliance, competition and hard work. In time, these prices
themselves became a part of the traditional value system.
(Slide 5)
So they were known as Individual freedom and Self-reliance, Equality of
opportunity and Competition, Material wealth and Hard work. These three
pairs of values have determined the unique culture of the United States and
its people.
Next up, my classmate, Mr Hưng will help you look more into the first pair
of American Values.
