History

First Reader: Katherine

Often time we learn about cultures and what aspects causes someone to identify with a certain culture, be we typically don't focus on how that culture came to be. By focusing on history and the past-present/future dialectic, we can learn a lot about why we have certain perceptions of cultures. One of the most noteworthy ways in which we learn about the past is from written histories, which tend to focus on political, intellectual, and social histories. Histories are formulated by narratives, especially that of family, national, and cultural-group histories. Family histories are often passed down orally from previous generations, while national histories are taught in school and help form a strong sense of nationhood. There are also histories that are typically not taught and often left out of historical records, and these are considered absent histories. Power plays a major role in the concept of absent histories because it dictates what is taught and what is withheld. Absent or hidden histories often stem from gender, religion, race/ethnicity, diaspora, colonialism, socioeconomic class, and sexual orientation. For instance, the incarceration and extermination of homosexuals by the Nazi's is often left out of WWII narratives to mold a certain understanding of the past. There are four different antecedents of contact that describe how we bring our own histories into intercultural communication. These elements state that people bring childhood experiences or historical myths to interactions, the languages people speak influence their interactions (people prefer to communicate with people who speak the same language as them), and people tend to be affected by recent events (such as the treatment of Arab Americans in the US following 9/11). The contact hypothesis is the notion that communication between diverse groups will happen simply by bringing them together and allowing them to interact, so long as eight conditions are met. These conditions are that group members must be of equal status, have similar beliefs and values, be represented equally, interact voluntarily, there should be strong institutional support, the contact should have the potential to extend beyond the immediate situation, the program should maximize cooperation and minimize competition, and lastly, the program should advocate individuation among members. Focusing on histories dialectically highlights the importance of recognizing we all bring our own histories to interactions and the role history plays in shaping identities. 

Respondent: Marilyn

History seems like such a basic topic most of the time. We learned different versions of it every year of grade school and it always seemed fairly split between the numbers of kids that cared and the other ones that were asleep while Coach Johnson talked about the civil war for the hundredth time. But as we’ve gotten older, I think history has begun to play a much more important role in our lives. History comes in many different shapes and sizes, but I think in today’s world, national history is the most talked about and most expected of our generation. It’s not a coincidence that all of the movements taking place in the public eye are so familiar. Black Lives Matter, the feminist movement, and gay rights are all a continuation of events that took place in our nations history. Yes, we are able to recognize the progress that has been made since the original civil rights movement, however there are still inequalities in todays world. All of that being said, knowing the national history of our country is crucial in understanding the importance of these movements and the impact they have on their participants as well as the general public. Active participation in movements such as those that I mentioned is a very cultural behavior found in the United States. The United States is an extremely individualistic country, focused on everyone reaching the top and fighting for their beliefs and rights as American citizens. So in short, individualism is a cultural behavior of the United States. One thing we know for sure is that culture is meaningless without history. So, if you were to try to understand the individualistic, freedom seeking, equal rights representation behavior that is the face of the United States, our nations history is the place to start.

Researcher: Kendall 

To understand how the Italian culture became to be itself, a little background is required. In Ancient Rome, Italy was the center of Europe for art and architecture. Italian artist overflowed the state during the Gothic and Medieval periods. And then continued to flourish during the Renaissance period. The Italian culture is based in the arts, family, architecture, music, and most importantly food. As home of the Roman Empire, Italy's culture has continued to shape and evolve since its beginning. However, Italy did not just sprout into a thriving culture one day. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that various city-states that occupied the Italian peninsula, each operating separately, formed together as one. Italy proved to be a difficult place to rule from since it is a central location in the world, thus it underwent many different political changes. Once the Italians had undergone so many different rulers, a trend started to appear. The local families strengthened their hold on their lands and became bound to each other. This is when the idea that family means everything emerged. Italians frequently gathered for meals and allotted time to spend with each other, because of this, a tradition was created and then formed into a culture. Which soon became the backbone of society. Language also plays a huge role in the Italian history, because most cultures communicate their histories through storytelling. After reading the article's below and the text, I can to the conclusion that Italian culture does not have one set form of history, yet many different types: family, national, cultural group, political, and even hidden histories. So the fact that nearly 93% of this culture still speaks their native language, Italian, proves how strong the culture is as a whole. Italian’s have made their mark by influencing their food culture around the world. It could even be considered a form of art to some. But, the difference in Italian’s and the world, is that food is not just about nourishing our bodies, it is life. Each region of Italy offers a different food than the last - their own regional food culture. The Italian culture is unique in so many ways, that I could not begin to touch on every single aspect that influenced it. However, language, art, food, and family prove to have influenced many aspects of their history, in return, their historical presence is shown in the Italian culture today.

References:

Zimmermann, Kim Ann. "Italian Culture: Facts, Customs & Traditions."LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2016. <http://www.livescience.com/44376-italian-culture.html>. 

 "Italy." Culture of Italy. Countries and Their Cultures, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2016. <http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Italy.html>. 

Investigator: Daniel

As an example for this week’s blog theme, I got the opportunity and pleasure to interview someone of Italian heritage. His grandfather migrated to Venezuela, a country which was really attractive to Italians during the Second World War.  I found it pertinent to interview him because his grandfather shared the boat ride with many who instead migrated to Boston, New Jersey, and New York. 

Consequently, in terms of culture, they have the same principles and traditions, in addition to sharing histories which have shaped the way they perceive the world.

I approached him by asking about his grandfather’s histories and how he felt having migrated to a different country. His response was really captivating, he began by elucidating that his grandfather used to tell him about how traveling with his family made his transition to a new country way easier. 

He then explained that his grandfather’s histories were linked to difficult situations, and in difficult times; he migrated in a boat, with his family and thousands of strangers, to a completely different continent, and that taught him that lives can get difficult but with passion and hard work, you need to move on and strive for greatness. In terms of culture, this experience made them acquire different attitudes and values. Nowadays, Italians are well-known as being hard workers and really family oriented people.

In a nutshell, I was able to realize while interviewing him that situations have shaped his grandfather in terms of traditions and values. Those traditions and values are well preserved in his generations, defining them as Italian co-culture members. Grazie Fabrizio for this amazing opportunity to get to know Italian co-culture better. 

Blog Manifesto

Welcome to our lovely blog!! We are so excited to uncover the in's and out's of the Italian culture. Our group is made up of three girls, Katherine Bogar, Marilyn Newberry, and Kendall Johnson, along with one boy, Daniel Bracho. Penne For Your Thoughts will focus on the co-culture of Italians. We hope that by developing our blog throughout the semester it will allow each of us to understand more about Italian's and their way of life, and what it means to be an Italian living in America. In this post, we will share each of our own cultures as a background of where we come from! Sit back, relax, and maybe even enjoy a bowl of penne pasta! ;-)

Katherine

I have never really stopped to think about what my own culture was until now, due to the fact that I didn't think I belonged to a distinctive culture. I grew up in your typical white American household in Houston, Texas and have lived there my entire life. Both of my parents were born and raised in Houston as well, and somewhere along the line their ancestors immigrated here from Europe. I come from a conservative Catholic family with most of my extended family living in Houston as well. Getting together as a family for holidays and special occasions was a big part of my life growing up and made me appreciate the value of family. Unlike my cousins who all attended private Catholic schools their whole lives, my siblings and I went to public schools. Living in inner city Houston and going to public school your whole life teaches you how to interact with people of all different backgrounds. It definitely made me more understanding and accepting of people and taught me to appreciate the uniqueness and diversity of the country we live in. While my culture makes up a lot of who I am today, I identify personally as several things such as an Aggie Communication major who has a passion for traveling the world. While my past has shaped me to have certain beliefs such as the Catholic religion and strong family values, being an Aggie has taught me the importance of hard work and selflessness and my love for travel has broadened my worldview. All of these aspects of my life work together to make up the culture in which I identify with.

Kendall

Culture is an interesting concept to me. Every single person can identify with something different, yet overlap in certain aspects. I identify most with being a white, female, student. I grew up in a traditional home in Georgetown, Texas. A large community, yet tightly knit, to where everyone knows you and your family. My parents were both raised in Texas, along with their parents, but I have Czech and German ancestors. However, even knowing where I come from, I don't identify with those cultures instinctively.  I was raised in a Christian home with two younger brothers. We all attended public school while my parents could be considered "figures" in the community. My mother sat on the School Board during my entire high school career and still is. My dad sat on multiple booster clubs (and occasionally coached) for each of the sports my brothers and I played. I am a second generation Aggie. I am a woman. And I am white. Each of these things define who I am and the cultures I relate to. Being an Aggie means I value honor, loyalty, and pride. Being a woman, I have learned to be confident, purposeful, and selfless. And finally, being white has shown me the different aspects of the world, good and bad. I believe that I align most with these cultures because all of these characteristics were instilled in me growing up.  Culture to me has no hard lines. I feel that culture allows people to relate to one another on a different level because it is the one thing that can’t necessarily be changed yet there still remains free choice. Most of the cultures I align with, like being a woman and being white, I had no say in. However, culture still allows you to choose where you want to belong.

Daniel

Since my childhood, I have always been astonished by culture. Cultural tendencies influence people's feelings, ideologies, and societal issues. People understand and process events based on their culture. However, I have never questioned myself or how I understand my own culture. So here I am, doing my best to try and answer this intriguing question, although I know it is not an easy one. I could begin by saying that I am a Venezuelan, sophomore student at the University of Texas A&M at College Station, but that is not even the tip of a glacier, let alone the heart of the question. As a Venezuelan I can tell you that my culture is the best. For us family comes above everything. We are overly talkative, friendly, and we love to drink alcohol. In fact, we are among the countries with the highest rate of alcohol consumption per capita. In addition, people try to somehow enjoy our country, which is immersed in a political-social chaos. Catholicism is the predominant religion, baseball is the main sport, and we have a lot of cheesy/fancy music genres, which are really popular around the Spanish-speaking countries. Our traditions are heavily influenced by European cultures, principally Spanish and Italian ones – i.e. we have similar traditions as Spanish and Italians. However, our main most prevalent tradition is ringing in the New Year. Everyone gets excited and participates, even my grandmother who doesn’t like alcohol. Moreover, one thing that I have realized is that friendship is  important for us. Friends are the brothers that we can choose and then, one day, become our family. Also, I consider my culture to be the least racist culture, most humble, and collective. I have been living in the United States for three years, two years in the north and one in the south. I am amazed at how cultures vary by cities here in the United States. I am still adapting to the south; however, I will always be a Venezuelan regarding my culture because there is no other culture like it and no matter where I go I will always call Venezuela my home.

Marilyn

I identify with a fairly standard idea of culture in the south. I am a second generation Aggie and I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. I grew up very secure in my Christian faith and I still consistently practice it today. I went to a private Christian school for all of my education before college and was in school with the same group of people form 6^th-12^th grade, so my exposure to different types of people was very limited. I fall under the category many would refer to as a “basic white girl” and I’m fairly “country.” I was raised around military and I am a strong republican. That being said, I do recognize the generational differences in the Republican Party and I do disagree with my parents and other family members on certain beliefs. My family on both sides is all white and nobody married out of that realm. I wouldn’t mind living in Texas for the rest of my life and raising my children around family, but exploring the Northern end of the U.S. sounds interesting. I’ve never really been one too terribly interested in traveling all over the world and I never really had a burning desire to learn more about other cultures but I’m not against it either. I don’t know much about my family’s heritage other than a good amount of German on my mom’s side. If I had to summarize who I am and what identity I have, I am a white conservative Christian woman from the state of Texas.