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.