Ruth Benedict, one of the first women to earn international
recognition for her work in anthropology and folklore noted, “The purpose of
anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences”. And one major
difference that is observed today is cultural difference. In a fast globalizing
world, one is constantly exposed to different cultures. By sensitizing
ourselves to the different cultures, and also learning from them, “human
differences” are much easier to deal with.
What are we, if
not bearers of our culture? Ethnocentrism is a powerful force, used in the
right way, can unite cultures, rather than separate them. As sociology
students, we explored this very important domain of our lives. Having many
foreign students amongst us, we were exposed to various cultures.
What started out as a “cross-cultural experience and
exposure” tantamounted to something much more: a profound learning
experience too. Students from various countries like Bhutan, Thailand, Korea,
Nepal and Japan enlightened us on their respective country touching upon
several significant areas including Education, Polity, Religion, and overall
social status. We gained essential insights on their cultures. They were
indeed, anthropological ‘informants’ in the truest sense. They were not only
knowledgeable about their culture but also were able and willing to transmit
this knowledge in a comprehensible way to an outsider. As Claude
Levi-Strauss said, “In order for a culture to be really itself and to produce
something, the culture and its members must be convinced of their originality
and even, to some extent, of their superiority over the others” We learnt much about the public welfare
propagandas of Bhutan, the much celebrated self-sufficiency of Thailand, the
importance of education in Korea, the socio-political structure of Japan and
the life-loving culture of Nepal; to name a few. After these students conveyed
all the information they could, the floor was open to a question-answer
session. Students were most enthusiastic to know more about these cultures and
gain more insight. Thus ended the cross-cultural experience and exposure event.
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