The purpose of this paper is to research a cultural practice in a culture other than your own and then to compare it to its counterpart in your own culture.
Part I: Explain the culture and the cultural practice you have chosen (2-3 pages)
Begin by identifying the culture that you have chosen, where the people who belong to this culture live, how they live, and a brief overall sketch of their cultural context (economy, religion, gender relations, class structure, traditions, etc.). Be sure to specify a given time period – when the culture existed as you are describing it. If most of the people no longer live this way, be sure to state this and to use the past tense. If certain aspects that you are describing are still being practiced today, make this clear.
Then identify and describe a particular practice or aspect of this culture. You may choose one of the cultural practice options provided in class or talk with Dr. Mundell if you have a different idea you’d like to research. Be sure to make your topic specific and to describe how this aspect of culture relates to other parts of the cultural system. Part I should be written in the third person. Critique your sources and mention any particular perspectives or limitations the authors may have.
For Part I, you will need to use at least one peer-reviewed, academic article and a source written by someone from that culture, if possible. If you cannot find a first-person source, use a second peer-reviewed, academic article. (See grading rubric below for more information about sources.)
Part II: Compare/contrast this practice with a similar practice in your own culture
(2-3 pages)
Identify the culture in which you were raised. (Be specific: what part of the country are you from; did your family adhere to strict traditions; did you move or grow up in the same place/subculture). Remember that you do have a culture; instead of referring broadly to Anglo-American culture be specific about your culture/subculture insofar as it has shaped the cultural practice that is the topic of your paper. For example, if you are comparing/contrasting shamanism among the Yavapai Indians of Arizona with your own religious tradition, and you grew up attending a Pentecostal church, be sure to identify your specific church and spiritual beliefs rather than referring generally to Christian beliefs.
Identify the counterpart that you are using in your own culture for comparison and contrast. Then develop a point by point comparison and contrast that refers back to the practice you described in Part I. Be sure to describe your own culture as analytically as possible. You need to use at least one, peer-reviewed academic source for describing your own culture. When appropriate, apply ideas, concepts, and vocabulary from this course to make your comparison.
Sources
Your paper should include the following sources, cited in APA, MLA, or Chicago style. (Any of these are acceptable as long as you are consistent).
At least one peer-reviewed source (books, journal articles, or chapters in edited volumes) describing or analyzing the culture you are studying.
If possible, one first-person account of the culture you are studying (book, article, story, poem, film, interview, etc.). If you cannot find a first-person account, you may use a second academic source.
One peer-reviewed, academic source about your own culture for comparison.
In addition to these sources, you may use information from newspaper articles, popular magazines, history or other social science texts, or conversations/interviews with knowledgeable people. Ask your TA or Dr. Mundell for help if you have difficulty finding peer-reviewed sources or have a question about the reliability of a source.
Sources should be noted in the text using in-text citations. For example:
Cite information from texts in this manner:
The Trobriand Islanders have a matrilineal society (Malinowski, 1961).
Cite direct quotations as follows:
The difficulty of life in the Alto de Cruzeiro has fostered what Nancy Scheper-Hughes calls, “the morality of triage” (Scheper Hughes, 1989, p. 45).
All sources should be listed in a full bibliography (not a list of URLs). Avoid long quotations; quotes of more than a few sentences should be paraphrased in your own words. If you have questions about bibliographic style, please consult online resources such as the Purdue Online Writing Lab, which includes links to APA, MLA, and Chicago style guides.
Critique of Sources
Your paper should include a brief discussion of the strengths and/or limitations of your sources. You might comment on the credibility of the source, its age, or its relevance for your particular topic. You may write this as a stand-alone paragraph in your paper or incorporate your critique into the main body of the paper, when you cite the source. Another option is to include this critique in your bibliography, as a 1-2 sentence annotation for each source listed.
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