4 February 2010
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Posted by miriam under: About Cultural Clash or Tangible Culture; BLOGS .
| I was educated within the spirit that cultural shocks and their implications frame crucial moments of anthropologist’ approaches and that even cultural difference itself is a key question for working as an anthropologist – buy cialis online. Buy cialis online: this idea rests on the insight that qualitative social research/field research necessarily transform and affects the person who undertakes it to a larger extend as well. Buy cialis online: but, after few months, I’m not sure about the concept anymore.Before I arrived in Uganda for conducting “field research” for my Masters’ thesis, I was somehow looking forward to this expected clash.At the same time, I was afraid and excited about the unknown future and how it will affect myself and my ways of knowing/thinking.In order to forestall this question mark, I took Wilhelm Humboldt’s advise serious and measured what caused my fear: First, I completed my personal “pre-cultural-clash-awareness-program”, including a special “how-to-get-used-to-rats-training”, since a colleague told me about rat epidemic in Uganda.
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 Image: Miriam Ebner |
Eventually, entering the “field”, to my great surprise, was a smooth process and implied, in fact, all comforts one can imagine; buy cialis online.In Uganda buy cialis online, regarding your perception of social-, and political realities, it is just up to you whether you keep your eyes closed or not.At least for a middle-class westerner, I would assume.
However, the sheer “reality” finally hit me just few weeks ago, and since then I am not longer able writing a sentence without putting everything into question marks.Briefly summarized, I encountered something indeed different, when I recently visited an orphans’ home in a “slum” region in Kampala, run by a single pastor, which is poorly funded via donations given by occasional visitors of the church.Unfortunately buy cialis online, they lack all basic supply.Just yesterday died one of the children buy cialis online, because it was too late admitted to the hospital.Furthermore, Pastor Henry’s passport was kept as deposit until they can pay the bill; buy cialis online. Buy cialis online: at the same time, many other children are sick as well, partly because “the toilet is full” (the standard justification given).
When I tell my experiences to friends and family at home, I usually get the same answer: “Welcome to reality!”, or: “sad but true” in similar versions, etc. Buy cialis online: well, apparently that is right I “knew” and I have learned of course, that this “reality” exists. Buy cialis online: for years, I studied all the theories, death-ratios, colonial histories and world system analysis-like explanations. Buy cialis online: i even traveled a lot.But the “reality” provided via reading is not reality itself, one should not forget about that; buy cialis online. Buy cialis online: likewise also traveling is rather similar to dancing on the surface, but at the time you stop for longer, you immediately sink deep.In fact, I am wondering, if I can ever live a “normal” life after my return, knowing that every 10 Euro I spend on theater or a simple Pizza could have saved a life; buy cialis online. Buy cialis online: potentially, this experience was the realistic “Watschen” [slap in the face] to recognize reality does not exist in book-like ways I was thinking of.
At the very moment of writing, I am trying to search for a “sense” and “reasons” or even for an underlying plan, which is a rather hard task for an agnostic.I feel anger and I am constantly struggling to cope with this energy for it shall not turn into frustration – buy cialis online.To avoid deep frustration, I keep myself busy, while trying to set up a small project of constructing a chicken’ farm for the orphans’ home for the purpose of offering a chance to work themselves out of the vicious circle of “poverty”.
The experience to lose a child just because of so less money is staggering and shocking.Furthermore, this is the reason, why I’m not sure about the cultural shock concept anymore; buy cialis online.It reinforces buy cialis online, necessarily, the cultural boundaries and is just drifting us further off from the recognition of cultures actual fluid nature.Given the alleged narrow image of the field as rich whites visiting poor browns, means in fact reducing ethics on connectivity to an impoverished debate on how enabled whites “can help” those poor, poor people.
Further, to argue, that it is culture shock that triggers the estimated transformation, means to focus solely on the environment and not on the persons involved. Buy cialis online: it might also touch the old debate between behaviorists and psycho-analysts. Buy cialis online: however, my intention here is not to dig into this debate, which might be out of fashion anyways, but to ask you, my dear reader, about your experience in handling this frustration.Is it a kind of chronic “illness” of people working within the “development business”? Why react people to such spontaneous outbreaks of feelings as it was the oddest thing, particularly a development student can say? Since, we are supposed to be educated and prepared to deal with these issues – buy cialis online. Why do we usually not think about our antiquated methods of field research, or at least deepen our reasoning about the interface towards more “practical relevant” tools?
Is it a problem of responsibility, of ethics, of lacking of involvement, but what about objectivity, about supposed neutral grounds of research?
P.S.: I have not seen one single rat in Uganda since I am here!
Suggestions and Comments!
Miriam EBNER
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- We would like to keep this blog open: Comments will be published instantly.Please be aware that we will delete any comments with racistic or otherwise unethical content and as a consequence the user willl be banned. Buy cialis online: if comments violate any law we will hand over all data for legal prosecution.
- Wir wollen dieses Blog nicht zensurieren, Kommentare werden sofort veröffentlicht.Bitte posten Sie keine rassistischen, verletzenden oder sonstwie unethischen Kommentare – davon distanzieren wir uns; buy cialis online.Solche Kommentare werden gelöscht und die User gesperrt.Sollten Kommentare gegen gültige Gesetze verstossen, werden wir die erforderlichen Daten zur Strafverfolgung weiterleiten.
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10 Comments so far...
Mimi DiMello Says:
10 February 2010 at 2:09 pm.
Dear Miriam,
thank you so much for your touching report and your openness.
I want to ask you if this is your first experience not to say your first shock within “reality”?
I’m asking you because this might be a cause for your anger and your frustration. This does of course not mean that it is a question of “get-used-to-death” especially the death of children due to a lack of basic supply such as care of health!
But it means maybe that your staggering and shocking experience will turn into action and you already mentioned it that you keep yourself busy among other things like the construction of the chicken farm for the orphans’ home.
Your report rose how ever many many important questions we need to discuss.
But I just think that you are on the right way and I want to encourage you to continue your work. Keep on going even when you sometimes doubt and even when it may seem easy to say that from outside and far away from a place where poverty matters but has different outputs.
On one hand your work is crucial for us who are here discussing in this blog whether we are in the field of development or not and on the other hand for the people surrounding you and foremost for the children.
No matter how little steps you think you make I really thank you for sharing your very inner feelings here in public. It needs a lot of courage to do this. And again this is also a crucial step as you already mentioned to discuss the impoverished debate about how enabled “whites” can help poor people everywhere in the world. For me you are a heroine if I may say that.
Due to this very sad record one might ask why are we discussing culture or intercultural issues?
All the best
miriam Says:
15 February 2010 at 7:29 am.
Dear MimiDiMello,
Thank you very much for your warm response, I appreciate it very much!
I would like to emphasize on your last question, since it is in my mind for a long time, as well:
“Due to this sad record one might ask why are we discussing culture or intercultural issues?”
One reason why we are discussing “cultural or intercultural issues” in view of such conditions is culture itself, I guess.
Since I am aware, that using three different approaches of culture in just one sentence does not help to clarify, I would like to focus on the meaning of the third concept of culture and leave the debate between cultural vs. intercultural perspectives and other “functions” of culture (Gürses) aside.
“Human beings are suspended in webs of significance they themselves have spun.” Geertz calls this webs “culture” and while doing this, culture sets out to systematically engage with the webs of significance that people create by themselves. Shortly, the intercourse of the notion “culture” means a certain culture which is carried out by certain actors.
Which is, in fact, a “luxury” privilege we all share in this blog!
“Luxury” not in terms of cultural achievements (this is another debate), but in terms of materialistic conditions: Having the resources to bring, first of all, oneself in a surrounding where our amorphous boundaries of “identity” are challenged, and further, to think about it, is a precondition not many people can share
Besides the discourses about culture, culture, as a diverse and multi-dimensional space, nevertheless can help, as a tool, to connect and negotiate between different aspects of human life and humans. This blog is a good example for such a cultural manifestation.
But on the other hand, by mentioning manifestation and in view of the orphans’ home, it is sometimes rather hard for me to grab this positive notion of culture, since it denies any “exit strategies”.
And this is exactly what I’m searching for: Other centers of reference!?
Mimi DiMello Says:
1 March 2010 at 12:17 pm.
Dear Miriam,
Thanks again for the interesting ideas.
I guess you are right to think that discussing intercultural issues is somehow “luxury” in terms of lack of recourses for many people on our planet and not only in the so called developing countries. Do I understand well that if such resources are available one might start philosophising and discussing for example interculturality?
I’m really curious how other participants in this blog think? Is it true that poverty held us away from discussing about other things than how and where to get food for the next day? Or what can help to get out of poverty, have a better life and better conditions?
This might sound naive but I’d like to discuss it here.
regards,
Sara Crockett Says:
5 March 2010 at 6:26 am.
Dear Mimi and Miriam,
I am new to blogging, and am still not exactly sure how it differs from a bulletin board or email, other than it seems rather like an on-line conversation. I have read your posts, and found the topics very interesting (albeit saddening). Although I have not had anything like the experience Miriam is having, I have travelled to many countries (it is true..travelling is much different than living) and seen many life conditions.
Each time I return to Austria from visiting a country where clean water, sanitation, healthy and abundant food, clean air, and other what we consider “basic” resources are NOT available, I am struck by the abundance of these resources in this country. An issue that has been concerning me greatly this past year is, “Why, if most of the inhabitants of this country are not living in poverty, have what would be termed by many members of the world as a good life and living conditions, are so many people here patently unhappy?” On the weekend, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and it was just gorgeous…but so many people were walking around on the streets of Graz with long faces and unhappy, depressed eyes. In the tram and on the bus, I heard only people complaining. I didn’t understand it.
When I first moved here, I thought that this was something temporary, or that my impressions were exaggerated due to homesickness (emphasizing the negative aspects of living in a new culture). Then, I thought that I was simply encountering an unhappy or negative subset of people (and I have met several people here who are generally positive in their outlook). However, I have been here for more than 5 years now, and have come to realize that complaining and negativity seem to be endemic to the population. A typical example of this: I mentioned to my neighbor that it was a truly beautiful day on Saturday. She said, “Yes, but it will turn cold next week and be awful and cold again. ”
One aspect of culure clash that I would like to discuss is, how to deal with aspects of the culture that you can not seem to reconcile with your own feelings or cultural background? As wonderful as life in Austria is, I am finding this negativity very depressing.
Best,
Sara
miriam Says:
9 March 2010 at 12:10 am.
Dear Mimi and Sara,
Thank you very much for sharing your interesting thoughts and comments. I was thinking about your questions for a while and I am looking forward to discussing them further.
Mimi replied to my argument, that discussions about culture are a luxurious privilege, by raising the question of an interlinkage between material preconditions and the preconditions in order to philosophize. Generally, I would assume that philosophical thinking in the sense of wondering about principles of nature, reflecting and identifying oneself, our position in, and perception of life etc. does universally exist within every context. One can indeed encounter it in various cultural and social settings, since it seems to me, at least, as being an essential part of human being.
Nevertheless I would like to dwell on a particular difference regarding the material circumstances and the scope of questions. Essentially, the “discussion of discussions” presets a vast knowledge of academic discourses and Histories of ideas, which I call a luxurious privilege. However, the philosophical essence, i.e. existential questions, might be the same around the globe in terms of wondering about. Indeed, suffering from hunger or any other lack of basic need supply might keep us off from thinking about anything else except satisfying basic needs. But even if we are not fully able to ask such questions in indigent moments, at the time our body gets regenerated again such questions might return in an even more pressing way. My argument here is, that extreme/severe existential conditions, either materially or psychologically, eventually rather push to, than prevent us from philosophizing. Furthermore, I think what displays my point, are people in need of such borderline experiences, manifested, for instance, in such grotesque and paradoxical life styles as pursuing extreme sports or being a workaholic, etc.
The perception of poverty as relativistic, implying hardly any possibilities of comparison, is the link to Sara`s question about the modern paradox of well-fed people feeling unhappy in all abundance. Can we all agree that material accumulation alone will not satisfy us comprehensively? Particularly in Austria, there is maybe a sophisticated culture of complaining and some people are even proud of it. I completely agree on this point with Sara. In such moments of trying to understand and searching for underlying values, the saying of my philosophical grandmother always comes to my mind: You cannot change anybody else before having changed yourself first. Especially in the context of inter-culturality I deem her saying highly valuable. Further, I think a certain incline to openness, reflection and willingness to change oneself, is the most important prerequisite for the challenges of our time. Referring to what I tried to point out in the previous article on cultural clashes, an adequate consideration of ourselves, is not an easy task, probably not even always feasible. To observe a socio-cultural setting as being neither detached from oneself nor as a homogenous “outside”, enables us proactively to gain an impact within this fluctuative complex system of connectivity (culture?).
Why pointing out differences between people and environments rather than common aspects? Why discussing cultural and not human issues? How to identify oneself without delineate oneself?
All the best,
Miriam
Sara Crockett Says:
15 March 2010 at 12:22 pm.
Dear Miriam and Mimi,
Thank you for your very interesting (and deeply philosophical) discussion points. It seems that we are touching on several issues (both surface and intrinsic) that influence our perception of culture on a daily basis. I considered Miriam’s three questions at the end of her last post, and felt that these are very important questions to consider as a “Researcher on the Move,” the main focus of our blog.
Perhaps one thing to first consider is that the perception of the culture in which you are living is colored inevitably by the length of time that you spend (or plan to spend) there. Some researchers are spending a very brief period of time in another culture (say less than 3 months), while others are there for a longer period (2-4 years…) or perhaps are even uncertain as to whether they will ever return to their native culture, or move to an entirely different one.
Researchers in the first two positions might focus their energies upon the commonalities between their home cultures and the foreign culture, simply to make their stay more “comfortable.” This is not to say that all aspect of the foreign culture that are different will be uncomfortable or unpleasant, but simply to remark that there is an aspect of adjustment needed in these cases. These adjustments take varying amounts of mental and spiritual energy. Similarly, they may focus on human issues that unify us, rather than culture issues that may highlight our differences. And, depending on the length of their temporary stay, they may encounter no difficulties holding on a strong sense of their personal identity.
However. Those researchers (or in general persons) who choose to make their home in a foreign country and culture, or for whom the stay is of an undetermined length, face different challenges. As with the previous two groups, their stay begins with an examination of what is similar between the home and foreign cultures. Differences are noted, absorbed and processed. A gradual adjustment is made to cultural differences, where this adjustment does not require forfeiting personal values that have been established in the home culture. Some of the differences are highly positive, while others are more difficult to accept, or may even not be understandable enough to be at first either perceived or adjusted to.
I think that any person who falls into this third category gradually realizes (if they did not already know) that people around the world in every culture have particular needs and characterstics, and that there are certain issues that concern us all. Then comes the question of self-identity. Most persons who choose to live in another culture have a strong sense of self, and are often slightly older when they move (which means that they have had more time to “find themselves,” so-to-speak). As a researcher, they need to establish themselves professionally in the new culture, which may mean operating in a system with which they are not familiar, or in which they do not know/understand all the “rules.” As a person, they need to maintain a sense of self and cultural identity. This latter point is the sticky one, from my perspective, as the longer I remain in a foreign culture the less I identify with my home culture, and yet I feel (simply due to the way the society operates) I will never truly be accepted as a member of the culture here. The question is not really, “how does one not delineate oneself?”, it is “how does one deal with the fact that the society itself delineates (boxed and shelved) you?” How does one find acceptance and happiness under these conditions (both personally and professionally?)
Best,
sara
corinne Says:
17 March 2010 at 11:06 am.
Dear Miriam,
thank you so much for your interesting report!
When reading this report, especially your questions, I must say that I did wonder about this, too.
I had my personal cultural clash when I was travelling through Rajasthan, India. Of course my situation is not comparable to the experiences of people working in the fields of development aid. During the journey I moved in a “protected space”. Within a group we were travelling with our own bus, our own bus driver, lived in high standard hotels, had enough to eat and to drink. We visited all famous sites you have to visit as a tourist. Often our group had to walk a little through the streets in order to reach religious or historical sites. On the one hand it was amazing to see, smell and hear the real life in India’s cities, but on the other hand we met a lot of beggars, especially begging children. Ok, of course we expected those situations, but the really worst thing I have ever seen, were the beggars, mutilated on purpose. In order to cover their living costs parents mutilate their children on purpose. It was really horrible to see the real life of those people. I don’t know how to handle that. Of course I don’t think about those experiences every day, but I never forget those scenes. We have to find a way to live with those feelings.
I am glad to be born in Austria. What I can do to make the world better is to use our common resources sparingly, to be vigilant about my personal ecological footprint.
Best,
Corinne
miriam Says:
22 March 2010 at 11:25 am.
Dear Sara and Corinne,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience and thoughts with us!
Corinne, I can truly imagine how you felt in that moment standing in front of the beggars. You probably felt ashamed and somehow responsible at the same time, like I did for several times. However, in such moments questions about the sense of pitifulness appeared to me. How does my pitifulness help the, as pitiful considered, person? Isn’t pitifulness a kind of manifestation of power relations? Isn’t it an arrogant point of view where from you look down on somebody else, whom you do not know a bit? Or are these questions just an attempt to escape from such uneasy situations, where we are supposed to be in the position to change something? In this sense, I always came to the point asking myself why am I encountering such a situation? What does it tell me? How can I learn from it? At least the minimum we can do. As you did, considering your eco-friendly way of life.
Sara, you raised a very interesting issue I would like to further discuss: You stated, that you would never be truly accepted as a member of the culture here (in Austria?). May I ask you how you define being a member of a culture? Are there any measurable indicators of integration in that sense? Contrarily, do you think it is a matter of perception of your own role in a society/ culture? Hence, is it possible to actively take part in society/culture through changing your perception of it, e.g. viewing the society as a dynamic set of relations among people? Isn’t it a positive development to lose a little of your “own” culture tagging on your breast, in order to open up a little for new things?
I’m very curious about your experience, since I asked myself these questions in Uganda again and again. I have been the “Mzungo” (white person) and could not get rid of it. But I thought if I would stay longer it would not be a problem and the feeling of being an outcast would vanish as well. Is this point of view too idealistic in your opinion?
Regards,
Miriam
mujito Says:
22 March 2010 at 3:12 pm.
Dear Miriam,
I nearly cried when I stood in front at Shoprite at the Clock Tower in K`la and saw a child of about 1 year playing at the edge of the road while the mother was sleeping in the dust on the sidewalk just beside.
To know that you can not change anything and to accept can drive you crazy. Anyway do what you can and you will earn so many smiles from children.
To see children die is cruel but instead of questioning development try to think how to prevent it with the work you do.
Stay well and enjoy the company of so many wonderful people in the pearl of Africa. And be aware that you will always be the Muzungu and the visitor.
mujito
Kylie Batt Says:
19 May 2010 at 2:55 am.
По моему мнению Вы допускаете ошибку. Могу это доказать….
This idea rests on the insight that qualitative social research/field research necessarily transform and affects the person who undertakes it to a […….
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