Spotlight on Students: Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism

The following post features exemplary work from my SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology students.  For this assignment on cultural relativism & ethnocentrism they were tasked with a hypothetical situation involving a foreign exchange student who slurped a meal in a public place. Please acknowledge the hard work by letting them know how well they did and how much you enjoy their work.  :)

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By Ariauna Carver

In this assignment I am asked to assist an international Asian student learn about the American culture. The student and I go to visit one of my favorite restaurants. As we are eating, I notice the student is loudly slurping the food. Many people in the restaurant start to stare and make rude comments about the student to themselves.  The student looks around in confusion and asks “Why isn’t anyone complimenting the chef?” He then goes to explain that in his country slurping food is not rude, it shows appreciation for the cook. This happening is an example of people’s different viewpoints on things outside of their culture.

There are two ways of viewing differences between cultures: cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. According to Ember at el. (2015), cultural relativism is defined as the “Position that the values and standards of cultures different and deserve respect”. This basically means that one is understanding and empathetic of one of a different culture. A person with a culturally relativistic outlook is aware and considerate of the fact someone of a different culture may do “odd” things because of his or her different upbringings and morals. Also, according to Ember (2015) ethnocentrism is “the tendency to view one’s own culture as best and to judge the behavior and beliefs of culturally different people by one’s own standards.” Indifference from one with a culturally relativistic viewpoint, a person with an ethnocentric outlook would be much more “cut-throat”. Ethnocentric people evaluate other cultures and closely relate and compare other cultures to their own. This point of view can be very judgmental.

In relation to the situation at hand, a person with a culturally relativistic viewpoint would be more understanding of the loud slurping. Those in the restaurant who simply observed the action most likely had this viewpoint. They obviously saw that the student was Asian, and probably assumed that he did not know any better and was unaware of the fact the loud slurping was inappropriate here in America. If someone had a culturally relativistic viewpoint, they would probably ask themselves questions like “Maybe in Asia, the loud slurping is normal?” or “Does the slurping symbolize something positive?”

Indifference, the people in the restaurant who said rude comments like “What do you expect from foreigners?” or “Eat like a normal human!” are considered ethnocentric. This group of people are more close-minded when it comes to adjusting to the differences between various cultures. These people did not stop to consider the fact he was possibly ignorant to the fact he was eating without manners. In this situation, an ethnocentric would react in a stern manner, only considering their expectations of how someone show behave.

Reflecting upon the situation, in all honesty, I would most likely react as an ethnocentric. I am very uneducated when it comes to the norms of other cultures. This is one of the reasons why I am not big fan of traveling. I would hate to come to someone’s homeland and unknowingly behave disrespectfully because I did not know the expectations of his or her culture. I feel the same way in vice versa. I feel that foreigners should observe and ask questions before doing certain things here in America. If I were in a restaurant trying to enjoy my meal and looked over to see an Asian person, or any person slurping their food, I would most likely have rude remarks and comments toward them as well.

In conclusion, a person with a culturally relativistic viewpoint would most likely be more understanding of the Asian student’s behavior at the dinner table. A person with an ethnocentric viewpoint would expect the student to behave as an “normal human being” or simply with manners. I feel that the world, including myself, could learn a lot from the culturally relativist community.

References 

Ember, C. R., Ember, M. R., Peregrine, P. N. (2015). Anthropology, 14th Edition. Pearson 688p.

By Mara Caudel

To understand the rest of the paper I will first define ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. According to authors Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, and Peter N. Peregrine, cultural relativism is “the attitude that a society’s customs and ideas should be viewed within the context of that society’s problems and opportunities” (230). In my own words, this means people should first get to know the other culture before they make judgments based on their own culture and ideas. This is different from ethnocentrism. The authors define it as, “the attitude that other societies custom and ideas can be judged in the context of one’s own culture” (229). To me, this means that people are quick to judge and believe that other cultures should be the same as theirs. The people in the restaurant making the rude comments were behaving in this way.

            As stated previously several customers thought it was rude for the student to be slurping his food loudly. They thought that he should know how to eat like a decent human being. In their eyes decent humans do not slurp and make loud noises while eating. They did not bother to ask about his customs; they just assumed it was because he was a foreigner. This type of attitude is ethnocentrism at its finest. Being totally closed minded about how other cultures do things is how people become ethnocentric. This type of thinking can cause people to look down on cultures that are not their own. This type of interpretation is negative and can be degrading to other cultures. Although several people at the restaurant where ethnocentric, there may have been some people who looked at it in a better way.

            A better way to look at this scenario is through cultural relativism. If someone interpreted it in this way, he or she would consider that in the Asian student’s culture it is ok to slurp while eating. They still may not agree that slurping is something that should be done, but they will not think less of him because of it. This type of person is open minded about other cultures even if he or she does not agree with the culture. This way of thinking is a positive way to look at the scenario.

I was surprised by how the international student was eating and stated to get offended. Once he told me what they did in their country it made more sense. He was just trying to tell the chef that he enjoyed the food. For me in this scene, I was first ethnocentric, but once I realized why he was slurping I looked at it via a culturally relativistic viewpoint. I did not realize that in other cultures it was acceptable to slurp. In his culture, it was not just accepted but was seen as rude to not slurp. I learned that day that other cultures are not the same as mine, but just because of that does not mean I should base conclusions based on my culture and beliefs. Each culture has a way of doing things, and to think how my culture does things is the best and only way is very close-minded and rude. 

To conclude, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are to different views. In the scenario people, could view the international student using ethnocentrism or cultural relativism. The customers who did not bother to understand his culture where ethnocentric. The customers that used cultural relativism accepted that not all cultures are like their own. I believe this is how everyone should look at other cultures that are different from their own. If more people did this in the world today, we would have a better understanding of other cultures and would be more accepting of people who are different from ourselves.

Work Cited

Ember, Carol R., Melvin Ember, and Peter N. Peregrine. "Chapter 12 Culture and Culture Change." Anthropology. 14th ed. NJ: Pearson Education, 2015. 225-55. Print.

By Sarah Gardner

As per the storyline, I am helping an Asian international student to become acclimated to American life and culture. This being America, naturally the first thing that we head out to do is eat. Whilst at the restaurant, my new friend begins to noticeably slurp the food. The other patrons find this unappealing and make condescending and rude comments. The student then explains that where he is from it is a way to compliment the chef and that the polite thing to do is to audibly enjoy the food. He is baffled as to why no one else is complementing the food (slurping). In this assignment, I will illustrate two very different attitudes/approaches that can be applied to this situation and also examine my own knee-jerk reactions to it.

            This situation can be managed in two very different ways with two very different perspectives: ethnocentrism or cultural relativism. The textbook, Anthropology, defines ethnocentrism as, “The attitude that other societies’ customs and ideas can be judged in the context of one’s own culture” (Ember et al. 519). Conversely, cultural relativism is a vastly different mindset and defined in Anthropology as, “The attitude that a society’s customs and ideas should be viewed within the context of that society’s problems and opportunities” (Ember et al. 518).

            An ethnocentric interpretation of this interaction measures the Asian international student’s actions against the cultural norm of American behaviors and ideals. The slurping is deemed disgusting and insulting because it is simply not what we do here. It is automatically assumed that the student has bad manners or a poor upbringing because he is not behaving appropriately. The belief that our own customs and culture is the highest standard or the only right way leads to a line of thinking that anything that deviates from it is not good enough or somehow just wrong. The negative comments of the people at the restaurant show that they are being very intolerant and closed-minded.

            On the other hand, a culturally relativistic interpretation of this scenario would not be so quick to judge, but instead would try to understand the cultural differences. Instead of a reaction of immediate disgust, the people in the restaurant can react with polite curiosity. They can talk to the foreign student and ask why he is slurping. They can listen and appreciate the cultural variations. Lastly, they can then explain that slurping is not the custom here and perhaps suggest an alternative way of complimenting the chef. This method of interaction has far fewer negative connotations. In the end everyone involved ends up learning something new, becoming more open-minded, and maybe even more tolerant in general.  

            Initially, my personal reaction was ethnocentric in nature, but after knowing the whole story I find that I would like to have reacted in a more culturally relativistic way. Chewing noises are a major pet peeve of mine and I find them particularly annoying and unpleasant, so my first reaction is to firmly say, “Yuck!” After viewing this interaction in a culturally relativistic way, however, I find that I need to moderate my responses and take more time to become involved and understand the situation before I make any snap judgments.

I think we could all benefit from taking a little more time to really understand what is going on in any given situation before firmly forming any opinions or assumptions. I think that many inter-cultural misunderstandings and unpleasant situations, in particular, could be avoided if all of the individuals involved slowed down enough to really realize what is going on. The example with the hijab from class immediately comes to mind. Americans tend to see this as a form of oppression, whilst many Muslim women view it as a religious right and personal preference. So much animosity could be eliminated between the two groups if only they would strive to see the situation from the other person’s point of view (i.e. in a culturally relativistic way).        

Works Cited

Ember, Carol R., et al. Anthropology. 13^th ed., Prentice Hall, 2011.

 

To learn more about cultural customs related to food consumption please visit this informative blog post.