What is an American Identity?
People say that we are living in the modern era. The American culture is changing, and American people are changing too. There are millions of people perhaps with different personalities. Someone also said, it is also an age of multiple identities-an era in which vast numbers of people are doomed by circumstances to display one personality on Monday, and a different one on Tuesday, and are doomed on Wednesday to cope with their own complexities. Living in such a diverse nation, Americans are more likely than other people to feel both the stress and the strengths of multiple personalities. The issues of personal identity and conflicts of identity permeate our society and media, as writers and artists from every ethnic and racial background try to define what is means to be an American. So what do you think Americans are supposed to be like?
How have the african american culture shape your personal identity?
I am not African American but I am a minority. I'll just put this down as something to think about.... Race and Culture are two very different things. Race is the color of your skin and culture is the behaviors and beliefs associated with your ethnic group. Ethnicity is also not race. Ethnicity is the name of your culture. For example, I am a Mexican-American. My ethnicity is Mexican-American. My culture is predominantly American (as I am a fifth generation American and practice very little of my Mexican American culture). My race is Hispanic. I rather hate the term hispanic as it pertains to Mexican Americans because Hispanic means of Spanish origin, and while many Mexican Americans have some spanish origin, there are many native peoples of Mexico that have none, therefore, technically, are not hispanic. It's a lot to think about, but first figure out what you're race is, then your ethnicity, then your culture. What do you PRACTICE in your daily life that is associated with your ethnicity? This is your culture.
What is America's single cultural identity? I’ve been told that America does not have a cultural history or a single history like England.
Simply because every American we come across claims a bunch of nonsense about his culture:I'm IrishI can drink a lot because I'm Irish. Sorry no you're not Irish. Maybe your great grandfather was but you're not. You don't know what's happening in Northern Ireland you don't know what the IRA are. Sorry. Also your irshness has no bearing on your ability to drink.I'm ItalianThat's why I love pasta. Umm no again I'm sorry. Pasta is great. You try telling an Italian you're Italian and you can speak a word.I'm SpanishThat's where I get my firey temperament fromOne I hear was so wild. I have a hooked nose therefore I must be roman. O.o madness.I had an American ginger dude once tell me how his great grandmother was Cherokee. This was probably the second time I met the guy in a super casual setting. One - you're ginger, you are not Cherokee. Two - being a tiny bit Cherokee doesn't make you culturally superior. Three, you have preserved none of the culture. Four, I don't care.The list goes on. Nearly every American I've met in Europe has been clutching at cultural straws.You tell us you're not American.I guess it's a trying to fit in thing. But actually it comes across as you just perpetuating stereotypes of other countries. Ireland isn't full of drunks etc etcAmerica does have a culture. It's young, yes, but it's still a culture.America has a fantastic culture, a diverse culture, an interesting culture.From Deep South soul food to Clam Chowder. From laid back Cali to the rat race of New York. From the New Orleans French to Miami Spanish. From Alaskan frozen isolation to arid Nevada. From Tropical Honolulu to South Detroit.You do have an American culture; the culture is a melting pot. Be proud of your own country. You don't need to obsess about your forefathers, you don't need to claim to be 1/16 Scottish.You don't need to look overseas to gain some belonging.The guy that you spoke to knows that you don't have one monoculture, your monoculture is the ability to incorporate different cultures.Just because you don't have the Sistine Chapel or Hadrians wall doesn't really mean anything.On the other hand he could be trying to wind you up. In which case I think he's been successful.Banter is British culture and you as an American are easy target don't take it personally just give some banter back. There are loads of answers about UK banter/social interaction /humour I guess.
How do you feel about your Asian American identity?
I remember that until I was 4 or 5, I thought I looked exactly like the person I was talking to or interacting with. So in one day, I would turn from a blonde-haired blue eyed person to red head with green eyes to a dark skinned, braided hair person. The only thing I never imagined myself being was tall. I’m still shorter than average now.I once had a crying tantrum in the car while being driven to swimming class. My mother looked up and sharply said, “Chinese people don’t cry!” I forced myself to stop crying after she said that, slightly wishing I wasn’t Chinese then.From fifth grade until high school, all my partially and fully Chinese classmates would complain how different their parents were, and how they refused to learn Chinese. My 11th grade year, a half Chinese classmate smirked when he learned that professors often discriminated against people with foreign-sounding last names. “That’s not my problem.” I wanted to spit in his white-passing face.My grandmother started visiting my family a lot more after my grandfather died. I would wake up on Saturday mornings hearing her chatter away with my mother in Yangzhou dialect, often laughing about family friends’ drama or arguing over what was okay to give as gifts to our neighbors. They would discuss the best way to make scallion pancakes, and what new recipes on the Internet to try. When I came downstairs, they would immediately shove the freshest cooked food in my face, saying I needed to be fed while scolding me for waking up so late. I wanted to be best friends with my mom the same way she was best friends with my Po Po. I stopped being annoyed when my mom spoke a mixture of Chinese and English, and instead worked harder on my Chinese studies. Because, my mother, like her mother, thinks in Chinese. French may be the language of romantic love, but Chinese is the language of familial love.People have said as an Asian American, it’s important to learn your “mother tongue”, because with it comes a deeper understanding of the culture you inherit. But for me, literally the “mother tongue” hands down a history of motherly love, a household that is always a haven, a family that has suffered and persevered. I’m sure this isn’t unique to Asian American culture, but those are the feelings my identity gives me.
How can immigration affect America's identity or culture?
National identity is why we have countries and why countries break apart. In America, we have roughly had a set of ideals and attitudes that we could call distinctly American. For a long time people came here to work, develop businesses, and to enjoy the freedom they didn't have in other countries. Our identity is not so much about food, religious beliefs, or cultural practices. From my own perspective, I know a lot of Indians (India) who don't share many of our cultural traditions, but they are still accepted because they work hard and are friendly to officemates and neighbors. I see Mexicans near my house who play loud music, have kids that look like gang members, don't associate with the neighbors, have messy lawns, and don't speak much English. They don't fit in. I'm not saying Indians are better than Mexicans, so don't get me wrong. I'm married to a Latina immigrant, and I speak Spanish. My point is that we have to be smart about integration. The uneducated immigrants don't integrate well (their kids might), but the educated ones fit in quickly. I've been in many parts of your country, and I've seen how immigration is changing Spain, and not in good ways. I think the United States absorbs immigrants better than Europe does because we are based on immigration. I remember taking a tour of Sienna, Italy, and the guide told us of the history of Il Palio di Siena, an ancient horse race that continues to this day. The families have lived there for hundreds of years, and they have a distinct culture that would change with immigration. Maybe new, good things could come of that, but it wouldn't be the Sienna we remember. In the US, we don't have this ancient culture, but immigration could change us from an accepting society of independent, hard-working people to a balkanized society where people have lost a common bond of feeling American.
Help! Explain cultural identity to me?
Hi, I have an assignment to do on my cultural identity. I'm a little confused though :( 1) What is your cultural/ethnic/racial backgrounds For my cultural and ethnic backgrounds, is it correct to put my German and Scottish heritage (I am American though, born here) and for my racial background..do I put that I am white? If someone could explain ethnicity and race to me, I'd be very appreciative!
How did the Great Awakening impact American cultural and religious identity in the 1730s and 1740s? Be sure to discuss the idea of individualism, its impact on African slave communities in the colonies, and the role of specific individuals.
This sounds like a question in a textbook, so I'm going to give you some advice. You should probably actually read the textbook that it came from or just search Google to find articles or documents. This may seem like just as much as a shortcut as asking on quora, but actually taking the time to look for the answer yourself will actually teach you something about the topic. Sorry if this isn't a textbook question and you're actually just curious but I dont actually know anything about the Great Awakening :)