Cultural Anthropology A Microcosm For The World We Live

Anthropology is a science that fascinates me, and is what inspired me to take the Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course at UMKC. It is one of the most expansive fields in terms of what it covers, and is constantly uncovering new information that is applicable to peoples globally. It does come with a very challenging task however, and that is possessing the power to change mindsets, beliefs, stereotypes, politics, economies and societal norms. Seth Holmes’s book is a microcosm for the world we live in. Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies exposes the crude reality of produce farm work in America and brings to light issues that can be expanded beyond the cases of these migrant workers, to migrant and foreign workers all over the world. This essay will relate Holmes’s novel with the course material I have reviewed over the semester. In it, I will present the examples of race and ethnic biases and stereotyping, the effects of migrant work on politics and political views, and h ow the American economy exploits and profits from this system with unwillingness to modify. Perhaps the biggest issue that hinders our understanding of migrant work is racial and ethnic biases. The ‘American Dream’ that we know today was built by the labor of slaves and immigrants. Americans like to think that our ancestors created this great country justly and without suffering, but one could argue that America has not advanced much past the days of its founding. At times we are all guilty of assuming thatShow MoreRelatedClara Han And Joao Biehl1415 Words   |  6 Pagesgreat value in the specific. Each individual is a microcosm into the world of the general. Clara Han and Joao Biehl have both validated this ideology (that the micro can give us perspective into the macro) with their studies of individual families and institutions within a society, and by doing so have shed light onto the structure of the appropriate culture and/or society. Clara Han conducted work in Chile by observing Sra. Flora and her family, who live in an impoverished neighborhood, for eight yearsRead MoreCybersex10501 Words   |  43 Pagescam, respectively). Cybersex is commonly performed in Internet chat rooms (such as IRC, talkers or web chats) and on instant messaging systems. It can also be performed using webcams, voice chat systems like Skype, or online games and/or virtual worlds like Second Life. The exact definition of cybersex—specifically, whether real-life masturbation must be taking place for the online sex act to count as cybersex—is up for debate. It is also fairly frequent in online role-playing games, such as MUDs