God Grew Tired of Us - Day 2

HW:   Dan Buettner's Thrive 

Today, we continued our study of God Grew Tired of Us and culture.  Students can watch it here.

In the second half of the movie, we see how strongly values can shape the human experience.  It is an example of how culture constructs reality for its members.  We see this in the contrast between the cultural values of communal society versus individualistic society.  We see the Lost Boys in the United States have food, shelter, jobs and schooling but they feel lonely. They miss their culture because they are so used to communal culture. They miss being together with their friends and family, rather than living nearly alone in an apartment. This is an important revelation that our culture sometimes de-emphasizes to a fault; we need other people. Humans are social and communal beings. Do you see how this individualist way of living and thinking shapes our lives? How can we work to change that and satisfy our biological nature for connecting with other people?

Finally, I like watching the movie with community service in mind. We have so much to be thankful for in our culture. We live in a culture of abundance. We must be mindful of our blessings and mindful of those who have less than us. One way to create this mindfulness is through community service. By finding ways to serve others we become grateful for what we have rather than ignoring those who need help and taking for granted all of our bounty. Perhaps you know someone who is able and willing to help them find a job or donate to their cause - here is a list of ways to help.  Also, like John Bul Dau said,

"I believe as a person, we all have different talents and all those talents are serving the community...I have a role to play.  I can help others."

This is true for all of us.  We all have talents that we can use to serve others.  That service will give us meaning and contentedness in life.  When you get depressed or stressed or disillusioned, remind yourself that you can serve others and find a way to do that.

Other resources from the movie:

Here is the foundation created by John Bul Dau from the movie:
http://www.johndaufoundation.org/

Where are they now?
https://godgrewtiredofusmovie.wordpress.com/where-are-they-now/

Sudan Update - March 2016
Sudan broke apart into two nations; Sudan and South Sudan.  South Sudan is where the Lost Boys in the movie returned to. Unfortunately, South Sudan faces a new civil war within itself.  Here is a March 8, 2016 report from NPR:
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/03/08/469502071/nothing-is-going-right-in-the-worlds-newest-nation

Lesson 7: Day 1 God Grew Tired of Us

HW: Read Dan Buettner's Thrive  For 2 days from now.

In order to better understand the culture that we live in, sometimes it is easier to examine those in a different culture to find revelations about our own culture.  Like the fishbowl metaphor, if the fishbowl is our culture, we are like the fish swimming in it.  That makes it very difficult to notice the water.  So, to help us become more sociologically mindful about the ways that our own culture influences us, let us examine refugees who are from a completely different culture.  To do this, we will watch the documentary "God Grew Tired of Us."  (Click here to watch the movie via mediacast Start from 12:45, and today we will watch roughly 30 min).  Think of it like an ethnography where you get to follow Sudanese refugees to examine all the ways that they have to adjust to American culture.  Pay special attention to the values that are so difficult to adjust to.

When I was in undergrad at Loyola University Chicago, we had a class where we got to meet with Lost Boys and hear about their struggle.   Here is a website dedicated to the Lost Boys of Sudan in Chicago.  This movie wasn't out yet though.  But then, a few years ago my mom happened to meet and talk to one of the lost boys in the film and she recommended it to me for sociology.  I'm so thankful to her for that. Anyway, in the movie we see numerous cultural differences.

To speak about culture in a more distinct way, think in terms of the way sociologists might explain all the components of culture; culture is made up of material culture as well as the nonmaterial: gestures, language, norms, mores, folkways, taboos, values.

As you watch:  

• Describe the cultural differences that the Sudanese men experienced using those concepts.  
• Have you ever met anyone from a different country? 
• Did you notice or discuss any cultural differences? 
• What component of culture (from the terms above) did those differences fall under?

SHS Subculture; A Qualitative Examination: Lesson 6 Social Structure

Homework:  Read Buettner's Thrive for 2 lessons from now.

Today we are conducting a qualitative examination of our ingroup, SHS.  Click here for the handout. 

1.  In small groups, discuss the culture at Stevenson.  List examples for each area below that SHS gives meaning to.  In other words, what are specific examples at SHS for each of the following:

Material culture at SHS.  Objects and things and physical structures that SHS ingroup members recognize as something at SHS or something with meaning at SHS:

Norms.  What is considered normal or acceptable behavior, or acceptable ways of acting, or expected things you do at SHS:

Language.  What words do members of the SHS ingroup recognize that outgroup members might not?

Symbols.  What are important symbols/events at SHS?  What shared meaning do they hold?

Values.  What are the things that SHS students see as desirable?

Other dynamics of culture: 
Moral Holiday?           Moral Holiday Place?           

Subculture?        Counterculture?          

Sanctions?

For some perspective, here are some examples of other schools' cultures.