May 3rd, 2018

Signature Assignment Reflection - Anthropology 1010

At first, I found it difficult to apply cultural context to my own life. When I think of culture, I did
not think of my own white-American culture. It almost seems like a lack of culture, but through
this class, I learned about the aspects of my own culture. When I observed the patrons at a coffee
shop and their behaviors and customs, that is a part of my culture because that’s something that I
involve myself in.
The fieldwork assignments were beneficial to my writing and observation skills as well as
making cultural connections to everyday aspects of life. As we progressed through the class, I
felt my fieldwork papers were better as I was able to apply more theories and aspects of culture
to my observations and paper.
The interview paper further proved to me that even within the Western culture, there are many
variants. I think it’s easy to just group The United States and most European countries together
based on culture, and while there are similarities, interviewing my French friend did highlight
cultural differences between us. The interview combined many aspects of culture that we
discussed throughout the semester.