A lot of Russia’s culture, like most, comes from it’s long history. Russians, just like many others, enjoy having a good time; yet they are known as stoic people, who rarely smile. Not smiling to strangers is a cultural norm that seems strange to Westerners. In Russia, smiles are not linked to politeness, and the smiling out of politeness that is so common in the West is seen as insincere, and indicators of ones’ secrecy and unwillingness to show their true feelings. The countries long history of many wars, invasions, and repressions by leaders (both tsars and the Soviet leaders) could have influenced this social norm. As stated above, Russia has a history of many wars. This could be one of the reasons for it’s rather steadily imbalanced sex ratio. Women outnumber men in terms of population, and this could be related to men traditionally being the ones fighting in wars, and subsequently being killed during times of conflict. We can see this most recently in the data of World War II, as the population has been predominately female since then. This history of an unbalanced sex ratio in women’s favor is a …show more content…
For example, rugs are often used to decorate walls in a Russians’ home. This could have originated from poorly insulated homes and rash winters, though today it is used as more of an aesthetically pleasing decoration. Another example comes from Russians being a very superstitious bunch. There are many cultural norms that have come from these superstitions of bad and good luck; such norms include never giving an unmarried woman the corner seat, sitting before traveling, and not putting keys or change on the table. These are all things done in hope of not receiving bad luck. Much of Russian’s culture come from a history of beliefs, events, and influences that have affected how they live
Disobedience Throughout the World Oscar Wilde claims that disobedience is a valuable human trait. He also argues that disobedience promotes social progress and will continue to promote social progress and reform. Disobedience is the failure or refusal to obey rules or someone in authority. It has caused many historical events throughout time and our world would not be the same without it.
When I was young my mother would constantly divulge me in a scary story of the chupacabra. It’s grisly and always frightened me into being obedient. The description of the chupacabra is a mixture between a bear, goat, and man with spikes running along the back. The chupacabra, which translates to “goat-sucker”, drained the blood of living creatures, goats specifically. As I grew I’d share with my friends the chupacabra myth only to discover that they had no idea what I was talking about.
Some will say that Russia didn’t have a lot of people that could read or write. (Doc B) This is true but they had a big improvement as they years progressed. The Literacy rate in 1915 was 25%. This was very low compare to the U.S.
Inbetween the years 1450-1750 CE, Western Europe and Russia have gone through several political and economic changes, though they have existed in different districts of Europe. Both Western European and Russian cultural patterns have been influenced by their enlightenment periods, bringing an era of revolution and economic/ intellectual advancement. However, though they shared this in common, Western Europe went through the Renaissance, a time of new styles and inventions in secular arts and sciences that challenged popular religion, while Russian was becoming a major European power through Westernization forces brought on by tsars, like Peter the Great. Many of Western Europe’s innovations in finance and government started developing during
Absolutism in Russia For a long time Russia was isolated from the rest of Europe. It did not experience many of the things that happened in western Europe like new technology, Renaissance, the Protestant reformation, and the spread of many ideas. Russia’s temperatures were frigid and resulted in there being no warm-water port. A warm-water port was necessary for year-round trade and growth.
For my second experiential learning assignment, I decided to break a social norm while going out to eat with my family at a restaurant: granted this is something I have a habit of doing but the reaction I got from my dining mates was particularly interesting this time. To give a little bit of background of the setting I was in at the time, I was with my mother, younger brother, and my mother’s friend at a restaurant in DC for my birthday dinner. The restaurant was crowded, but not many people were paying attention to what we were doing. The behavior I decided to break was dipping my fingers in the container caramel was in and then proceeded lick my fingers after doing so. I choose to break this social norm because one, the caramel sauce was really good, and two I was testing to see if my mother would say anything: normally on my birthday she lets me get away with
Social mores are those unwritten rules that dictate how we act in public. They are the things that irritate the general public, like when a person is walking on the “wrong side” of the sidewalk. No law governs which side a person should use, but society expects that one would use the same as what they would drive. If a person enters an elevator and faces the back rather than the front, not only will it make others uncomfortable, but it will be uncomfortable for that person as well. In a similar fashion, attempting to go against the socially expected behaviors for one’s gender is uncomfortable to the point of avoidance.
The nature of Russian society is characterized by a sense of idealism. Russia’s beliefs of the potential for an ideal future have been pervasive throughout history. In 1920, Yevgeny Zamyatin wrote the short story “The Cave” during the midst of the Russian Civil War, a time when nationalism was at an all time low and people were hoping for a brighter future. In contrast to the goals that sparked the revolution, Zamyatin argues that the Russian Civil War will result in a primitive and decimated society that is ultimately worse off than the society that existed prior to the rebellion.
Throughout the history of western civilization there have been a vast number of changes that have occurred and wars that have formed civilization today. There have been economic changes, relating to the development of the economy and the financial state of society. There have been political changes, dealing with shifts in government and power. There have been social changes, affecting the organization of society and the interpersonal and international relations. All of these events have influenced society and molded it into what it is today.
For our group and our shared love of food we figured that a social norm that had something to do with that would be perfect for us. We decided that the norm to drive through a drive thru needed to be tested. Why should cars be the only ones with the fast access to fast food at their convenience? We believed that people should be able to walk through the drive thrus if it is more convenient for them.
Piedad Molina Professor Ana Hernandez LIT 2480 October 7, 2015 Culture is the set of traditions, beliefs, and values, which are characteristic of a certain population. Each country or region has different parameters to determine their culture. The predominant values in the population, the language spoken, religious beliefs, and the way they dress; all these manners influence in the creation of a culture and what is autonomous of its region. Within a country we can find different cultures or ethnicities, social status, education and region make a population differ from another. The exchange of cultural ideas, beliefs, and values with the youngest members of the community make it possible for a culture to survive and to keep the legacy.
I covered how Putin’s visionary leadership traits ignored key aspects of diversimilarity and show how he was methodical in planning and executing is objectives. I also demonstrated how his drive for success and a lack of open-mindedness made him an unethical leader. Finally, I reflected on my own leadership as it pertains to these lesson principles, and my pursuit to continue growing as a self-aware leader. Perhaps there would be no Russia, as we currently know it, without Putin”, certainly he has shaped his country and has effected countless lives and treasure. Influential Russian author, Fyodor Dostoevsky might have foreshadowed such a leader as Putin in his book The Brothers Karamazov: “He understood very well that for the meek soul of a simple Russian, exhausted by grief and hardship and, above all, by constant injustice and sin, there was no stronger need than to find a holy shrine or a saint to prostrate himself before to worship”.
Due to the constant contact between various people of the nation, there is some kind adaptation of one kind of culture from other. The impact of such contribution of culture is known as the culture legacies. Each national history and culture unfolds in its own particular way. Sometimes it could be the explanation for people’s previously inexplicable behaviors. In Chapter six of Outliers, Gladwell claims that cultural legacies “play such a role in directing attitudes and behaviors that we cannot make sense of our world without them”(175).
Introduction Norms, values and socialisation are undoubtedly one of the most important fundamentals in sociology, and I have been fascinated by how these social factors affect and influence the “little man.” (Mills 1946) Throughout this short essay, I will explore these social factors influence the individual and society in the world in which we live. Norms Norms are an expectation about appropriate behaviour in a society.
The first thing that an American would notice while walking in Russia is that the Russians appear to look angry/depressed and rarely crack a smile. This gives off the notion that the Russian people are cold-hearted, rude and unfriendly to the Americans. It even turned out to become a stereotype made by visitors who knew nothing about Russia 's culture and quickly generalized them as cold-hearted. They are not cold hearted in fact, they are one of the most generous societies once you get to know them. Going around smiling at random people is normal for us in the States ,but in Russia, they say that constant smiling and laughter without reason is an indication that the individual is touched in the head.