unit6 The Green Banana

MadebyLaurenChanQUESTIONSHowdoesthetitle“GreenBanana”strikeyou?WhatdoyouexpectthestorytotellThetextistakenfromBeyondExperience:AnExperientialApproachtoCross-culturalEducationeditedbyDonaldBatchelderandElizabethG.Warnerin1974.Whenthesecondeditionofthebookwaspublishedin1993,Batchelderexplainedhisviewoncross-culturaleducation:BACKGROUNDINFORMATIONBACKGROUNDINFORMATION“Ifsomeofthegoalsofeducationinmoderntimesaretoopenuppossibilitiesfordiscoveryandexpandlearningandthechanceformutualacceptanceandrecognitioninawiderworld,itmaybeimportanttoofferstudentsaperspectiveontheirownimmediatecenteroftheworldbyenablingthemtoparticipatesensitivelyascross-culturalsojourners[ˈsɔdʒə:nə](旅居者，寄居者)tothecenterofsomeoneelse’sworld.”CHECK-ONPREVIEWWhathappenedtotheauthor’soldjeepinBrazil?Howdidthevillagershelprepairit?Whatdidtheauthorlearnaboutthecenteroftheworld(therock)?Howdidhefeeltowardit?Whatarethetwolearningmomentsoftheauthor?Whatdidhelearn?What’stheuseofthegreenbananainthetext?Whatdoesitsymbolize?Whentheauthorsaysweshouldleaveourowncentersoftheworld,doeshemeanweshouldtraveltoothercountriesmoreoften?BACKGROUNDINFORMATION——ETHNOCENTRISM(种族优越论)Ethnicreferstoculturalheritage,andcentrismreferstothecentralstartingpointorthetendencyofpeopletoputtheirowngroupatthecenter.Thus,ethnocentrismbasicallyreferstojudgingothergroupsfromone’sownculturalpointofview,ormisinterpretingotherculturesbecauseoneusestheconceptsofhisownculture.Ethnocentrismcanleadtomakingfalseassumptionsaboutothers'waysbasedonone’sownlimitedexperience.Thekeywordisassumptions,becausewearenotevenawarethatwearebeingethnocentric.Thatispeopledon'tunderstandthattheydon'tunderstand.BACKGROUNDINFORMATION——ETHNOCENTRISM(种族优越论)Ethnocentrismmaymanifestitselfinattitudesofsuperiorityorsometimeshostility.Violence,discrimination,proselytizing['prɒsələtaɪz](劝诱改宗),andverbalaggressivenessareothermeanswherebyethnocentrismmaybeexpressed.BACKGROUNDINFORMATION——ETHNOCENTRISM(种族优越论)WHYAREPEOPLEETHNOCENTRIC?Itisnormaltoassumethingsonthebasisofone’sownexperience,althoughitissometimeswrong.People’sperceptionsofcolors,timeframes,valuesonindustriousness,socialroles,andbeliefsaboutLifeandtheUniverseprovideimportantmeaningsindailylife.Therefore,people’slimitedexperiencestheyhavealreadyhadarethebasisforinterpretingnewexperiences,andinthecaseofothers’behaviors.WHATISTHEPROBLEMWITHETHNOCENTRISM?Ethnocentrismleadspeopletomakefalseassumptionsaboutotherpeoples.Peopleareethnocentricwhentheyusetheirculturalnormsasauniversalyardsticktomakegeneralizationsaboutotherpeoples'culturesandcustoms.Peopleofoneculturemayfalselydistortwhatismeaningfulandfunctionaltootherpeoplesthroughhisowntintedglasses.Atthebest,peoplesimplycontinueinhisunawareness.Youmaybewellmeaningininterethnicrelations,butcanunintentionallyoffendothers,generateillfeelings,andevensetupsituationsthatharmothers.Ethnocentrismisevidentininternationalrelations,creatingconflictsandinhibitingresolutionofconflicts.Thereareextremeformsofethnocentrismthatposeserioussocialproblems,suchasracism,chauvinism,andethniccleansing.Theseviewsaregenerallycondemnedbytheworldcommunity,butregularcasescanbeseeninthenews.EthnocentrismCulturalChauvinismRelativismRacismEXTREMEFORMSOFETHNOCENTRISMWHATCANWEDOABOUTETHNOCENTRISM?Addressingethnocentrismisnotamatterofjusttryingnottobeethnocentric.Sincepeoplewillneverexperienceeverylifesituationofeveryonearoundtheworld,assumptionsaboutlifearebasedonexistinglimitedexperience.Amoreeffectivewayistocatchyourselfwhenyouarebeingethnocentricandseektodevelopbetterunderstandings.Oncewerealizethatwearenotunderstanding,wearenowinabetterpositiontoseekmorevalidandbalancedunderstandings.CULTURALRELATIVISM(文化相对主义)Ethnocentrismisoftenlinkedtoasociologicaltheorycalledculturalrelativism.Culturalrelativistsassertthatconceptsaresociallyconstructedandvarycross-culturally.Theseconceptsmayincludesuchfundamentalnotionsaswhatisconsideredtrue,morallycorrect,andwhatconstitutesknowledgeorevenrealityitself.CulturalRelativismisanattempttounderstandtheculturaldevelopmentofsocietiesandsocialgroupsontheirownterms,thatis,withouttryingtoimposeabsoluteideasofmoralvalueortryingtomeasuredifferentculturalvariationsintermsofsomeformofabsoluteculturalstandard.Thismaybeapositivevalueintermsofinterethnicrelations.Byculturalrelativism,allculturesareequallyworthyofrespectandinstudyinganotherculturepeopleneedtosuspendjudgment,empathizeandtryandunderstandthewaythatparticularcultureseestheworld.CULTURALRELATIVISM(文化相对主义)BRAZILNationalFlagFederativeRepublicofBrazilCapital:BrasiliaIndependentDay:September7thTwolargeterrain[tə'reɪn]地形TheAmazonplain（1/3）BrazilPlateau（2/3）BrazilisaPortuguese-speakingcountryintheAmericas.Itistheworld'sfifthlargestcountry,bothbygeographicalareaandbypopulation.BoundedbytheAtlanticOceanontheeast,Brazilhasacoastlineofover7,491kilometers.ItisborderedonthenorthbyVenezuela[ˌvenə'zweɪlə],Guyana[ɡaiˈɑ:nə,ɡaiˈænə],Suriname[ˌsʊərɪ'nɑ:m]andtheFrenchoverseasdepartmentofFrenchGuiana;onthenorthwestbyColombia;onthewestbyBoliviaandPeru;onthesouthwestbyArge