Humanities 10 : the importance of cultural
universals and the struggle for equality worldwide
DATE
UNIT 4
ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDINGS APPLIED TO THE UNITED
STATES
Essential
Questions
(Write these on your title page!)
• What must we understand
before we can address the
importance of cultural
universals and the search for
equality throughout the world?
• How do the stories of a culture
reflect their values and beliefs?
• How do classic heroes differ
from modern heroes, and what
is their purpose?
How does
“Playing for
Change” reflect
all three of the
following?
a. cultural universal
b. cultural conflict
c. cultural tradition
8 lines
5 minutes
TYPE 2
WRITING
TYPE ONE
WRITING
(write the questions first)
How do you think the earliest
people learned? Who taught
what to whom, and how did they
teach it?
5 lines
5 minutes
Storytelling
Notes/Vocab
P. 45
STORY TELLING is culturally universal:
People began telling stories long before they started
writing them down
• Oral tradition: passing down stories told aloud from
generation to generation
• embellishment: how stories change over time
through exaggeration
• Didactic: designed to teach
P. 45
Storytelling Notes/Vocab
genres (categories) of story telling
•
anecdote: short instructional/entertaining story about some happening,
usually personal
•
legend: widely told story (location and culture specific) usually with some
basic in truth (jersey devil, lockness monster, sasquatch)
•
folktale/folklore: exists only in oral tradition, story which not only reflects
values and traditions, but encourages heroic/correct behavior (bloody
mary)
•
fable: short story with animal characters that teaches a lesson or moral
(tortoise and the hare)
•
proverbs: short sayings that express a common truth or familiar
experience (don’t cry over spilled milk)
genres (categories) of story telling
(cont.)
•
MYTHS:
•
•
•
•
Originated in oral ancient tradition (many share similarities)
Entertaining story with a serious purpose (explain or instruct)
Myths focus on gods
Explain: origin, natural phenomenon, death, nature
•
•
NATURAL PHENOMENON: happenings in nature (ex:
earthquakes, floods, sunrise, characteristics of animals,
etc.)
EPICS:
•
LONG NARRATIVE STORIES/POEMS ABOUT A HERO AND
HIS ADVENTURES
Vocab related to
HEROES AND EPICS
Characteristics of the CLASSIC
HERO:
unusual birth
part god/favored by gods
extraordinary strength
kills monsters with special weapons
goes on an arduous journey - QUEST
visits the underworld
unusual death
P. 47
Odysseus
Classic hero of “the odyssey”
EPIC POEM:750 AND 650 B.C.E
rhapsode (STORYTELLER): HOMER
Important characteristics
of Odysseus/The Odyssey
SYMBOLIZES the journey of
life and its challenges
Stresses the VALUES of:
Using one’s brain to get out
of tough situations
GUILE (trickery): Odysseus
escapes the cyclops
Pride (HUBRIS) as bad behavior / TRAGIC FLAW (Odysseus yells his
name to the cyclops)
Rudeness as bad behavior (Circe turns men to pigs)
Making difficult decisions (Scylla and Charybdis)
Withstanding temptation (Sirens)
Vocab related to
HEROES AND EPICS
SUPERHERO: modeled after classic hero
TRAGIC FLAW: a flaw leading to the downfall of a hero or
heroine (usually pride)
MODERN HEROES:
everyday heroes
don’t typically have a flaw in our minds
didn’t ask to be heroes
right place right time
Man Is Rescued by Stranger on Subway Tracks
PURPOSES OF THESE STORIES
Symbolize the human experience
Embody the spiritual values of a culture
Explain: origin, natural phenomenon, death, nature
•
NATURAL PHENOMENON: happenings in nature (ex:
earthquakes, floods, sunrise, characteristics of animals, etc.)
Provide models of virtuous behavior (adventures of heroes, mistakes
of fools)
Illustrate striking similarities as well as differences between cultures
Preserve elements of culture/history
Encourage pride in culture
Teach moral lesson/correct or incorrect behavior
PURPOSES OF THESE STORIES
Symbolize the human experience
Embody the spiritual values of a culture
Explain: origin, natural phenomenon, death, nature
•
NATURAL PHENOMENON: happenings in nature (ex:
earthquakes, floods, sunrise, characteristics of animals, etc.)
Provide models of virtuous behavior (adventures of heroes, mistakes
of fools)
Illustrate striking similarities as well as differences between cultures
Preserve elements of culture/history
Encourage pride in culture
Teach moral lesson/correct or incorrect behavior
Vocab related to
BELIEFS
RELIGION: the belief in and worship of God or gods/goddesses
DIETY/DIVINITIES: GOD/GODS
MONOTHEISTIC: ONE GOD
POLYTHEISTIC: MULTIPLE GODS
RITUAL: A TRADITION THAT INVOLVES RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
PHILOSOPHY: belief system without gods
FATE: the force that guides the outcome of one’s life
SUPERSTITION: irrational beliefs that certain things will influence
outcomes
OMEN: an event regarded as a sign of good or evil
PURPOSES OF THESE STORIES
________________ the human experience
Embody the spiritual ______________ of a culture
Explain: _____________, natural phenomenon, ______________
•
NATURAL PHENOMENON:
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
__________
Provide models of virtuous behavior (adventures of ___________,
mistakes of _____________)
Illustrate striking _________________ as well as differences
between cultures
Preserve elements of _____________/history
Encourage ___________ in culture
Teach ____________ lesson/correct or incorrect behavior
INEQUALITY
Types of INEQUALITY we will study:
RACIAL (color, ethnicity)
SOCIAL CLASS (based on wealth, power,
education, occupation)
GENDER (men/women)
RELIGIOUS
INEQUALITY VOCAB
INEQUALITY: an unfair situation, in which some
groups in society have more money,
opportunities, power, etc. than other
DISCRIMINATION: the practice of treating one
person or group differently from another in an
unfair way:
RACISM: unfair treatment of people, or violence
against them, because they belong to a different
race
STEREOTYPE: to decide unfairly that a type of
person has particular qualities or abilities because
they belong to a particular race, sex, or social
class
INEQUALITY VOCAB
PREJUDICE: an unreasonable dislike and distrust
of people who are different from one in some way,
especially because of their race, sex, religion etc.
BIAS: an opinion about whether a person, group,
or idea is good or bad which influences how you
deal with it
ETHNOCENTRISM: evaluating other peoples and
cultures according to the standards of one's own
culture
MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE: a way of
thinking that involves ideas from many different
countries, races, or religions
Martin Luther King
Jr.
QuickTime™ and a
“I Have A Dream” Speech
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
August 28, 1963
March on Washington,
Washington, DC
Steps of the Lincoln Memorial
INEQUALITY VOCAB
INEQUALITY: an _______ situation, in which some
groups in society have more __________,
______________, ____________ etc. than others
DISCRIMINATION: the practice of treating one
person or group ___________ from another in an
_____________ way:
RACISM: unfair _____________ of people, or
____________ against them, because they belong
to a different race
STEREOTYPE: to decide unfairly that a type of
person has particular qualities or ___________
because they belong to a particular ________, sex,
or ______________
INEQUALITY VOCAB
PREJUDICE: an _____________ dislike and
distrust of people who are different from one in
some way, especially because of their _______,
______, _____________ etc.
BIAS: an ________ about whether a person,
group, or idea is _________ or _________ which
influences how you deal with it
ETHNOCENTRISM: the idea that ___________
race, ________, group etc. is better than any other
MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE: a way of
thinking that includes ideas from many different
__________, __________, or ______________
In-Class Essay:
Forrest Gump and American
Culture
Choose ONE of the following THESIS
STATEMENTS:
1.THE FILM FORREST GUMP DEPICTS SEVERAL
inequalities THAT EXIST IN AMERICAN
CULTURE, FOR INSTANCE
__________________, _________________ AND
___________________.
2.THE FILM FORREST GUMP PORTRAYS
SEVERAL American beliefs and values, FOR
INSTANCE __________________,
__________________ AND
________________________.
3.3. THE CHARACTER OF FOREST GUMP
EXEMPLIFIES CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTH
THE classic hero and the modern hero IN THE
SENSE THAT HE ____________________ AND
________________________.
WRITING
TIPS/REMINDERS
FOLLOW HOOKS WITH
BACKGROUND THAT
PROVIDES YOUR READER
WITH NECESSARY
INFORMATION AND
TRANSITIONS INTO YOUR
THESIS
• OFTEN INCLUDED IN THIS
PART OF AN
INTRODUCTION
• Title, author, setting,
WRITING
TIPS/REMINDERS
END INTRODUCTIONS WITH A
THESIS STATEMENT THAT
INCLUDES THE TOPICS OF EACH
BODY PARAGRAPH
TOPIC + OPINION = THESIS
“The film Forrest Gump depicts several inequalities that exist in
American culture, for instance ___________, __________ and
___________.”
WRITING
TIPS/REMINDERS
BEGIN YOUR
CONCLUSION BY
RESTATING
YOUR THESIS IN
DIFFERENT WORDS
FINISH WITH A RECAP OF YOUR MAIN POINTS AND YOUR
FINAL THOUGHTS
WRITING
TIPS/REMINDERS
AVOID FIRST
PERSON ( I )
AND SECOND
PERSON ( YOU )
IN YOUR
ESSAYS UNLESS
APPROPRIATE
OR NECESSARY.