p. 25 (Saleem Peerandina, Giving, Withholding, and Meeting Midway: A Poet's Ethnography) "I picture the classroom as a crossroads, the place where worlds collide; where, along with the dismantling and rupture of theories and practices, a fusion is also taking place in a series of continuous, dynamic moments in the act of reading, writing, and conversation. The ruling principle here is connectedness - a network of links between teacher, learner, materials; worlds occupied, abandoned, yet to be born; ideas, stories, dreams.. ... Although the educational system is differentiated enough in terms of programs, value orientation, and choice of schools to allow for a more humane scale of interaction (a focus on intellectual and humanitarian pursuits), the attempt is effectively undermined by the habits and structures of American mass culture. The grain of American life, its temper and tempo, its headlong rush into short-term, goal-centered styles of living, the dependence on products of technology and the agendas set by it, the media's subversion of sacred and rational discourse, and any number of related phenomenon ensure that intellectual and humane concerns always get the short end in a culture driven by innovation, consumption, profit, and self-serving motives."
p.91 (Yohko Tsuji, Encounters With The Elderly In America) "Existing literature on old age abounds with the plight of elderly Americans. The stereotypical elderly person in America is described as "impoverished, socially isolated, and physically disabled". Also prevalent is the image of the elderly as someone who does nothing but wait to die. Most studies attribute old age problems to the wide gap existing between cultural ideals (the "ought", such as independence and productivity) and the realities of old age (the "is", such as infirmity, needing assistance, and being retired). Others regard the absence of cultural models for aging as problematic. In other words, studies show that American culture not only provides inadequate means for guiding the elderly, but also fails to provide any helpful models for the elderly to follow."
p. 96 (Yohko Tsuji, Encounters With The Elderly In America) "The elderly's quest for independence is also manifested in their efforts to maintain an equal partnership in support networks. Growing old puts Americans in a double bind. They need to rely on others, but dependency is a cultural taboo. Egalitarian relationships with support partners enable them to circumvent this problem. The more common strategy is to complement each other's missing resources."
p. 135 (Geoffrey Hunt, Learning to Hug: An English Anthropologist's Experiences in North America) "Unlike previous social problem programs, for example the war on poverty, the Community Partnership program reaffirms community not necessarily by doing any real community building, but instead by creating community as a psychological phenomenon. As Sennett has argued, community can be built not by any physical activity but by developing a sense of shared "imagery and feeling". "What matters is not what you've done but how you feel about it"... A therapeutic belief in a "change of heart" had been transplanted to the community level. No longer were the participants expected to change society, they only had to change themselves. In other words, social change was no longer structural change; it was instead "establishing relationships with people." Within this framework, it is therefore not surprising that "hugging" had become such a crucial element."
p. 148 (E.L. Cerroni-Long, Life and Cultures: The Test of Real Participant Observation) "...when the time came to choose a graduate program of study, I was very excited to enter the newly created 'Oriental Institute' of the University of Venice. Here I spent several blissful years exploring all sorts of arcane areas of knowledge, with the freedom of choice and the instructional guidance that are the mark of truly outstanding academic programs."
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