![]() ![]() “Prosaic-realism” contends that love is not “sudden or certain,” but instead may be “ambivalent and confused.” Rather than being apparent at first sight, it may develop gradually. made in defiance of social forces.and resolving the individual’s destiny.” Many of Swidler’s interview subjects drew upon this meaning of love and simultaneously used an alternative vision, which Swidler termed the “prosaic-realist” idea of love. Briefly tracing the history of the idea of love, Swidler argues that from at least the eighteenth century on, romantic love has been idealized as “a clear, all-or-nothing choice.of a unique other. She examines why the Americans she interviewed continued to invoke a “mythic” or “Hollywood” understanding of love while simultaneously expressing skepticism about such an ideal. With this understanding of culture established, Swidler sets to work examining how Americans use various understandings of love to interpret their own situations and beliefs. Swidler argues that people are most likely to employ their cultural repertoire when they are at points of transition, when their lives are “unsettled.” Individuals deploy those that are useful at particular moments. Not all parts of culture are consistent with each other indeed some elements contradict others. Rejecting the idea that these actions can be read to uncover a pervasive, coherent, and all-encompassing cultural ethos, Swidler argues instead that men and women rely on different strands of culture as the need arises. Culture helps people organize their actions. Talk of Love is based on the idea that individuals use culture as a tool kit or “repertoire,” choosing useful elements or strategies when they fit particular needs or circumstances. Swidler combines these first-hand accounts of romance, marriage, and divorce with highly theoretical discussions of how culture operates to shape people’s understandings of love. The book is based largely on interviews which Swidler and her research assistants conducted with 88 middle-class Americans in and around San Jose, California in the early 1980s. Maybe accompany the evening with a film feature the host culture.What is romantic love? How do people know when they have found it? What cultural tools do they have at hand to shape their romantic expectations and perceptions? These are some of the central questions which sociologist Ann Swidler sets out to answer in Talk of Love: How Culture Matters. This may also be an effective strategy for the future promotion of the course. This would allow students the opportunity to share their learning with others and thus, broaden the reach of the course. If time allows upon return, consider hosting A Taste of Culture, a dinner in which students prepare dishes from the host culture and display their food journals, photos and other cultural artifacts. Review expectations and method of evaluation.Ħ. Hand out the assignment and explain the overall goals and structure of the three-part assignment. by analyzing its cultural patterns regarding food?ĥ. As a large group, in small groups or pairs, ask students to describe their family celebrations and daily meals, what food is served, how it is eaten and with whom, how similar and different this is from what you perceive as mainstream America and how this reflects the specific identity of their family and/or culture. Connect the images to understanding the host culture.Ĥ. Show students a series of photographs, video clips, cookbooks and so forth that depict the food of the host culture. Foods and rituals help us learn about cultures and groups.ģ. After discussing their responses, explain to students that there are many types of foods associated with different cultural and ethnic groups, traditions and celebrations that feature foods, and different rules about how and when people eat. Ask students to respond to the question: What role does food play in people’s lives? (Prompts: providing nourishment giving an opportunity to socialize with family, friends and the community transmitting culture defining gender or family roles representing symbols giving a national or cultural identity part of some superstitions).Ģ.
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