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Essay / Mind analysis catches up with you and you fall ethnocentric population in a new country? In Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, a portrait of a disturbing, often touching ethnography (that is, a book that details particular data over an extended period of time that an anthropologist spent experiencing in close collaboration with a community of individuals during his or her life). his fieldwork) from Fadiman's experience living in Merced, California, which was home to the largest population of Hmong refugees, like the Lee family, from Laos, who suffered massive confusion trying to navigate the American healthcare system. Because the Hmong did not speak sufficient English until children learned language skills native to the United States, California residents were not accepting of the Hmong community. Fadiman aims to better understand how knowledge about the disease among Hmong and Western doctors differs, pushing the reader to understand how complex medical treatment in the past as well as the present from the perspective of an observing American a Hmong family's struggle with the system. . In America, it is not uncommon to be judged for your clothes, your home, or the amount of money your family makes. It is therefore easy to believe that the Hmong people have not been easily accepted into American society. Overall, ethnocentrism, or the tendency to believe one's culture is superior to another, is one of America's weaknesses and this story proves that ethnocentric behavior was prevalent even in the 1970s and 1980s , when Fadiman was doing his field work in office. -Vietnam War era California. Although Fadiman's lack of ethnocentrism...... middle of paper ...... interdependence between Foua and Dr. Peggy in bonding through motherhood. When her son was diagnosed with leukemia, Dr. Peggy and Foua embraced, and all the ethnocentric actions shown by Americans before that moment disappeared as they grieved together. This historical event paints a picture of cultural holism, which concludes that natural systems should be viewed as a whole and not as parts. Through the unity of Dr. Peggy and Foua, the women manifest the idea that cultures can, in fact, overcome previous differences and exist as a diverse population. In conclusion, the ethnocentrism that was prevalent in American society during Hmong resettlement is detrimental to any culture. The framework of any aspect of life or culture is knowledge. It is therefore the responsibility of humanity to tolerate others instead of believing in superiority..
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