Firstly we will need to have a clarification over terms reminiscent of culture, identity and cultural identity which leads us to the American cultural identity and its elements. Tradition is a really difficult term to define. “It has more than a hundred definitions.” (1) To give a simple definition and no to confused with the hundred of the definitions we can define culture as follows: tradition refers back to the customs, practices, languages, values and world views that define social groups resembling those based on nationality, ethnicity, region or frequent interests.
Identity is one other time period we should know about earlier than understanding cultural identity. “The condition or character as to who an individual or what a thing is.”(2) The best way to define the term identity is a solution to the question who am I? We will say that identity is about our self-perception and perception of others. There are completely different types of identity in line with different ways of categorizing of aspects. Personal identity, social identity and collective identity are essentially the most recognizable ones. “The idea of a collective identity refers to a set of individuals’ sense of belonging to the group or collective. For the individual, the identity derived from the collective shapes a part of his or her personal identity.” (three) The master forces of collective identity are nationwideity, ethnicity, faith, gender, profession and decadent culture.
Cultural identity is the identity of a gaggle, culture or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one’s belonging to a gaggle or culture. Then cultural identity is a collective identity.
The American cultural identity may be merely defined because the sets of values, norms and beliefs that make the American individuals because the Americans. Collective identity is just not in battle with personal identity as each American has its own identity while the whole Individuals has a selected collective identity by which they’re distinguished from the British people.
Talking in regards to the elements of the American cultural identity is tough, because there are many components that shape it. To count a number of the most essential parts I go for the following ones.
• Language
English language is without doubt one of the components that in my view have shaped the American cultural identity. It offers the People a sense of having a British origin and a feeling that the language their ancestors spoke was English like them and I think it makes them think of their Anglo-Saxon background. English language as the majority of the People speak has had an ideal affect on shaping their collective identity.
• Egalitarianism
The concept of egalitarianism or having equal opportunities makes the second component of the American cultural identity. This sense that all of us are living in a land of opportunities, while others don’t and we all are equal to have opportunities to live has integrated Americans as a whole.
• Exceptionalism and Nationalism
The idea of exceptionalism has instilled in People mind via the history and because of this it has made them think that they are distinctive and special folks living in a land of opportunities. They imagine in American Dream and so they think that they’ve had this chance to live on this land not some other people. People imagine that they and only they’re distinctive and this concept gives them a way of nationalistic point of view. Being patriot is a quite common image of being an American and it has a lot to do with exceptionalism and nationalism. As an example, US flag is considered a nationwide image and a symbol that integrates all Americans to a whole.
• Liberalism
Liberalism is undoubtedly essentially the most influential ingredient of American cultural identity. The thought of liberalism in America is as old because the United States the place according the US Constitution the people are free to work, worship, live, journey and so on so forth as long as they respect every others’ rights. Liberalism limits the affect the government has on the personal lives of the citizens as well. When folks see that they’re free to choose whatever they need under the liberalism umbrella, then they feel they are Individuals and so they recognize themselves as Americans.
• Individualism
Individualism has had an important impact on being an American. It has a Puritan background. Individualism has helped the creation of property ownership and what’s called privacy. Ownership in America is of great significance and it gives the owner a sense by which he/she feels American because they consider it a results of residing in America and believing in American beliefs. Individualism is just not only about economic terms like property ownership. When it comes to culture, cultural individualism is the concept the entire Individuals see themselves as an individual from which the thought of Americanism comes from.
• Pragmatism
Pragmatism, like individualism, has a Puritan origin. Individuals work very hard to achieve their goals. The question “What do you do?” is a quite common query in American culture. It implies that hard-working is an important factor amongst Americans. Americans work very hard they usually always think concerning the results undermining the tools by which they’ll achieve the ends. In accordance with the American multicultural context, pragmatist concepts which refuses any absolutes grew to become very common because “quite than believing in absolutes it is believed that these ideas are changeable and rely on the context in which they’re being discussed.” (4)
In the event you liked this informative article in addition to you would like to receive more information concerning que cultural i implore you to visit the internet site.