Anthro Europe: The Politics of Cultural Unification

Anthro Europe
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Anthro Europe
Ozyurek, "The Politics of Cultural Unification."
The passage that catches the reader’s attention in this extract is the explanation of the Berlin war in 1989. The main factor of importance in the passage is the decision of leaders to transition from a religious to political environment. The big puzzle remains to be whether it was because the European Economic Community was changed to European movement, thus opting to do away with economic matters. However, it is explained by the author in the following statement, “I suggest that the term reveals how people reduce complex relations of power between majorities and minorities to issues of culture and psychology” (Ozyurek, 2005, p. 510).
The unclear aspect in this passage is the impact that the cold war had in promoting Islamophobia. There is a need for a deeper discussion in class to clarify the understanding of the activities that led to rise in Islamophobia and how they were directly impacted by the cold war. The most important aspects of discussion concerning the passage would be how the war led to a division between Christian and Muslims.
Chapter 2, The Nature Lovers- found in one of the attachments titled book scan
The analysis of traditional elements in Swedish lifestyle is a passage of importance in the chapter. It depicts the way Swedes value nature and are lovers of the goodies that nature gives. This is a striking revelation that is contrary to the basic perceptions that they are lovers of industrialization and are based in industrial centers. It is clear that there is still love for nature through the following quote, “this love for nature seems so stably anchored in today’s Swedish lifestyles that many argue that it must always have been the case” (Ch. 2, p. 43). The depiction of Swedes as nature lovers also beats the initial belief that they are centered in industrial parks.
However, there is unclear explanation of the magical landscape since there are no clear points on how creatures coexisted. There is a need for a detailed explanation to point out the mode of interaction between the different supernatural beings. The purposeful explanation should also show how the roles for different positions were determined and shared.
Chapter 4: The Cultural Basis of Physical Aversion- found in one of the attachments titled book scan
A passage that evokes strong feelings in this reading is the expression of how majority of Swedes live. it explains their life standards and the way of living that expresses poverty and loss of culture. It is amazing how people in a developed country could be living in such devastating environment. Such effect in feelings and disbelief is expressed by the author when they state, “such sharp deviations from today’s standards of cleanliness are hard to accept” (Ch. 4, p. 159).
An unclear passage in the context is the taboo theory. There is no clear explanation of how it connects to the way of living of the Swedes and how it expresses their general lifestyles. There is a need to explain how physical dirt could be a subject of interest in determining the u...