Instructor clarifies American culture
British understatement, French existentialism and
Italian pasta are aspects of each nation's distinct culture.
Yet when the topic turns to U.S. culture, Americans
seem to have an identity problem — many say it doesn't
even exist.
But at least one University instructor adamantly
disagrees.
"There are just limitless amounts of American
culture," says Bill Rankin, who teaches an American
Culture course to foreign students at the American
English Institute. "There is no question about it, and the
problem in teaching it is there's so much to teach.
Naturally in a course as small as mine with foreigners,
we don't go too much in depth," he adds.
Rankin's course is one of two electives offered by
the AEI for advanced foreign students ■studying English.
"Our interest is in teaching them (American) culture
so that they can understand their experience here and
of course, they're more aware of American culture than
an American would be because it's different."
Americans are too immersed in their culture to
recognize it, but traveling abroad makes one more
aware of it, he adds.
"Anyone who leaves the country sees America a lot
more clearly."
Rankin himself lived abroad for nine years in France,
six years in Africa and one year in India. Once he return
ed to his homeland, American culture was obvious to
him.
Some people assume America is unique because of
its melting pot character, but "all cultures are melting
'The whole idea of clothes as
something you can do anything in is a
very American concept'
— Bill Rankin
pots," Rankin says. "Ours is just a more recent melting
pot. Generally, the better the melting pot, the better the
culture, but it takes time.
"Our culture is in an early stage compared to others
that have been around 2,000 years. An older culture is
going to be smoother and more harmonious in that time
than ours. And mixtures have almost always been good,
but not immediately. You can't immediately get it all
together."
Although baseball, hotdogs, apple pies and
Chevrolets are distinctly American, U.S. citizens can be
proud of more prestigious cultural aspects of their na
tion as well — in art, music, literature and philosophy.
Rut probably the most obvious aspect of U.S.
culture is the American lifestyle.
To many foreigners, America is the 'promised land,'
the 'free' land. And because 'freedom' plays a big role in
the American lifestyle, Rankin devotes much of his class
to tracing its roots in American history, from Thomas Jef
r ■ i vi———■
ferson to Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King.
"Freedom is a pretty important concept to the
American people. We show the good and the bad —
religious freedom and cults. Religious freedom is ob
viously a good thing. Are cults a good thing? We talk
about how much freedom we should have because it's
very different in their countries."
On the lighter side of culture is the American war
drobe. Blue jeans — long a favorite American staple —
are enjoying worldwide popularity now, Rankin says,
and jeans epitomize the American sense of practicality.
"The whole idea of clothes as something you can do
anything in is a very American concept." Americans
commonly dress for comfort and practicality to fit their
active lifestyles, he says.
"Practicality is a very important aspect of American
culture. The world is becoming more practical, but in
Europe doing anything manual, such as screwing in a
lightbulb, is something only the menial classes do. This
has changed, but there are still remnants of that." And
this gradual shift overseas towards more practical
lifestyles is partly influenced by the American 'ethic' of
practicality, Rankin says.
Like its clothing, America's food exemplifies its
citizens, who themselves descend from many cultures.
"We have all kinds of extremes, from junk food to
granola," Rankin says. "We discuss what typical
American food is, but we can't seem to get too clear on
that, especially around here where Mexican food seems
to be the most common American food, " Rankin says,
chuckling.
Another 'gray' area of American culture is etiquette.
One of the most common problems foreign students
have in the United States is the proprieties of dating —
who calls whom, who foots the bill, how much to tip.
Even many Americans don't know the answers to these
questions because, says Rankin, America has no rigid
etiquette rules like other nations.
Foreign cultures and manners "tend to be very fix
ed," and foreigners often expect to be given an exact
rundown of what they can and can't do here, Rankin
says.
Because no hard and fast rules exist, Americans are
given instructions wherever they go.
"Everything is spelled out because nobody knows
ahead of time (how to behave), and we decide what
we're going to do sort of arbitrarily in a situation,"
Rankin says. .
For example, while eating lunch in a campus
restaurant, Rankin noticed small signs at each table in
forming patrons of the table's minimum order and max
imum amount of dining time. The likelihood of finding
such instructions in a foreign country's restaurant are
slim, Rankin says.
"It's impossible to think of that happening
anywhere else in the world but here. People would find
it terribly offensive, and they would walk immediately
out of the restaurant — if they didn't break a window
while they were doing it — because your right is to stay
the amount of time you want to. That's a right they think
they have," Rankin says. Americans feel they should eat
quickly and get out, while other cultures take a more
leisurely approach to dining.
Americans' relatively fast-paced lifestyle often ex
tends to human relationships as well, Rankin says.
Although foreign students tend to see Americans as
outgoing people, they have difficulty getting beneath
the smiling exterior.
"I'm always surprised by how they (foreign students)
tend to see Americans as very friendly and open at first,
but they say you (Americans) never get to know anybody
really well."
An increasingly technological society may also con
tribute to a decreased emphasis on relationships — and
on culture. Yet technology is only another culture,
Rankin says.
"Everything is cultural. You can't get away from
culture. Even what we're moving into — a technological
culture — is still a culture, but it's not a national culture.
It's an international culture.
"But you can't get away from culture. You just
cannot."
Story by Joan Herman
Graphic by Shawn Bird
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