I need an idea for my paper. I need a "well defined cultural trait" and 2 different societies?

Question

I need a "well defined cultural trait" and 2 different societies both from a different continent. I will be comparing these 2 societies based on the chosen cultural trait, but I'm stuck, i can't think of anything, can anyone think of anything?

Answer 1

You can try researching the "Inuits" from Alaska (Eskimos) & their counterparts, the Siberian Arctic Peoples.  Some of them supposedly crossed over a land bridge, Beringia (?), & came to North America, while the others stayed behind in Siberia.   Both cultures believe in Animism, myths surrounding the hunt, totems & similar ceremonial songs.

They look alike, have similar religious beliefs etc.

Hope this helps.

Phyllis G.

Answer 2

<>  One "well defined cultural trait" would be "Religious Practices"

       You could compare the "Voodoo" culture of Haiti with the

     Greek Orthodox version of Christianity.

       or You could compare the Moslems of the Middle-East

     with the Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.

<> Another "well defined cultural trait" is the selection and preparation of food - or just simply, "Dietary Habits"

       You could compare the Middle-Eastern taboos against

     pork and other "forbidden foods" with the food-serving

     customs of - maybe Japan, China, or even somewhere

     here in the Western Hemisphere.

<> Oh yeah, and speaking of food and drink, how about "TEA"?

       You could compare the elaborate, almost ritualized

     Japanese tea ceremonies with the British afternoon "tea

     time" customs.

<> Another "well defined cultural trait" would be

educational practices.

       Pick two areas of the world where educational practices

     are very different.  At what ages do the kids start

     schooling, what sorts of things are they taught?  How is

     their progress measured? How is it rewarded?  etc.

<> Then, of course, there's courtship and marriage customs

<> Cultural traits with regards to eproduction

       You could compare the taboos against birth-control in

     some areas with the Chinese mandate of 1 child per

     family.

Answer 3

What about the behaviors of sports fans in two different cultures?

Answer 4

Well here is an easy one: Marriage.. Thats a well defined cultural trait and exists in every culture... you can pick any continent for that one and it would be easy too.. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

do they have to be modern cultures?

you could do a comparison between two warlike cultures (one modern one ancient), as in ones that emphasized martial skills in their natural development.

For example the Spartans and the Gurkha's.  the Spartans of course are an ancient society based on war and conflict and the Gurkha's are pretty much the last remaining militaristic society today.

War might not be your thing though.

Answer 6

You could do something obvious but broad like religion but I'd recommend doing something that can be explained very well in the length of your paper.  This might be something like attitudes towards people with mental illness, punishment/rehabilitation of criminals, treatment of homosexuality or gender deviance, etc.  You should consider what societies you will do at the same time as you try to decide on a topic.  Some topics will seem much easier or more interesting if you keep two societies with very different attitudes in mind.  Also, when writing, keep in mind that you can't just describe the differences - describe and then tell what it means, why it's different and possibly what the differences mean for the larger understanding of your topic.