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Paragraph 1
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rhetorical part: assertion, support, explanation
analogy: pull out your gun, load, aim and shoot
An assertion is like a gun. Anyone can pull one out and start waving it around. By itself, an assertion is an opinion, all talk, lots of fervent belief, but nothing else. To make it more persuasive, all you can do it raise your voice, wag the gun more wildly.
The support is the bullets. It's what you load your gun with. A loaded gun is a lot more threatening. It can, potentially, do a lot more damage than the gun by itself.
However, to effectively communicate, you need to pull the trigger. No matter how good your gun and your bullets, you're never going to hit your target unless you pull the trigger. Your target is your reader, and that's a singular "reader", on purpose. You cannot shoot everyone with a gun. It's pretty much one at a time.
Same with an essay. Don't try to write to "everyone".
Write to one specific person, one reader. You need to explain
what you want
your reader to get out of the evidence. Then it's not just your opinion
against someone else's. It's your substantiated, explained opinion,
which is more persuasive and carries more weight than the opinions of
those wagging their guns at each other.
Write a paragraph or two, 250 words maximum, the uses this unit of discourse to say something interesting about the culture of your country.
Explaining that something interesting will involve one of the rhetorical modes: definition, comparison-contrast, process analysis, cause-effect.
define - characterize it
compare - compare it to something
process - place it in a process
cause-effect - what caused it? what does it cause?
example: I searched for < Sudan henna > at Google Images and YouTube.
The image on the right is one piece of information, one "bullet", to use my analogy above. You could describe and characterize those tattoos. You could compare them to the tattoos you see on your friends' bodies. You could explain the process of getting the tattoo. If you did some more research, you could discuss why? What caused them to get those tattoos?
Another example: Burmese refugees in Buffalo come from the Karen ethnic group. I searched for < Karen music
> at YouTube. The music is hard to listen to. What makes it so hard?
What are the instruments? Why aren't there any harmonies? Again,
define, compare, place in a process, etc.
Biking in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, there are more bicycles than people. How come? It is a small, crowded country. If everyone drove a car, there wouldn't be enough room. In the last hundred years, while the car culture grew as it did in the U.S., the far-sighted Dutch developed an alternative: bicycles. What does it mean when riding bicycles becomes a major social policy with wide support over many generations?
The Dutch have built a safe and convenient nationwide infrastructure for bicycles (fiets,
in Dutch). The bike path in the picture above is part of a continuous
(as in unbroken) network of thousands of miles of bicycle paths
throughout the Netherlands. In other words, you can go anywhere on a
bike that you could go in a car without stopping for cars or red lights. Ever.
Where are the cars, then? On the right is a bird's eye view via Google
Earth of an example of how the bike paths relate to the car lanes in
Leiden, the town I lived in just south of Amsterdam. All the red-paved
lanes are for bikes only. Note the roundabout and the tunnels under the
roadway. Note the convergence near the top where the car and bike lanes
go over the Rhine River. The bicycle infrastruture is parallel but
separate and you can see for yourself that it is clean. It is also
safe. According to the International Road Traffic and Accident Database, the Netherlands has the safest roads
of several dozen industrialized countries. Over a hundred cyclists die
per year, but per mile traveled, it's a very safe activity. Did I
mention that it's healthier than sitting in a car?
What about convenience? The picture on the lower right
shows the parking lot at the main train station in Amsterdam. People
ride one bike to the train, take the train to where they work, and ride
another bike to work. Thus, this parking lot has the bikes of people
who live in Amsterdam but work elsewhere, as well as the bikes of
people who live elsewhere but work in Amsterdam. No matter that people
in other countries have so many myths and excuses: narrow streets, population spread over great distances, cheap gas, hills, snow, and on and on. According to the Dutch Cyclists' Union,
on any given day in the Netherlands, 5 million cyclists make around 14
million cycle journeys. That's in a country of 16 million people.
One
area where so much biking has a curious effect is in the independence
of teenagers. In a car culture, people younger than the driving age are
dependent on someone else to drive them in a car. Or they take public
transportation, which can be expensive. Dutch kids have an alternative.
At a very early age and certainly as teenagers, Dutch kids get on their
bikes, go around the corner, and they're gone! They are independent of
their parents in a way that they seem to enjoy. And speaking of close
observation. Look again at the two
pictures on the left of people biking. They
don't wear bike helmets in the Netherlands, either.
If you're interested in learning more, here are some bike parking pics and a colletion of images: Amsterdam Bicycles, (82 pictures of bicycles taken during 73 minutes on 9/12/06 in Amsterdam, Netherlands).
Why they don't wear helmets: Dutch cyclists talk about helmets and bicycles
Imagine
yourself walking through a market and suddenly something colorful and
vibrant catches your eyes. Like a moth to a flame you need to
inspect what are these indigo blues and deep shades of magenta? (see
attachment) Upon your discovery you find that these amazingly placed
abstract colors are part of what many call a Persian carpet. These
beautifully designed carpets are not just for adding color to a
decorative room, each color and design tells a lifelong story of the
person who hand crafted it.
Carpet weaving is one of Iran’s most distinguished types of culture and art, and dates back to ancient Persia. These magnificent carpets flood the Iranian markets and many tourists and travelers are captivated by these truly one of a kind treasures. Each carpet is strenuously hand loomed and each color and design is the product of the weaver’s imagination. The weaving of these rugs is tedious and difficult and depending on the size the rug may take few months to several years to complete. Carpet weavers spend their whole lives making these rugs and most are considered to be masterpieces.
Just as ancient royalty sought out these carpets, many of todays wealthy still decorate their homes with these elaborate carpets. These exotic rugs are very much in demand according to wiki.com “In 2008, Iran’s exports of hand woven carpets was $420 million of 30% of the world’s market. There is an estimated population of 1.2 million weavers in Iran producing carpets for domestic markets and international export.”
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In this paragraph I am going to about Afghani
religion. Most of the people in Afghanistan follow Islam. Islam is the
second largest religion in the world. It has 1.5 billion. Afghanistan’s
people believe that god is one. Afghanistan has two types of people in
this religion, called Shia muslim and Sunni muslim. 80% of the people
are Sunni and 19% are Shia. 1% of the population is hindu. Islam is
religion of unity, equality and peace. According to 2009 Muslim
population report which was done by CIA and other sources, there are
more than 1.8 billion mislims in the world, which makes it world’s
second largest country. Population of muslims in America is more than
10 million. Since 9/11 muslim religion has been going through a rough
time. It is the fastest growing religion of 21st century. There are
five pillars in Islam. Five pillars are as follows:-
· Shahadah- Faith or belief in oneness of god.
· Namaz- prayed that is held everyday.
· Rusa- self purification by fasting.
· Zakat- concern of others welfare.
· Hajj – pilgrimage to Makkah.
Jihad is an Arabic word in Islam. This is being understood by the
western world. People think that Jihad is a terrorist word. The holy
book of Islam is called Quran. Quran came into existence in 17th
century. This book has 114 chapters in it. Each chapter is called Sura.
Each Sura is formed by several Ayat (verses) Quran is supposed to
be read five times a day. Quran has so many scientific facts in it.
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Afghanistan culture is very different than I personally
am used to. One aspect of their culture that differs greatly than
the American culture is religion. Afghanistan is Muslim and they
treat religion much differently. Something I have learned about
Afghanistan culture is the fact they pray at least five times a day
which is wonderful. Being proud of their Muslim heritage they
also have a Muslim Holy Day which lands on every Friday.
Every Friday they close down their shops and businesses for the Holy
Day. Another cultural practice they do is the holy month of
Ramadan which is considered the most holy month of the year according
to the Muslim religion in Afghanistan. During Ramadan month,
anyone who is Muslim will fast. Fasting means no eating,
drinking, cigarette smoking, or gum chewing. The Muslim religion
in Afghanistan has many different practices that coincide with their
religion but these are just a few.
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Traditional Sudanese Marriage
You
know what I like about most modern marriages? Usually they are between
two people that love each other deeply. Two people who can see spending
the rest of their lives together. Hopefully the two know each other’s
ins and outs. Though what if you were a little girl growing up in
Sudan? Well if you were, most likely chances of you getting married to
the one you love is all in the hands of your parents. Traditionally
marriages in Sudan are arranged marriages.
Traditionally marriages are arranged by ones parents. Matches for their
daughters are usually cousin, second cousin, or someone from the same
class or tribe. They have to be financially stable before they
can marry. I found this interesting because that is not a requirement
in America and yet many of the marriages that end in divorce are
because of financial issues. The male has to be able to provide
for an acceptable bride-price of jewelry, clothes, furniture, and among
some tribes, cattle.
It is not uncommon for the bride to not have seen her groom until the
wedding. Now you probably are thinking that you’re not supposed to see
the bride before the wedding because it’s considered “bad luck,” but
not knowing who each other is or even what they look like until the
wedding day is a different story.
Many of their marriages end up in divorces anyway but that was to be
expected. I think more than being financially stance the most important
thing in a marriage is Love. I think if they’re going to arrange
themarriages at least let them get to know each other and see what each
other looks like.
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Imagine a culture where beauty and courage was judged not by how skinny you were, strong you are, the clothes you wore, the length of your hair, or the toys that you had, but instead by the amount of scares on your face. A culture where ones path to adulthood means having a sharp blade repeatedly dug so deep into their face it actually scares the bone. This blade would be used to measure courage, beauty, and respect for ones family. The scares are believed to bring respect, to deny this ritual, to flinch or scream during would mean you are a coward and have turned your back on your family. To the Dinka and Nuer tribe in Sudan this is a way of life. It is a ritual used to show ones courage, sexual attraction, age, wealth and social status within the tribe. It’s hard to imagine a place where you are not judge by whether you have the newest Ipod touch or if your phone is the newest Android. This is a culture that’s beauty is literally skin deep.
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A big part of Eritrean culture is the practice of a coffee ceremony. It’s not only part of Eritrean culture but is also part of Ethiopian and Arab culture. This ceremony usually takes place when there are visitors or it’s a special occasion. They start of by brewing the coffee beans over hot coals in container of fire also known as a brazier, its tradition that once the beans are roasted visitors are given the chance to smell the smoke and smell the roasted coffee beans. Once this is done they boil the beans in a large pot with a long neck and a spout, and then they wait for the coffee to pour out of the neck and strain it through horse hair. Then the host pours the coffee into cups with no handles but with this process you have to be careful because you don’t want the coffee beans to contaminate the brew because if it does you have to go back and repeat this process. This coffee ceremony is similar to many other African ceremonies such as in Kenya instead of using coffee we use tea and the process is very similar in terms of the way of brewing. In Africa when you have guests over a polite host will offer tea or coffee in the traditional way by making it from the coffee beans roasting then boiling it, and with tea using tea leaves. It’s a sign of respect and your way of saying you’re happy to have guests in your home.
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The people of Sudan have many different cultures and customs that they use to express themselves regularly. One of the most important customs are henna tattoos. For over five thousand years henna has been used for a symbol of good luck and happiness. According to Robert Najem, there are over 800 million people following in the faith of henna. Throughout the world henna is actually used on animals such as horses to dye their manes. People also use the henna ink to dye their hair darker. Today henna is still used in Sudan’s culture especially for woman getting married. Before a bride’s ceremony, she is painted with intricate designs on her hands and feet. Once on the skin before the wedding, the henna must be left undisturbed for several hours to create a dark, stained look. In other situations, henna is used to ward off “evil spirits” and surround them with a more positive aura. The “evil spirit” in Sudanese culture is known as the “evil eye”. Theses tattoos are said to send the “eye” away. Another way henna has been used is for fertility purposes. Sudanese people think that when the ink is applied on the skin that they have a better chance of becoming pregnant. The artists that make the henna all used their own specific recipe that they will not share with anyone. Whatever the artist’s system is, they will keep their tradition of henna going for centuries.
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The culture of Somalia is different than many other
cultures throughout the world. The culture ranges from the music to the
tradition of their clothes and even hemp and much more. But mainly
focusing on the music of Somalia is a very interesting topic to study
upon.
The culture of Somalia has had a strong influence of
that of the Muslims and the Muslim culture. For example, the music of
Somalia is heard as the lyrics of the suffering people of Somalia and
what they go through each and every day. The lyrics express the lives
of many people in Somalia and leave a long lasting expression on
everyone who may listen to a few of the songs. The songs have combined
both Arabic and African notes to create a nice flowing beat and words
that the listeners will enjoy. The drums are a very important and main
instrument in all of the Somali music. The drums bring out the sound
and make a catchy beat for the listeners. The Somali music dates back
all the way to Independence which many songs express the theme of war.
Some songs are written about freedom but at this point in time many of
the songs are about crisis.
Somali music is very different than most other countries music
and is a huge drastic difference than our music in the United States.
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Can you picture walking through a country that literally looks like a museum? In my eyes Iraq is like an outside museum with all these humungous monuments in different parts of the area. There is no way these monuments won’t catch your attention if you were to be near one or even if u seen a picture. These monuments are unique because each one has they own reason for being built.
One fascinating monument in Iraq is the “Hands of Victory”. I mean its Gigantic; it’s located at a 140 feet above the high way leading to Baghdad. This monument was built to celebrate Saddam on victory over Iran. The monument was built with a Triumphal Arch to honor his victory. The Hands of Victory monument is two identical pieces crossing each other. Saddam used a model of his real forearms at the bottom of these monuments. The swords are the pieces that cross each other. It’s creative how this two pieced monument was “made from the guns of dead Iraqi soldiers that were melted and recast as the 24-ton blades of the swords.”
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Ethiopia has a strong culture and loves musical
ceremonies. They particularly like to play all sorts of instruments not
really popular or known in the U.S like the massinqo, the massinqo is a
one stringed violin that when played in the hands of a musician makes
all different types of melodies and notes. The massinqo is completely
organic made of just wood, goat skin, cow gut string and horse tail
hair. This amazing Ethiopian instrument was the beginning of the violin
family the first violin to be made which inspired the Chinese two
stringed fiddle and the Arab one-stringed rebab. Michael Powne wrote a
book called Ethiopian music and in it he indicated that the idea of the
mussinqo came from the Arabian Massinqo, the Ethiopian response to this
was that powne was unsure of the origin of the real massinqo. Among the
massinqo is the krar which is a six-stringed lyre that’s played usung
the fingers, the washint which is just a simple flute. The Ethiopians
also like to play the drums they use three types of drums the negarit,
the kebero, and the atamo. The atamo is so small it could be held In
one hand and played with the fingers of the opposite hand. Maybe the
U.s just took some of these instruments and put a different spin on
them and precisely gave them a new name just for the failed attempt of
discovering them themselves.
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The arts of Burma have a great impact on the people. It
is a country full of ancient traditions and culture. Burmese art is
based on the Buddhist and Hindu cosmology and myths. There are ten
different types of pan se mya, which means arts. They are often known
are the “Ten Flowers.” These arts have been passed on from one century
to another until today. Blacksmith, woodcarving, goldsmith, stucco
relief, the art of gold and silver smith, making floral designs using
masonry, stone carving, turning designs on the lathe, painting, making
of lacquer ware, and bronze casting. The Blacksmith craft is the most
famous in the South wonders of the world. There are also traditional
arts such as silk weaving, pottery, gemstone engraving, and gold leaf
making.
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modified: February 2012
by Douglas Anderson
http://toLearn.net/eng110/para_cultures.htm
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