Reading Prompts

The Evolution, Migration, and Diversification of Human Cultures [Prompt 1]
1. Pangaea was a supper continent composed of all the (our) current continents connected as one big one. It existed 200-250 million years ago. The most important concept to understand about Pangaea is that it proves the theory that interrelation among modern species that do not live on the same continent, and haven't since Pangaea. The super continent began breaking apart around 180-200 million years ago. Pangaea is significant because it show that species are interrelated, or rather evolved from shared ancestors.
2. Hominids, or Homo Erectus, showed up around 4 million-750 thousand years ago. Homo Sapiens appeared about 40-100 thousand years ago, originally in Africa and they migrated from there. The ability to adapt to their changing environment it was set Homo Sapiens apart.
3. According to Crosby culture is a means or system of storing and altering patterns of behavior in brain cells, not in genetics. This is what humans are, essentially, the pattern in which we behave.
4. Humans Migrated to Europe around fifty thousand years ago, Australia forty thousand, and the Americas thirteen thousand years ago.
5. When the people migrated to the Americas it was over a land bridge that later became submerged. So the American Populations was then isolated by an ocean.
6. The Neolithic Revolution began when man stopped chipping stone into weapons and began to grin a polish them. This age ended when they learned to smelt metals, thus beginning the bronze age.
7. In the Neolithic Revolution humans learned many new skills like written language, how to construct things, and agriculture as a means of producing food. These skills allowed then to settle in one place, no longer needing to be nomadic to follow their food source.

Debating Cultural Differences: The Last 13,000 Years [Prompt 2]
1. Mr. Diamonds main point is that the reason mankind thrived in Eurasia was that it is roughly on the same latitude. This meant that the whole of the giant land mass was generally the same climate and temperance, so a crop abundant in Spain would with nurturing thrive in say the Balkans or Thailand. Geographically and metaphorically speaking it is easier to move sideways than it is up and down, especially so in agriculture.
2. Diamond believes that the ultimate factor driving history was the urge to settle, or cease needing to follow the food source, and set up and agricultural base. Thus ones who were successful in this endeavor became highly esteemed, and those who failed were looked down on, creating a hierarchy of sort which lead to class structure. A need for protection from rivals and cure for sickness lead to the formation of an military body and science of sorts, respectively.
3. Blaut criticize Diamond with what I thought was the first logical flaw to his theory, that China (specifically) developed very differently and at dissimilar rates.
4. After considering both authors writings, I think that they both have theories and that mine is somewhere in between the two. The climatic similarities had to help, but there are decided difference culturally; in the end I'm left thinking that they are theories, and nothing more.

Understanding Cultural Interactions [Prompt 3]
1. Culture is the qualities inside each person, and collectively in a society, that create interest in intellectual pursuits, religious doctrines, political ideologies, etc. and from that generate a belief system. In relation to the other demarcations of humans, culture is the only one that is learned or otherwise developed through life. All the demarcations of humans, excluding culture, are dependant on genetics or the region in which the subject is raised. American culture is the culture of those people who reside in the American where as, conversely the US culture is on countries culture, and a subset of American.
2. It be part of a culture, truly and not just a passing fancy of the time, one only needs four generations.
3. Cultural beliefs change due to a great many variant, in modern times technology has been the most likely to due so. I think that cultures naturally, and with assistance develop, hopefully for the better. Progress of a culture is less agreeable, only because to say a culture has progressed insinuates that it changed for the better, which is not always the case.
4. I most definitely think that the nationalized or rather regional cultures of the globe are becoming more globalized in mindset. I cant see how they are individually ever really going to be completely globalized, at least not in my life time. There are too many grudges and differences of opinion at the moment to be completely globalized. Though I do like the global economies and globalized politics, i think some difference in culture will always be a good thing; otherwise we as a population would be like minded and always in agreement, never to think outside the box or have a difference of opinion.
5. I think a pursuit of an understanding and appreciation of the literature, fine arts, history, political ideologies, and religious doctrines of not only your culture but many others will provide the necessary skills for cross cultural competency; and a knowledge of languages couldn't hurt. I admittedly hold very high standards.Though I suppose one could get by with nothing more than curiosity, manners and an open mind, after all these three are the keys to any interaction with something new.

Analyzing Cultural Interactions [Prompt 4]
I read the Delay, and was left just as perplexed as I'm sure the lovebirds in the story were. I profess to only know a marginal amount about Japanese culture. After this class and talk to a Japanese coworker, I have concluded i just don't get it. In the story there is a seemingly normal chance encounter that leads to romance, and a potential proposal. Nothing odd about that, except that the girl in this parable is from a rural Japanese town, and thus needs family consent to marry, among I'm told countless other things. as a girl who grew up in a preponderantly feminist friendly society it bothers me that Junko needed permission to marry the man she loves, oh well. I suppose that a delay on her parents behalf is not so odd, but the explanations all left me wanting further information. Option A was the the parents were running some informal background check, which is fine by me to a degree. Though a three week delay seems like plenty time to do so and have a decision. So to explanation B, that is her parents and their rural community have poor telephone connection. Not to sound rude, narrow minded, or to stereotype but last time i checked japan creates the most cutting edge technology, i would think that in three weeks they could find a means to relay and answer. Not to mention that even if they had to use "snail nail" (i.e. a letter) it could have got there in the allotted weeks. Explanation C and D fall in to the culture gap between me and the Japanese culture. Yes Junko was in Tokyo without a formal Chaperon, and this could lead to trepidation on her parents behalf. But to me that where the "what are your intentions with/for my daughter" comes in to play. On the subject of an unmarried older sister preventing her union, its a plausible reason, personally it makes me think of 17th century English society. All in all i think that the last two explanations are the most likely reason for the delay because they are based in the Japanese culture.