Ecotons Simulation Assignment

Task: Write a 2 page essay reflecting on 4 points from the summary found in the folder from the Ecotons session.

Even our old Earth stays the same size; our 'world' is getting smaller and smaller. This 'smaller' world brings more inter-cultural relations and communication, and sometimes these relations cause distinct cultures to come across and unite them.

At least, when we consider about our highly virtual social lives, we are reading news, seeing fun things, watching movies, shows, talking to people from various different cultures. Let's consider chatting with people; the first thing you have to remember is the culture of people who you talk to. It is a common mistake to offend people from particular cultures. When we have further information about their culture, it is easy to set up new inter-cultural relations.

Sometimes, there is another miscommunication, even in intracultural communications; misunderstanding of intention. One could be with positive intention, and 'intends' to do/say good things to his/her surroundings, however, often he/she is mistaken and misunderstood. If we lay this situation in a broader sense, in a macro view, it is quite more than often to face this kind of situation. Possible reasons for this could be lack of language knowledge, lack of cultural knowledge, or just lack of communication with humanity.

When two different cultures face each other, they see their differences in their eyes. At first look, those differences might offend the eye. But, actually if one should have a deeper look in the eye, he/she will recognize that they have more similarities than their differences. The point is to show the people how they can reach, find and bridge the similarities -to throw the differences away.

After bridging the cultures with their similarities, it is easier to create a common culture with combining these two into one; causing a brand new culture to emerge. When we look at American culture; until 300 years ago, there was not such a culture named 'American.' The cultures emigrated from continental Europe and Britain created the same common values, shared the same common beliefs, and these all provided their American culture to be born. But this should not mean that parental cultures melted and faded away within American culture; instead, they turned into something unique. For example, Italian-American culture created Pizza, Afro-American culture created Jazz, Blues, and Rap music, and other many examples go by this.