TEXT HERE

Môn học: Văn hóa Mỹ

Mã môn học: SOC307
 Phương thức liên lạc-Contact

-ThS Vũ Thị Thu Trang

Khoa Ngoại ngữ - Trường Đại học Ngân hàng
Tp.HCM
-Email: [email protected]
 Course Description

Schedule
Week Content

1 (23/11) MODULE 1: AMERICAN VALUES AND BELIEFS

2 (30/11) MODULE 2: HERITAGE

3 (07/12) MODULE 3: AMERICAN BUSINESS

4 (14/12) MODULE 4: GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS + MIDTERM (20%)

5 (21/12) MODULE 5: ETHNIC AND RACIAL DIVERSITY + ASSIGNMENT

(20%)
6 (28/12) MODULE 6: EDUCATION, LEISURE TIME, THE AMERICAN
FAMILY (online lesson)

3
MODULE 1: AMERICAN VALUES AND
BELIEFS
Do you want to live in USA?
And why??
Vocabulary
preview

PowerPlugs Templates for PowerPoint P 6

review
 Melting pot

(n) A place where the people and cultures of many

different places mix together
Ex: USA is a cultural melting pot.

profound

(adj) Felt or experienced in an extreme way

Ex: The speech had a profound influence on him.

individualism

[uncountable] (n) The idea that freedom of thought and action

for each person is the most important quality of a society
Ex: Many Americans believe strongly in individualism.
 inalienable /ɪnˈeɪliənəbəl/ right

A right that cannot be taken from you

Ex: All men are created equal with certain inalienable
rights.

plight
(n) A bad or serious condition or situation of something
Ex: The plight of the homeless.
Few of us can be unmoved by the plight of the
refugees.

prestige/preˈstiːʒ/
(n) Admiration given to s.o/s.th for its high quality or
social influence
Ex: the company has acquired international prestige.
I. The Context of
Traditional American
values: Racial, Ethnic,
Religious, and
Cultural Diversity

9
 Racial and ethnic diversity

21th century, The US

has the greatest
diversity of racial,
ethnic, cultural and
religious groups due
to the large
immigration.

10
54 ethnicities 700 ethnicities
11
Racial and ethnic diversity
5 racial and ethnic categories:

Latin American

Asian American

African American

White American

Native American
12
 The religious diversity

IslamBuddhism
1% 1% Hinduism
Other religions
ju- 1% 3% Religion
daism
2% Unanswered in the US
Mor 1% (2019)
monis Catholi Protes
m cism tan-
2% 20% tism
43%

No religion
26%

13
 Cultural diversity

Melting pot Salad Bowl 14

“The land of
opportunity”

16
 Self-
Individual
freedom
reliance
Equality of
opportunity Competition
Materia
l wealth Hard-work

Chances Prices

Traditional American Values 17

II. Traditional American
Values:
1. Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance
2. Equality of Opportunity and
Competition
3. Material Wealth and Hard Word
II. Traditional American
Values

1. Individual
Freedom and
Self-Reliance.
 Why do children in
America have to be
independent from their
family as early as
possible, usually from
18-21?
HISTORICAL DECISION

Escaped the controls.

Establish new nation - the United
States of America (1776).
Overthrow the ruling class of
noblemen (1789).
FREEDOM

The desire and the

ability of all individuals

to control their own

destiny without
outside interference.
 AMERICAN’S BELIEF

LOSING
LOSING RESPECT
DEPENDENCE
FREEDOM OF
PEERS

MAY WEAKEN THE AMERICAN CHARACTER

 CONCLUSION

Power
American
Individuals must be
life’s
seen as self-reliant
mainstream
Respect
II. Traditional American Values

2. Equality of
Opportunity and
Competition
 Equality of
oppotunity

- Everyone has a chance

to succeed.

-The lack of hereditary

aristocracy.
Elon Musk - The founder
and chief designer of
Space X
The 2nd richest person in
the world
 Competition

The pressure of competition

II. Traditional American Values

3. Material Wealth
and Hard Work.

30
Material Wealth and Hard Work
“Going from rags to riches”
Materialistic wealth became a
substitute for judging someone
social status
The price Americans have paid for the material wealth: hard work
III.

35
MODULE 2: HERITAGE
 01
The Impact Of The
American Frontier
 THE The Impact Of The
FRONTIER AMERICAN American Frontier
FRONTIER
 🔓FRONTIER

The Frontier is defined as "a region at the edge of a settled area".

a zone where no
Era of massive
state exercises Native Americans
migration and
complete political delegated to the
westward
control worst lands
expansion
 🔓 About The American Frontier

❏ American frontier, in United States

history, the advancing border that
marked those lands that had been
settled by Europeans. It is
characterized by the westward
movement of European settlers
from their original settlements on
the Atlantic coast (17th century) to
the Far West (19th century).
 1.The Impact of the American Frontier

❏ Despite the fact that frontier happened about a century ago, it is

still an obvious evidence in the US until today
❏ Frontier had become important aspect in shaping American
values
❏ Frontier experience had been depicted in form of movies and
TV shows, featuring a cowboy fighting Indian
❏ Until this very day, most Americans become aware of the darker
side of the settlement, later known as the time when
Americans Indians were mistreated
- Frontier experience began around 1600s until
1890 when the settlement happened
- Most frontier usually found in the western part of
the country, where both land and life were full of
one and rather primitive
- Successfully settling one frontier after another,
they had moved across the continent for 2.700
miles - which made them think that it was their
destiny to control the land
- Later on, Native Americans were given some
parts of the land (reservations) though
government later broke their promise which
created a misery for most Indians
 The Impact of the American Frontier

❏ Most Americans are still inspired by the frontier as the

value in its original and purest form
❏ Examples of its value:
● Hard working attitude
● Competitive race for success
● Gold rush
❏ Daily life on the frontier was usually less dramatic,
although many stories of frontier adventure depicted
life in the hard way
- Individualism, self-reliance, and equality of
opportunity had become the most important
attribute within the frontier heritage in America
- Americans tend to view it as the model of free
individual because of less control over individual
on the frontier
- Frontier still serves as the essential part of a
nostalgic view of the early United States and
people in the Western part still hold these belief
 02
Self-Reliant and
the Rugged
Individualist
 Self - Reliant

This has become an

People on the frontier ideal of the American
had to be self-reliant, hero - A rugged
there were no comforts individualist

A man who has become

tough by living on the
People had to build
frontier - usually
their own houses, make
unmarried, skilled at
their own clothes, hunt
fighting, protector of
etc
others
 The Rugged Individualists
There are 2 types:

Pre-civil war (~1860): man against

the wilderness e.g. Daniel Boone
-A man who could survive in the
wilderness, not remembered for his
fighting ability

Post-Civil war (~1860-1890): man

against man e.g. Cowboys in the Wild
West
-Wilderness has been conquered -
fighting for control of remaining lands.
-Few laws, frequent violence.
-Heroes are able to win fistfights,
gunfights against many enemies.
Typically good v evil
03
American
Macho Heroes
 American Macho Heroes

● Wild West hero has helped

shape the American ideas of
“macho” or male, strength.
● Mostly demonstrated their
strength through physical
violence.
● The model of macho hero was
later used in numerous
setting: such as soldiers in
battle, tough detectives, or
policeman fighting crimes.
 American Macho Heroes

● These heroes are capable of fighting with their fists or guns, or

other weapons.
● Macho male heroes still dominated the American
entertainment, both movies and TV, and in video games.
 American Macho Heroes

The image of rugged individualist has been criticized

THE IMAGE OF
RUGGED
INDIVIDUALIST

overstates the emphasized that

importance of self-
reliance and violence and gun-
understates the usage are able
based on masculine
importance of figure, overlooked to solve
cooperation the importance of problems
pioneer women and
their traits
American Macho Heroes
What are the impacts of
these heroes in live?

Many young people become

desensitized to violence and
killing
High school shooting

Teenagers get guns easily

Inner city gang members
carry guns
 American Macho Heroes

The use of guns

● Americans have the right to “bear arms” which is granted
by the constitution
● There are about 200 million guns in the US today, mostly
own by those who enjoys hunting or gun collector
● Gun ownership increased after the 9/11 incident, which
up to 50% of the US households
● People believe owning guns is the best way to protect
their families
In 1994:
● The Brady Bill banned the sale of many assault weapons
● New Crime Bill was passed to stop violence
However, effort to repeal the ban was launched
 04
Self-reliance, the
Can-Do spirit and
the equality of
opportunity
 Inventiveness and
the Can-Do Spirit

- Self - reliance => the

inventiveness as frontier
people were constantly
facing new issues and
events.

- Many people were

impressed by their ability
=> new things.
 Inventiveness and
the Can-Do Spirit
- The American pioneers '
inventive skills enabled
them to solve a problem
beyond the abilities of
common men and women.

- It had finally spread

throughout the population =>
a national character trait.
 Inventiveness and the
Can-Do Spirit

- Later => America’s Can-

Do spirit => they believe
that a problem can be
solved easily.

=> A sense of optimism

about themselves and
their country => source
of Americans' pride and
inspiration.
 Equality of
Opportunity
- The frontier acted as an
expression of equality of
opportunity in its purest form.

- A tendency => people were

treating each other on an equal
level.

- " What's above the ground is more

important than what's beneath
the ground ".
 Equality of
Opportunity

- It offered a new beginning for

those who failed -> to
advance themselves to the
west for success and a better
life.

- There was always a need for

workers on the frontier.
 Equality of Opportunity

The gap between the rich and

the poor was not as great as
those in the more settled
regions.

* People lived, dressed, and

acted alike, they also tend to
mix socially as there were never
inferior/superior acts in the
society.
 Equality of
Opportunity
* The American frontier may not be
the key to American development,
but it is certainly one major factor as
it strengthens the American ideals of
individual freedom, self - reliance,
and equality of opportunity.

*These frontier values => American

national values.
MODULE 3: THE WORLD OF
AMERICAN BUSINESS
 01
How Business
Competition Reinforces
Other Values
&
The Dream of Getting
Rich
B.
1. (freedom)
2. the ideal of equality of opportunity
3. the value of hard work
C.
1. the best opportunity for becoming wealthy
2. a government-run system of production and
distribution of goods
D.
1. they succeed in building something great out of
nothing
2. the heroes of the frontier who were rugged
individualists
3. novels about poor boys who become successful
businessmen
4. submitting to higher authority
E.
1. run businesses someone else started
2. so many take huge sums of money from their corporations and spend it on
themselves
F.
1. finding a good job and paying the mortgage
2. the rich had gotten richer and the middle class had stayed the same or
gone down
3. how to save or restore the American Dream
G.
1. resilient and self-reliant
2. creativity and innovation
3. meaning in their personal lives and a way to help others
4. billionaires who are social engineers trying to solve the world’s problems
H. The Future of American Business
1. start their own business
2. provides global connections for businesses to interact with customers
around the world
American business
1.1. How Business Competition Reinforces
Other Values

Business institutions are at the

heart of American way of life.

Competition is the major source

of progress and prosperity.
 The effects of competition in business

EFFECTS VALUES
• Individual freedom  No
monopoly of power  free
• It is a value itself enterprise
• It is the means by which • Self–reliance
other basic American • Equality of opportunity  a
values race open to all
• Hard work  develop the
habit of hard work
Businesses
need
some
government
regulations
1.2. The Dream of Getting Rich

The great American Dream

to rise from poverty

modest wealth to great wealth

• Many successful people started
life with very little.
• Business is also seen as
benefiting the entire nation.
• Government-run system of
production and distribution of
goods is as inferior because of
the monopoly of power.
 Free enterprise system, or the
free market.
 A debate: The role of the
government vs. business

Health care Retirement benefits

 02
The Corporate
CEO/CFO
2.1. A final characteristic of most
American entrepreneurs

Strong dislike of submitting

to higher authority.

"I am my own boss. " -

dream of having
their own business and being
their own boss.
 2.2. The corporate CEO/CFO

Chief Financial
Chief Executive Officer
Officer

The leaders who manage the

businesses
 Characteristics of CEO/CFO

Great
Powerful personal
wealth

Don’t have the

hero image of Under severe
entrepreneurs attack
 What angered Americans with
CEO/CFO?

Their lies to
The outrageous Their criminal
the
greed mismanagement
stockholders

• For
example:
The Enron Corporation
 For most of the twentieth century

Moved their Reduced the

factories number of fulltime
overseas employees

Downsized –
Started
more
outsourcing work
competitive
In the twenty-first century

The late
An economic 1990s
recession The value of homes
had increased
dramatically

The 2000s A financial

A "housing crisis
bubble" “Too big to fail”
 03
The Middle Class vs. the
One Percent
 3.1. Life of the Middle class

For 25 years Be
Took money Real misery Index
discouraged
The same income Out of retirement Was the highest
Finding a good
job and paying accounts
the mortgage
 3.2. The One Percent of
rich people

The late 1980s

The gap between the
very rich and the rest
of the population was
growing.
During the economic
crisis
Becoming richer
Business institutions

making money off

of money
 Tax structure

at a lower rate than

earned income
 3.3. The situation of the economy

2011 2012

The stock market Occupy Wall Presidential The alarm in

Street election the book
recovered and
rose higher Third World
America
 04
Redefining the American
Dream
4.1. Many Americans truly are
resilient.

Strong belief in self-

reliance & individual
freedom
 Redefine the American
Dream for themselves
 "Do-It-Yourself " (DIY)
 4.2. Creativity is highly valued in
American society.

"In short, innovation is the

American Dream."

American innovation is what

creates new jobs.

Gary Shapiro - President and CEO of

the Consumer Electronics Association
4.3. The compassionate nature of
Americans and their search for meaning
are a part of the redefinition of
the American Dream.

The DIY innovator: a force for spreading

abundance and a positive force for good.

A number of the techno

philanthropists are DIY social
entrepreneurs.
 "Social entrepreneurs are
intensely enthusiastic people
who are anxious to reach
their goals."

Jeff Skoll - the first

president of eBay
 05
The Entrepreneur as
Business Hero & The Future
of American Business
 5.1. The Entrepreneur as Business
Hero

Entrepreneurs: established the nation's main industries

 They began as

Little CEOs of
Common multibillion- “Selfmade”
money or
people dolar billionares
power
corporation
s

 The American concept of equal opportunity in action

 He succeeds because:
• He lives in a land of equality
of opportunity.
• He practices the American
virtues of self-reliance and
hard work.

Andrew Carnegie - Founding and

leading the Carnegie Steel Company
The Future of American Business
 The number of small businesses makes
up the majority of American businesses.

Creating the majority of new jobs in US

Employing more than half of all American

workers

On the other hand:

The great majority of small businesses have

no staff at all, only the self-employed owner.
Small businesses

> 99%
>99% of all American enterprises

Half of them employing 10 to 99 employees

67%

18.500 large
45% employing more than 500 people
firms
  Significant changes to keep pace with
the development of technology and the
Internet.

Using robotics

Fewer workers

Higher-level
skills
New skills

 Significant changes will be necessary