The Cultural Meaning of Cultural Difference

在这个项目中，两位人类学家将采访美国中产阶级的样本，了解他们对文化差异的看法。这项研究的目标是描述用于理解和解释他们自己与生活在美国境外的人之间的差异的模型。美国境外的人通常被定义为“非西方”、不发达或“第三世界”。用来分析这一文化观念体系的方法将包括检查流行杂志中的亚洲人、非洲人和拉丁美洲人的摄影图像；这些照片将被视为杂志读者的信息来源，也将被视为反映出版界信仰的文化艺术品。该项目还将对个人样本进行密集采访，了解他们对外国人的看法。我们将从这些信息来源中创建一个民族中心主义的文化模型。这个项目很重要，因为它将帮助我们理解美国存在的种族中心主义。这个国家一直被描述为比其他任何西方大国对外国人的了解都要少。随着世界经济形势的变化，美国公民不得不适应更强大的外国，我们需要了解我们自己对这些国家的看法和反应。这项研究将促进这一理解。

In this project, two anthropologists will interview a sample of middle-class Americans about their perceptions of cultural differences. The research objective is to describe the models used to understand and explain diferences between themselves and people living beyond US borders - people commonly defined as "Non-Western", underdeveloped or "Third World". The methods used to analyze this cultural idea system will include the examination of photographic images of Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans found in popular magazines; these pictures will be treated both as sources of information for magazine readers and as cultural artifacts reflecting the beliefs of the publishing society. The project will also interview a sample of individuals intensively on their ideas about foreigners. A cultural model of ethnocentrism will be created from these sources of information. This project is important because it will help us understand ethnocentrism as it exists in the USA. This country has always been described as less knowledgeable about foreigners than any other major Western nation. As the world economic situation changes and US citizens have to accomodate to more powerful foreign nations, we need to understand our own perceptions and reactions to them. This research will advance this understanding.