The Meeting of Cultures

I. What is culture?

- Culture is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities and habits of the individuals in these groups. Humans acquire culture through the learning processes of enculturation and socialization, which is shown by the diversity of cultures across societies.

- What is American culture, in your experience, and according to this definition?

II. What factors contribute to culture?

- food

- land

- music

- temperament of the people

- language

- philosophy and religion

- understanding of law and order

- social order

III. How did English culture become "American culture"?

- A culture that was Christian (Catholic for about 1500 years)

- Kings, knights, nobility, class - lots of war and revolution, bloodshed

- Cold, rainy

- Bland food

- Protestant revolution under Henry VIII

- Searching for religious freedom

- Contact with America, native Americans 

- Fending for themselves, rugged, survivalists

- Creating something new, hopeful attitude, independent

- Revolutionary War

IV. What is Spanish culture? What was Spanish culture at the time of the Conquest?

- Catholic, very Catholic

- Almost completely surrounded by water - what does this mean?

- influence from North Africa, France, Italy

- influence from the Gypsies (who are they??)

- Ferdinand and Isabela, the "Spanish Kings"

- the "Reconquista"

- the "Conquista"- from 1492 until 1530

V. What is/was Aztec/Meso-american culture at the time of the Conquest?

- Essentially the Stone Age/Bronze Age

- warring tribes over whom the Aztecs (Mexica) reigned

- warm environment, warm and heavy rain, desert land, cactus

- chocolate, tomatoes, potatoes, pineapple, peaches, maize, 

- religion of human sacrifice (worst of paganism)

- well developed system of writing, astronomy, irrigation, architecture 

VI. What do you imagine the meeting of these two culture would be like?

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An example of Spanish Flamenco music and dance:

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An example of Aztec music and dance:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kw1_RSRGbcI?start=194" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

An example of Mestizaje, mixture of Spanish and Aztec culture, music, dance:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jpVzYVYw9pg?start=30" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>