Hi students!
First of all, happy new year and welcome back to class! I know we've already had a few weeks of class after Christmas holidays, but this is my first post in 2012, and I wanted to make it official!
These past classes we've been talking about national stereotypes, remember? About how we all tend to trust our general assumptions and prejudices on certain nationalities, regardless of the actual truth base lying underneath. Who hasn't heard stereotypes such as...?
The Spaniards are lazy and party all the time.
The Americans are patriotic and they all have a national flag at home.
The British drink a lot and wear white socks and flip-flops when they travel abroad.
These are just mere examples of stereotypes we've all heard somewhere and offer an incomplete and, most of the time, inaccurate view of certain nationalities. We need to be really careful with stereotypes, because we can be really offensive to foreigners if we base our behaviour with them on general assumptions everyone says but no one has actually proved to be right, in most cases. Think about the stereotypical image other countries have about the Spaniards, do you agree with it? Don't you feel it's really incomplete? Then, try to think the same way about other nationalities, like the Americans, the French or the English, for instance, three examples of not very positive stereotypical images abroad.
Alright, after reflecting about stereotypes and having clear what they actually mean, how about enjoying their humorous side? Did you take a look at the map at the top of this post? Take a closer look at it:
Agreeing on the fact that it's too general and stereotypical, don't you find it funny? Would you like to see more of these funny maps about stereotypes? Click on the link below and you'll be able to read an article about a series of maps called Mapping Stereoypes, it's not to be missed!
Here's a video about the stereotypical American in Europe. A bit exaggerating, but, what are most jokes after all, if not an exaggeration of reality?
And, finally, to finish with stereotypes, I'd like you to read this article about British people, which proves that sometimes generalities can be more accurate if research is done in a more professional way. The article comes with a video which I'd like you to watch, too.
What about Spain, do you consider it to be a happy nation, in general? Why/why not? Think about it and we can talk about this matter in class.
Enjoy what's left of your weekend!
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