英语毕业论文American-Culture—From-the-Perspective-of-Automobile.doc

American Culture—From the Perspective of Automobile

Abstract

Sino-US relationship is one of the most important bilateral relations in the world. It connects the world’s most populous country with the only Superpower. The mutual understanding is related to the quality of two countries’ relation. Therefore, it is urgent to increase the understanding of the United States. Understanding the United States includes the understanding of American culture. Automobile is an important traffic tool and an essential element in Americans’ life. It is also an American culture carrier. It is an aspect for Chinese people to understand the United States.
This thesis introduces the definition of culture and the significance of studying American culture, and then analyses, in American culture, the individualism, humor, materialism and Americans’ pursuit of change in their life. At last the author draws a conclusion that from the perspective of automobile, Americans are individualistic, humorous, and good at pursuit of materials and change in their life.

Key words: American Automobile; the United States; Culture

摘要

中美关系是全球最重要的双边关系之一，它联系着中国这一个世界上人口最多的国家和世界上唯一的超级大国。两国的相互理解直接影响着两国的关系。因此，增加对美国的了解已经迫在眉睫。了解美国包括了了解美国文化。汽车是重要的交通工具，也是美国人生活的基本要素，同时是美国文化的一种载体。它是中国人了解美国文化的一个方面。
本文首先介绍文化的定义和研究美国文化的意义，然后再从汽车这个角度，对美国文化中的个人主义，美国人的幽默感，物质主义和美国人追求变化方面进行分析。从而得出了这样一个结论：从美国汽车方面可以知道美国人富有个性，幽默感，追求物质财富和生活变化。

关键词: 美国汽车； 美国；文化

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Contents

Acknowledgements……………………………………………………..………………............... i
Abstract (English) …………………………………………………………………………….…..ii
Abstract (Chinese) …………………………………………………..……………………..…….iii
1. Introduction 1
2. The Importance of Studying American Culture 2
2.1. The Definition of Culture 2
2.2. The Significance of Studying Culture 4
2.3. The Reason of Studying American Culture 5
3. Study American Culture from American Automobile 6
3.1. The Individualism 7
3.2. Pursuit of Change 9
3.3. Humor of Americans 10
3.4. Materialism 11
4. Conclusion 12
. Works Cited 13

1. Introduction
China is a nation with the history of 5000 years, and is playing a more and more important role in the world. Along with the Sino-American relation increasingly closing, the Chinese traditional culture is faced with the challenges from the culture of the United States. In order to avoid it, it is urgent for Chinese people to know the United States very well. To know a country and its people, it is necessary know its culture first. America is the initiator of motor society. Chinese people might learn the American culture from a new perspective-- American automobile.
In the 21st century, motor has become the essential thing to Americans. It is not only a kind of traffic tool, but also the symbolization of American culture. The whole life of American cannot get rid of a car. When they are children, they go to school, go shopping and so on by car; when they are old, they go to hospital, go visiting and so on by car. This country, designed for motor, expresses its culture in many cases in automobile. People might know American culture better through researching and analyzing American automobile. This research might make cross-culture communications more easily.
Culture as a complex system of symbolization has the function of recording all kinds of actions of mankind. Spoken and written languages are the main carriers of culture. People depend on the oral language, experience, and knowledge to create culture in the world. Culture of the world is the golden key to open the door of wisdom. For an individual, a person's son comes to the world is ignorant, and then the family, schools and community give him the culture, and also create a culture somewhat. On the community as a whole, regardless of changes in the social system, it would still have to study and inherit the culture of the past. Culture is intangible schools where people create culture. Once culture is created as a cultural environment, it will influence and restrict people. A society has three major components including economy, politics, and culture. Culture occupies an important position. It cannot only promote economic development, political progress, but also the national spirit. It units the national essence of the tradition, and displays a state’s history and the brilliant modern civilization
Many scholars have researched American culture through many other areas, but there are few people who study it from the perspective of automobile. The thesis plans to study American culture from cars, and attempts to let readers understand the culture more clearly.

2. The Importance of Studying American Culture
2.1. The Definition of Culture
All material products and the spiritual products create human culture. Culture also is language, literature, arts, and many other spiritual products of ideologies. Culture in the West comes from the Latin “cultura”, original meaning refers to farming and the cultivation of plants. Since the 15th century, it is extended the use gradually, and put on the character and ability of the train, also known as culture. People are fundamentally different from animals, because people have culture. Animals do not have culture. CaoYannan (1996) states that culture is a human’s awareness of life, nature and society and the content of the relationship between them. Animals’ consciousness has no such capacity. Culture is the memory of mankind. Culture as a complex system of symbolization has the function of recording all kinds of actions of mankind. Spoken and written languages are the main carriers of culture. People depend on the oral language, experience, and knowledge to create culture in the world. Culture of the world is the golden key to open the door of wisdom. For an individual, a person's son comes to the world is ignorant, and then the family, schools and community give him the culture, and also create a culture somewhat. On the community as a whole, regardless of changes in the social system, it would still have to study and inherit the culture of the past. Culture is intangible schools where people create culture. Once culture is created as a cultural environment, it will influence and restrict people. A society has three major components including economy, politics, and culture. Culture occupies an important position. It cannot only promote economic development, political progress, but also the national spirit. It units the national essence of the tradition, and displays a state’s history and the brilliant modern civilization
Culture is intangible. It is hardly defined correctly. However, culture is pluralistic. Every definition is suitable for it. Culture—the world has 7 letters. Each letter represents particular meaning: C is customs; U universe; L lifestyle, T territory; R religion; E equality. Focusing on L, T, R, and E, this thesis provides a picture of the American Culture.
 Life style is the primary element of culture. Dream determines the life style. What is the American dream? “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone.” For Americans, the fuller life not only means success achieved by two-fist efforts, but also the relaxation. Since the industry revolution, there has been great rise in the leisure. And today, the entertainments for teenagers have developed into youth culture. On the other hand, consumerism is tendency of life in the 21st century. The shopaholics always buy something on discount due to their blank in hearts. But their large purchases, actually, are great waste of resources. Except the negative, American life style is colorful, which riches culture.
  T means territory. In 1680, the European immigration arrived America by the Mayflower. As the Frontier Thesis stated, “they adapted to the new environment in certain ways—the cumulative effect of these adaptations was Americanization”, the European became the first settlers on America. Then in order to protect America from interference from Europe, in December 2, 1832, US President James Monroe asserted the Monroe Doctrine that “the United States would not interfere with Hemisphere was not to be further colonized by the European countries”. However, the doctrine was also regarded as a policy that legalized the Westward Expansion, which was called Manifest Destiny. The Westward Expansion brought America a lot of lands and the development of economy, such as the purchase of Louisiana, the occupation of Florida, the construction of railroad, the Gold Rush, the enlargement of market, and so on. On the contrary, it also made tragedies. The invasion caused wars, from which resulted the violent and Wild West. The construction of railroad, for example the Transcontinental Railroad was the collection of workers’ sweater even sacrifice of life, especially the Chinese. In the perspective of Native Americans, California Gold Rush was a greedy invasion. And the forced movement towards them was nightmare, which was the Trial of Tears. What is the important is American expansion spirit, which can be seen in the Tracy Chapman’s song—Fast Car: “You got a fast car. And I want a ticket to anywhere.”
R is religion. With early colonists came to America were the different religions. And the most notably was the Puritan, of which the traditions and ideals pass down to the present American. For example, the phrase City upon the hill entered the American lexicon in the Puritan John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity”, which was cited by several US presidents, when they conveyed “the eyes of all people are upon us”. There are various religions in America. On the other hand, there are non religious people or people who don’t think God is perfect. For instance, Edwards’ version of God is different that described as a symbol of power, God is addicted to his sovereign pleasure and arbitrary will which allows him to publish or liberate the wicked men. In America, people have rights to choose their religious belief or to be non religious.
 E represents equality. For centuries, Americans have never stopped the fight against inequality. First is the slavery. Ignoring the slaves’ miserable life in the plantations, the slaveowners still exploited them. Some of them like even blinded people and made them accept slavery, like John C. Calhoun’s Slavery a Positive Good, and the scripture myths. However, with the strong freedom fighters’ efforts, for example the John Brown, finally there came the abolishment of slavery. Second is the discrimination. Take racial discrimination as an example. Based on Jim Crow, “a Black male could not offer his hand (to shake hands) with a White male; a Black male could not offer his hand or any other part of his body to a White woman; Black people can’t show public love” etc. Facing the unfair treatments, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X led people to struggle for the equal rights. There are many great soldiers on the list of the fight for equality. And the most precious thing is the awareness of one self’s legal rights and the thought to protect the tights. Although there is still a long way to go, with such mind, Americans will gain the real equality.
  Though the life style, territory, religion, and equality can not completely conclude the American Culture, these are some the major aspects of American Culture, which reflect the rich and unique American Culture.

2.2. The Significance of Studying Culture
Since the World War II, the people discovered the world is becoming smaller and smaller. The various countries' government officials frequently shuttle back and forth at the international stages. The cross-nation corporations blossom and bear fruits in the world. The scientists, the scholars repeatedly appear in the international academic forums. The United Nations’ peacekeeping troops are on the run to the world military conflict hot spot. More and more people love the international travels. More and more people become the international students, immigrants. The Chinese teachers mount the foreign rostrum. The foreign scholars come to China to hold speeches. There are more and more cross cultural communications, and show a quite magnificent sight. A country in the world almost can’t isolate for self-propagation, but always communicate cultures with the other countries and influence each other, constantly learn, absorb and integrate from foreign culture. This culture communications play a great role in promoting the social progress. However, one can often hear cross cultural relations’ contradiction and question, because of the different cultures and the ways to express. Some countries’ heads behave a hand signal that they thought is friend, but they had enraged the people of other countries. The American merchants come to China to do business. Any business has not been done, and the merchants are unhappy. The English teachers often complain that Chinese students do not cooperate. Some people first go to the US to study, and then they have to come back after a short time because of the different culture. To prevent the above things happening again, more and more scholars begin to study the foreign countries and foreign cultures. Since the mid-20th century, waves of culture studies have been rising quietly. After the Cold War period, the culture studies reached a climax, and expanded. The culture studies have become a very important issue today. In Europe, the culture studies as a subject already exist early. It mainly refers to study the written materials, which mainly reflects the upper ruling classes. The books of history and cultural realities, sometimes also include literary arts and customs are written for the ruling classes. The culture studies involve not only the philosophy, but also the history, cultural anthropology, sociology of culture, cultural geography, literature, political science and many other fields, which have researched on their understanding and interpretation or are carrying out their own culture studies. Culture studies will enable us to understand the past of a country, and have clear understanding of the country today, and also help us to expect a country’s tomorrow
2.3. The Reason of Studying American Culture
There are so many countries and different cultures in the world, and they have complete different form. It is not easy to completely analyze the American culture from all aspects. It is better to study one aspect.
In the modern world, there is no a country as America that arises Chinese people complicated affection. There is no such a country as America that arises Chinese people’s curiosity and imagination. There is no such a country as America that influences the present condition of China and the development of future. In the open society, the shadow of American culture influences everywhere. In the life of Chinese people, especially the young generation, the American music style is very popular. In