blog post 1
In all honesty, I’m not as informed on global issues as I’d like to be. While I like to use online readings as my sources of global news such as the New York Times and Apple News, I’ve been blessed to be in the position where I am close friends with people in different parts of the world, particularly Central Europe, so I like to hear about perspectives from those who actually live in the places I read about on the news. Specifically, one of my close friends lives in Germany and it’s always incredibly interesting to learn about how Germans view Americans. I’ve learned from her that Germans typically stereotype Americans as “dumb”, “ignorant”, and my personal favorite, “fat.” While it’s not thrilling hearing that this is how a lot of Germans view Americans, I can see how these stereotypes arise for them. From what my German friend told me, these assumptions come from what Germans see on social media about Americans and the U.S. overall. I recall a discussion with her and she said that Germans find the American attitude as more to ourselves not really participating in the world as a global citizen.
I can see her perspective and I definitely agree that a lot of Americans don’t tend to think about much outside the U.S.. I think this is for a variety of reasons. For instance, you can fit at least 3 European countries in the state of Texas alone and the majority of Europeans will speak at least one second language. You don't find this a lot in the U.S.. Globalization has been a topic of debate a lot recently, especially the positives and negatives. On one hand, globalization encourages international cooperation which is essential for resolving global issues across the board. On the other hand, globalization could potentially lead to loss of economic sovereignty.
The U.S. plays a pretty decent role in Central Europe. For example, the U.S. sends soldiers from the military to Central Europe for deployments and training. Additionally, political developments in the U.S. can influence positions of different political parties or debates in Central Europe. I think it’s very important to stay informed on current events in Germany because, as we’ve learned, Germany has the biggest economy in the EU and they play a crucial role in energy/climate policy. When learning about energy and sustainability, Germany is important to keep up with because they have implemented policy and other legislation on sustainability, energy, and have shown a true commitment to being a part of the solution to the climate crisis.
My favorite part of your blog post was when you discussed how your German friends told you Americans are percieved. What stuck out to me about that part of your entry was not when you listed the adjectives they used to describe us, but when you said where they get their perceptions from. Germans get their perceptions of Americans from social media and vice versa, at this point a lot of peoples perceptions of foreign places come from online. I think that really illustrates the power of social media and the results of social media algorithms. Social media is such a big part of our lives, and social media algorithms are curated based on your biases. As a result, the social media posts that form people's perceptions aren't necessarily reflective of reality, but rather what the platform believes you want to see.
ReplyDeleteOh how social media seems to be the "root of all evil and misinformation!"m HA! So true that we should keep up with Germany, as it is a central bellweather for Europe. Unfortunately, on average, Americans college students spend 4 to 6 hours of recreational screen time daily and very little is related to global news. Great work!
ReplyDeleteBefore coming onto this trip, I had the same thought process as you, where I was not as informed on global issues as I should have been but one of my friends is from Denmark and he would talk to us about how he and the people from his country perceived Americans and vise versa. Also, my favorite part in your blog post was describing how your German friend told you how Americans are perceived. I also see how people in the U.S. are not typically looking at global issues much compared to Europeans and thus has an impact on how we are viewed and perceptions around the world. In taking one of Dr. Dorraj's classes last fall, Globalization was a big topic in that class and I think that helped me understand more deeply how different policy changes from the U.S can impact the Central Europe and Germany especially in regards to energy.
ReplyDeleteThe fat American stereotype amuses me. However, a few months ago, candied chipotle bowls were trending on Tiktok. I am just putting this out there. I would say i also fell victim to forming stereotypes based off social media. Prior to visiting Freiburg, I was under the assumption that Germans ( the entirety of them) were rude and overly direct. You could imagine my shock after communicating with a few locals and realizing that those impressions were far from the truth. The people were warm, welcoming and very patient. It made me realize how social media in the absence of proper education, can create broad assumptions that are not necessarily true in real life.
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