Реферат: The Comparative Method Essay Research Paper Sociologists

cross-cultural. Cross-cultural comparison consists of comparing two

societies or cultures in an attempt to reveal and expose some socially

constructed ‘truths’ in order to prove that they are not universal but

rather they are relative to each society.

There are literally thousands of differences between almost every culture

that people would be surely shocked to learn of. For the next example I

will show how the cross-cultural comparative method dereifies some of the

constructed so-called universal-truths that people in our society may have.

India differs in it’s customs considerably from that of Canada or Northern

America. For example, in Western Civilization families sit together when

they attend church, in India this is not acceptable at all. Men and women

must sit on opposite sides of the church. Men and women in India for the

most part will not eat together, whereas in Western civilization it is a

common practice and is actually looked upon as a good time for a little

family bonding. In India it is considered rude to eat with both hands at

the table. The right had is solely used for eating and the left for

drinking. Obviously we have a completely different practice in Western

society. Another shock that a Westerner might face if he/she were to travel

to India would be the fact that it is still considered a major social

impropriety for a man to even touch a woman in public. In North America

public displays of affection can been seen everywhere. . (Stott, John.

Down To Earth. 1980. Pg. 12-15)

These are all prime examples of Western universal truths that are exposed

when compared to another culture.

One of the major benefits for exposing these truths through the comparative

method is the fact that dereifying accepted truths leads to a decrease in

ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the act of interpreting all societies

through one’s own cultural lenses and believing that there idea of truths

are the only correct ones. This could lead to the imposing of one’s own