Option 1: Describe an example of a cultural misunderstanding that you have experienced in your own life and discuss the ways in which differing cultural norms, values, symbols, and mental maps of reality likely contributed to the misunderstanding that occurred. Did you take action to address the misunderstanding? What knowledge may have helped you in determining the appropriate response?

Option 2: What can linguistic anthropologists learn from studying the focal vocabulary of a social group? A focal vocabulary is the set of terms that are important to a certain social group. Why would words that show a particular sophistication and that describe unique cultural realities of a group of people be useful to investigate? Discuss one example of how the focal vocabulary of a language has changed or may change in the future, and discuss how men and women may have different vocabularies on particular topics.

Instructions for all Forums:

Each week, learners will post one initial post per week. This post must demonstrate comprehension of the course materials, the ability to apply that knowledge in the real world. Learners will engage with the instructor and peers throughout the learning week. To motivate engaged discussion, posts are expected to be on time with regular interaction throughout the week. All posts should demonstrate college level writing skills. To promote vibrant discussion as we would in a face to face classroom, formatted citations and references are not required. Quotes should not be used at all, or used sparingly. If you quote a source quotation marks should be used and an APA formatted citation and reference provided.