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Garfinkeling: A Cultural Analysis

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Within different cultures, members follow a set of strict rules that must be carried out properly when interacting with one another although they are not aware of these unspoken rules. One can become more aware of these actions when he steps out of the procedures set by his culture and behave opposite of what is expected in his culture. The act of behaving in an unexpected manner that is opposite of the norm to elicit a response is known as “Garfinkeling”, named after Harold Garfinkel (Agar, 1994, p.169). By Garfinkeling, I was able to demonstrate how eye contact and the lack of it can disrupt the sign that it carries of paying attention and also interrupt the symbolic system that takes place when asking for assistance. When Michael Agar (1994) speaks of a “sign”, he explains that it is made up of two parts, the “signifier” and the “signified”. The signifier is described as what one sees on the outside, a …show more content…

To initiate this interaction, one student asks another for help in which the student asked can either accept or deny. If the student accepts to help, she explains the concept or helps in any way necessary to better her peer’s understanding of the material. It is expected that the student who asked for help gives his peer his undivided attention as he is requesting a service of another. After the explanation, the student who helped confirms with the student who needed help his understand of the material to ensure there was no misunderstanding. The lack of eye given to the students I asked for help caused a disruption in the system near the end where it was expected that I give my peer my undivided attention. I was paying full attention to the explanations from my classmates, however because of the symbolism that eye contact holds, my classmates were reluctant to believe that I did give them my

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