Where do you stand in terms of hegemony and oral tradition?

We all have been affected by different experiences and surroundings which has shaped our paradigm. Since everybody has different personal experiences and limited opportunities to be exposed to new surroundings everytime to counterbalance hegemony, one learns it through education or meeting various people with different views.

            I was born and raised most of my life in South Korea which is a reserved society. In that society, I learned that following the main stream of views, and actions was a very important factor to fit into the society well. This behavior has some positive qualities such as unifying voices and making a decision easily, but it also poses a negative impact on how people view on things;  it gets narrower and makes them more biased since they do not have many chances to express different opinions about the topics. It is apparent in Korean classroom settings where students are encouraged  to memorize and absorb the information itself, rather than discuss the topic verbally.

            Many years of experience of this  type of education made me shocked when I first came to America and encountered the American setting of a classroom.  There was barely time for memorization and discussion was a main part of the class. All the students had different ways of perceving one object and they shared their different views on it which gave them opportunities to extend their hegemonies by acquiring other’s experiences and their opinions. I realized why America was called an “open country,” because the difference is allowed and respected, not judged in a negative way.  It was a result of the open ended education which students learn how to see many things in various aspects.

            I also noticed that this activity was possible because it was based on oral communication. If people wrote an essay to express their opinions, only a few would have gotten the benefit of extending thier views on certain subjects because not as many people would have read the essay. However, in discussion, since people are talking instead of writing, more people could hear it and instantly respond to each other. It made the discussion more valuable and contributed to the extension of knowledge of various societies and cultures. 

p.s. I know it's little late, but i just figured out how to post on this blog a few weeks ago...so bear with me please lol there will be my other old ones coming up soon.