As a French major, I love France (duh), but on a larger scale part of the reason I'm a language major is because I love studying the evolution of culture in different societies. As such, I'm fairly excited about this paradigm project.
Paradigm Shift #1: Religion in France
The first paradigm I'd like to discuss is the shift in French society from having a vast majority of its citizens identify as Catholic, to the majority identify as atheists in just the past century. This idea was actually brought up by a classmate in one of my other classes. I had studied the Catholic heritage of France, and knew that the French government was extremely secular, but until said classmate mentioned it, I had never made the connection.
I think this secular shift is vastly interesting, and while I don't know much about its cause, I'm intent on studying the connection between the governmental policies of secularism and the societal perception of religion. In the United States, we practice separation of church and state, but it is still understood that our leaders (at least at the highest levels) are Christians guided by Christian principles. We still identify mainly as a Christian society, where the French government has made a much stronger effort to cleanse itself of that label.
Another possible factor may be the demographic breakdown of France. Because of its generally relaxed immigration policies and close proximity to Africa (namely Morocco), France has garnered much higher percentages of Muslim, Jewish, and other non-Christian religious citizens than what we experience here in the United States. This has a profound effect on French culture, and leads to diversifying and questioning of previously non-contended beliefs.
Paradigm Shift #2: Mealtime in America
Growing up, I almost always ate dinner at the table with my parents. However, I realize this was not the case for many kids in my age group. My second paradigm of interest is the shift from what we consider the "classic" setting for meals- the dining room table, to eating on the go or in front of the TV. I love the culture and social aspect associated with food- the idea of "breaking bread" with someone, sharing a meal that everyone contributed to. In the past, I think Americans appreciated food as more than just a combination of protein, fat, carbs, etc. Somewhere in the increasing busyness of the American household, we lost some of the social benefits of sharing a meal, and I think families have suffered as a result. I'm very interested in exploring the origins and ramifications of this paradigm shift, or possibly another paradigm shift dealing with the culture of food.
I think that your first topic is so original! This is something that I hadn't heard of until reading your post and I think that it would be an interesting topic to research for your essay and TED Talk, especially because it's so specific. I also think you second topic is very interesting as well and it, as you said, very relevant in today's culture. I think that you'd be fine with whichever topic you choose!
ReplyDeleteBoth of these could be really good topics to explore! They're also both really original which makes it a little hard to decide between them. Due to your major, though, it may be slightly easier to do the change in religion in France because of your background knowledge and somewhat easy access to that information.
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ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting how you touched upon the secular shift in French society. It would be helpful if you choose specific time period of when that secular shift happened.
ReplyDeleteFor your second topic, is your focus on the shift in mealtime or on that of food? Once you narrow it down, it would be easier to follow.