| Description |
This thesis begins to examine the ways that marginality and prejudice are formed. Specifically this study examines marginality and prejudice formation through identifying ways that differences are accepted. As an introduction, this study begins with the question of how cultures that profess openness and acceptance as their standard fall into the trap of marginalizing other cultures. After tracing the possible causes of this phenomenon, the literature review explores the characteristics of culture which lead to some conclusions about how marginalization occurs. Another point emphasized is the value of ethnography as a means of understanding the formation of marginalization in not only others but also in the ethnographer. To further understand the ways differences are accepted, ethnographic research consisted of interviewing couples who have moved Salt Lake City, UT within the last five years. The headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon church) and predominated by Mormon culture, heritage, and politics, Salt Lake City is a unique cultural site, providing the opportunity for the ethnographer to study a convergence of cultures among one heavily dominant culture. The couples interviewed were not Mormon church members and had never lived in a predominately Mormon culture before. They described their experiences and feelings in moving to Utah in the interviews. One important distinction that arose from the interviews was the difference between the Reactive perspective of culture and the Judgmental perspective of culture. Respondents at any given time either spoke from the perspective of the marginalized culture, perhaps seeking acceptance through their comments, or from the perspective of the dominant culture, perhaps assuming an inherent right to judge what differences are acceptable. Results from the interviews indicate that differences are accepted through four methods: 1) minimizing, 2) assimilating/associating with, 3) transcending, or 4) eliminating the differences, hi the diversity of specific ways that the respondents accepted the differences they encountered in Salt Lake City, their responses fell into one of the above four categories or a combination of the categories. The responses also indicated some barriers to accepting difference. In conclusion, forming the I-You relationships Martin Buber discusses is an effective way to accept difference and thus an effective way to overcome marginalization. |
