Passage Discussion

[kcho10]

There was no question specifically about this, but I feel like I did not get a full understanding of the first paragraph of this passage

I am confused about the example used about some current scholars. It's set up so that it seems like an example but it seems to me like it goes against the statement it is intended to support.

The main contention is that definitions of cultures are influenced by what they include more than what they exclude.
But the example says that they passed over acknowledgments of the Greeks' hybrid past without comment. It seems odd because the 'example' does not seem to be exemplifying the statement. Am I misunderstanding this part? That part of the paragraph just doesn't seem to logically fit into the passage to me. Please explain. Thank you

[Emily Haney-Caron]

Hi kcho10,

The main contention of the first paragraph is tricky, because it is worded oddly and has sort of strange punctuation. The first sentence actually isn't saying definitions of cultures are influenced by what they include more than what they exclude. Rather, it is saying definitions of cultures are influenced by the people who define them, and that the ways in which people define cultures are benevolent in what they choose to include but maybe not so benevolent in what they choose to exclude or erase. In that light, go back and look at the example again, and I think you'll be able to make more sense of it!

[kcho10]

That makes soooo much more sense...thank you!!

[cleocleozuo]

I have a question about the passage structure though... I thought the main point was the second half of the first sentence, the definition of culture is influenced by human biases which are benevolent in what they include and less so in what they exclude, The rest of the paragraph and the passage are examples supporting this claim. I thought the last paragraph is just trying to summarize previous examples and re-emphasize the main point in the first paragraph. But some explanation says the main point of the passage is actually the last sentence of the final paragraph. I think both locations in fact mean the same thing since the last paragraph is a summarization. Am I mistaken?

Many thanks!

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Cleo,

The two suggestions you noted are actually saying slightly different things. In the first paragraph, the author says that culture is defined by what people leave in and exclude. In the last paragraph, the author brings together the ideas about culture as filled with foreign and diverse influences. In fact, the author tells us that although cultures may be purposely trying to avoid foreign influences, they still are included as part of the culture. Culture is a mashup of all the influences that came before, no matter how explicitly they are acknowledged.

Hope that helps!