Artifact #1
Provo City Center Temple Temples are significant in the culture of Latter-Day Saint (LDS) members (otherwise referred to as Mormons). They symbolize forever families, family history, and covenants with God. What members do in temples is held as sacred and not regularly talked about aside from referring to the ordinances which are done here. Members of my faith value visits to the temple and the work that is done here. When going in the temple, it is normal and generally expected that females wear dresses or skirts and males wear suits or dress pants and a button up white shirt. In the temple, individuals wear white. |
Artifact #2 My sister with an idea Light bulbs symbolize a "bright idea" or good idea. They symbolize thought or more specifically a new or good idea. It is like when a light bulb gets turned on and all of sudden there is light, sudden illumination.Light bulbs are the most common source for light in our society (aside from the sun). |
Artifact #3
A Polaroid of my sister ready for a mission Young adults from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints regularly leave their family for 18 months (as a girl) or two years (as a guy) to share their beliefs with others as a full time missionary. There are set requirements for how much they get to bring, how often and through what means they get to communicate with their family and friends, and what rules they need to follow on their missions. Males are expected to serve and are allowed to leave at 18 years of age. While females, who can leave at 19 years of age, are not required to serve a mission, many do. Polaroids are seen as memorable. While vintage, they are now back in style and are very popular. Being more expensive than digital pictures are in this era, fewer pictures are likely to be taken with a Polaroid and so these pictures represent more valued moments. |
Artifact #4
An apple "yearbook" Apples are symbolic for a few things in our culture: teachers, Snow White, and good health. This particular apple symbolizes another value our culture supports (at least in theory), individuality. My friend, rather than buying a yearbook for people to sign at the end of the school year (a cultural norm in and of itself), he decided to have friends sign an apple, something I see as being both different and creative (two things which I believe our culture tries to value). |
Artifact #5
Graduation Graduation caps, cords, diplomas, and graduation robes. Speeches and long waits as everyone's name is called. Family and friend support. The celebration of the completion of high school, something hoped for out of every child and still seen as success, a milestone in life. Parties are often thrown to celebrate and support students. |
Artifact #6
Ocean Shores, WA The beach tends to represent fun times and perhaps summertime to our society. Swimsuits and tans. However, the old beaches of Washington may not fit into this norm. They instead are typically cold and windy. For my personal family, this beach represents family trips and bounding throughout the years. We came here every summer for the Fourth of July, a holiday specific to American culture, and simply for camping trips every summer. |
Artifact #7
Little Red Riding Hood Red capes and forest. These are a classic symbol of the story of Little Red. This is a classic fairy tale which our society values. Created a couple hundred years ago, fairy tales like this are still quite valued, being embedded into new media and replicated by teenage girls taking senior pictures, apparently. Senior pictures are also seen as a norm in our culture, celebrating the growth and accomplishment of a graduating high school student. |
Artifact #8
Halloween when I was 4 October is filled with decorations of witches, pumpkins, vampires, Frankenstein, mummies, ghosts, and other "scary" things. On October 31st, we celebrate Halloween. Children dress up and go door to door collecting candy and saying, "Trick or Treat." Individuals who are too old to go "trick or treating" often attend or throw costume parties to have an excuse of their own to get dressed up. |
Artifact #11
Flowers Flowers are often given as a sign of affection. They help to represent respect. While flowers are valued and symbolic, not everyone shows care for flowers. Sometimes, they are seen as old fashioned, but many girls, like myself, still value them. Two of this flowers in this picture were brought on first dates, which can be seen as fitting, though flowers are not seen as a requirement on a first date. In fact, some people only give flowers on special occasions. Others give them just because. |
Artifact #13
Christmas devotional Every first Saturday of December, a Christmas devotional is given in the conference center in Salt Lake City, UT. It is common for Latter-Day Saint members to watch this program, whether that be from the conference center, on the BYU channel on their television, or streaming it on the internet. It is also normal for the conference center to be decorated this time of year, similarly to as it is here. Those who go to the conference center to watch the devotional generally wear church clothes, meaning that women wear skirts or dresses and men wear suits or dress pants with a nice shirt. |
Artifact #15
Paramore concert at Utah Valley University Concerts show the value people put in music, especially well known artists. There are common practices at concerts, such as head banging, fist pumping, and pushing to get closer to the front. Music is loud and audience members sing along if they know the music. T-shirts and other memorabilia are sold. I acknowledge that different genres of music may follow different schemes. |
Artifact #16
Me at the Gum Wall in Seattle, WA Often, tourist attraction cities have common practices people do when visiting that specific city. For Seattle, one of these is putting gum on the gum wall. Though odd and perhaps a little gross, this is seen as normal and even cool to do. Other norms of visiting Seattle include going to Pike's Place Market, the Space Needle, the Ferris Wheel, Ivar's, the Curiosity Shop, or the Freemont Troll. |
Artifact #17
Tying Quilts at a Pioneer Day Event Service is seen as a desirable attribute in our society. These quilts were being made for foster kids or children in the hospital. The event at which we completed these quilts was in honor of Pioneer Day though, and that is a holiday which is quite culturally specific. Mormons often celebrate this day by reflecting on pioneer Saints and even doing activities or wearing clothing that the Pioneers may have worn, just as Rebecca, the other girl at the table with me, is doing. Homemade bread and jam was another way this event sought to remember the pioneers. This event could be seen as a way we show the value we put in family history. |
Artifact #18
My family at General Conference General Conference is an important event to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It takes place on the first Saturday and Sunday of every April and October. Each conference includes a morning and afternoon session on Saturday and Sunday as well as a session for the men on Saturday evening and a session for the women on the Saturday evening before conference weekend. Members watch conference live from the conference center, from church buildings or other meeting places, from home televisions or streamed on their computers. Members across the world watch conference recognizing it as a chance to hear from the modern day leaders of the church. |
Artifact #19
Conversation Hearts Conversation hearts are a candy used around and for Valentine's Day, celebrated on February 14th. Valentine's Day is seen as a day to celebrate romance and has a number of norms tied to it. Children frequently exchange Valentine's Day cards or candy. Roses or chocolate may be given to a romantic interest. Since those who are not in a relationship sometimes feel left out, new terms or meanings for this day have also been created, including Galentines and Single Awareness Day. |
This reflection on cultural artifacts has helped me to recognize how much of my life is composed of culturally specific events and practices. Hegemony is all around us. It had never occurred to me how much of my "normal" life was based upon context. Every society or culture, including my own, has practices common to it. This may not even be noticed until we recognize the differences other societies or cultures may have. As I completed this assignment, I realized a number of the events, practices, or values I find so normal may be found as odd to those outside my culture or society.