Reference Information
Title: Coming of Age in Samoa
Author: Margaret Mead
Editor: Harper Perennial, 1928 (1971)
Appendix III: Samoan Civilization as it is Today
Summary
This chapter discussed how Samoan civilization has or has not been influenced by the merging of European ideas. This includes new tools and materials, a Naval base that provides a system of government to each village, Christian influences, and the establishment of schools. Despite each of these changes, the culture has remained very flexible, taking only those parts of our culture that have made Samoan life more comfortable and flexible and ignoring those parts that would hurt the culture.
Discussion
I found it interesting that, while many cultures are influenced negatively by other cultures, Samoan culture reacted oppositely. The cultural adaptations only made life easier, removing things such as violent punishment but substituting no other form of punishment into its place. This made for a very flexible culture, where life stages such as adolescence produce no extra stress or strain.
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