Full Blog: Coming of Age in Samoa

Reference Information

Title: Coming of Age in Samoa

Author: Margaret Mead

Editor: Harper Perennial, 1928 (1971)

Summary
This book was an ethnography studying the culture of Samoa. The author related the Samoan culture to European culture, citing ways that European culture could be improved in order to alleviate the problems of adolescence that occur in society. The main purpose of describing a different culture was to increase understanding of the reader's own culture.

The Samoan islands, where this ethnography was conducted. Source: lonelyplanet.com

To carry out this study, the author conducted various methods of investigation to collect data among a group of adolescent girls. These included observation, personal interviews, and handing out a survey. Tables of personal and social information were presented depicting the data.

The author described various aspects of Samoan culture in detail. A typical day in the life of a Samoan highlights the strict work structure of the culture, with the night being designated for free time. Next, the education of Samoan children was discussed, including the lack of interest that adults show towards children, the older children taking care of the younger, and the differences in upbringing between girls and boys (mostly consisting of different responsibilities and group organizational structures). The household structure was described with age and title being the most important factors regarding authority, and the ability to switch households on a whim was emphasized as being a large part of freedom for children. Friend groups are formed by age ranges and household proximity, designated by gender. Relationships were discussed, including the male-female avoidance policy, marriage practices, and the ease of divorce. Dance plays an important role in the society, allowing the children to have an opportunity to be the focus of an event and to express their individuality, something that is not generally permissible in Samoan culture. Excessive personality traits are discouraged and comparisons of judgement are not frequent. The lives and experiences of the individual girls in the study group were also described, including the possible conflicts presented to adolescent girls in Samoa and what caused the conflicts, such as living on the outskirts of town. Finally, the role of maturity and old age in Samoan culture were discussed, namely how age affects responsibility and the different accomplishments available depending on gender.

For the last few chapters in the book, the author related her cultural findings to European culture. She offered suggestions based on the relations between cultures in order to improve the European way of life, including changing the attitude towards children learning about birth and death and having larger households for a wider circle of authority. She also criticized the European educational system, suggesting that the inherent cultural factors of the society are what make adolescence such a rough time period, since Samoa does not experience this characteristic. Therefore, solutions were suggested based on the Samoan way of life, such as eliminating the presence of conflicting standards and to educate children about every option that they have available to them, not just those that their parents prefer.

Finally, the current state of living in Samoa was discussed, including how other cultures have influenced it. Despite many other assimilated cultures, Samoa has remained very flexible, only adopting those parts of European cultures that enhance their way of life and ignoring the parts that hurt the culture.



Discussion
I enjoyed getting to read what a real ethnography is like, so that we can have an idea of how to conduct and explain an ethnography of our own for the class project. For the most part though, the book did not seem to have much of an impact on computer science or any of the other topics we have been discussing within this class. I found it difficult to relate the book in terms that would be helpful to me. However, the author did make many suggestions based on her comparison of the cultures that seem like they could be helpful to keep in mind when designing future technologies that may influence our culture or educational system. For example, the author's emphasis on providing children with the knowledge of every option available to them such that they can make a stress-free decision on their own seems like a good policy to keep in mind. Systems that allow for the sharing of information could help to achieve this goal.