Ideas attitudes and beliefs of a society

Overview

Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? How we answer these questions shapes how we think about, and how we behave toward, ourselves and others. And our answers to those questions are influenced by the society we live in.  This chapter explores the relationship between the individual and society, and how that relationship affects the choices we make.  

• What is the relationship between the individual and society?
• What factors shape our identities? What parts of our identities do we choose for ourselves? What parts are determined for us by others, by society, or by chance?
• What dilemmas arise when others view us differently than we view ourselves?
• How do our identities influence our choices and the choices available to us?

This chapter is from the Individual & Society section of Holocaust and Human Behavior and includes:

• 17 readings 
• Connection Questions

We begin to learn our culture—the ways of our society—just after birth. That process is called socialization, and it involves far more than schooling. Our culture shapes the way we work and play, and it makes a difference in how we view ourselves and others. It affects our values—what we consider right and wrong. This is how the society we live in influences our choices. But our choices can also influence others and ultimately help shape our society.

Imagine that you encounter a stranger walking down the street. How might you describe the person? What labels would you use? We know that every person is different from any other in countless ways, yet when we encounter others we often rely on generalizations to describe them. “It's a natural tendency,” says psychologist Deborah Tannen. “We must see the world in patterns in order to make sense of it; we wouldn’t be able to deal with the daily onslaught of people and objects if we couldn’t predict a lot about them and feel that we know who and what they are." 1

Our society—through its particular culture, customs, institutions, and more—provides us with the labels we use to categorize the people we encounter. These labels are based on beliefs about race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, economic class, and more. Sometimes our beliefs about these categories are so strong that they prevent us from seeing the unique identities of others. Sometimes these beliefs also make us feel suspicion, fear, or hatred toward some members of our society. Other times, especially when we are able to get to know a person, we are able to see past labels and, perhaps, find common ground.

The stories in this chapter explore some of the dilemmas people face as they establish themselves both as individuals and as members of a group, and as they define themselves and are defined by others. As the first step in the Facing History and Ourselves journey, this chapter introduces ideas about human behavior and decision making that will serve as a foundation for examining the historical case study in the chapters that follow. Teachers are encouraged to select the readings that match their objectives and the interests and needs of their students.

Inside this Chapter

Explore the Readings

The readings below make up the chapter The Individual and Society.

Explore identity, conformity, and authority with this modern fable about a bear forced to navigate society's perception of who he is.  

Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie challenges us to consider the power of stories to influence identity, shape stereotypes, and build paths to empathy [Spanish available].  

What does your name say about you? Use this essay by Chinese American teenager Jennifer Wang to explore the relationship between name and identity.

Julius Lester describes finding his identity in an unexpected place as an African American teenager living in the segregated South [Spanish available].  

Question society’s ideas about “beauty” and “normality” with this written adaptation of a provocative episode from the television series, The Twilight Zone.  

Read the personal reflections of a mother whose young son has challenged her assumptions and expectations about gender identity.

Consider the consequences of who defines race through reflections from individuals who have struggled with the US government's legal definition of their race.   

Is race a social construct? An American living in the Netherlands is faced with this question when she encounters the Dutch's definition of who is "black."  

Journalist Brent Staples describes the strategies he developed to counter the stereotypes strangers might attach to him as a young black man.

Learn what new research into human behavior reveals about prejudice, unconscious bias, and our brains' practice of creating categories and expectations for others.  

Puerto Rican writer Jesús Colón describes a time when his awareness of stereotypes influenced his decision-making.   

Reflect on the power of the words that we attach to people through an Anishinaabe woman’s memory of being called an “Indian” while growing up in Canada [Spanish available].

Four teenagers from different religious traditions reflect on their experiences of religious belief and belonging.  

With his story of a childhood bully, Gary Soto challenges us to look more closely at what lies behind one's behavior.    

High school student Eve Shalen reflects back on a time in middle school when peer pressure and desire for belonging influenced her decision-making.  

A young woman describes her journey overcoming an inner bully and fear of being different [Spanish available].  

Consider the danger of forcing people to choose one part of their identity over another with this essay from a Lebanon-born writer living in France.  

Enhance your students’ understanding of our readings on individual, society, and identity with these follow-up questions and prompts.

1. The following poem appears in the Midrash, a centuries-old collection of commentaries on Jewish scripture:

   A person has three names:

   one that he is called by his father and mother;

   one that people know him by,

   and one that he acquires for himself.

   What is this poem suggesting about the ways we come to understand our identities? What stories from this chapter could illustrate this poem?

2. The Bear That Wasn’t is a children’s book that reflects universal questions about the relationship between the individual and society. How do you see ideas from Reading 1, "The Bear That Wasn’t,"  echoed in some of the other readings throughout this chapter?
3. In the reading The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Adichie warns of “the danger of a single story.” What does she mean? What other readings in this chapter illustrate this danger? Which ones suggest ways to overcome the danger of a single story?
4. Legal scholar Martha Minow writes, “When we simplify and sort, we focus on some traits rather than others, and we assign consequences to the presence and absence of the traits we make significant.” What are some of the “traits we make significant” in our society? Do you think some traits and differences matter more than others, and if so, why? Who decides which traits matter most? What readings from this chapter have had the strongest influence on your thinking about these questions?