ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 1

Ethnographic Study Of My Donauschwaben Origin Victoria Schwager

Ethnographic Study of Ones Family of Origin SW 3510 Human Behavior in the Social Environment Professor Blodgett October 21, 2012

ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 2 Introduction: Family by definition means a group of parents and children living together in a household, but what does family really mean? The answer to that question varies based of who you talk to and what ethic roots they have. According to an article on Buzzle.com family came into existence when the hunting-gathering ancestors of humans began. It started the idea of groups becoming closer with sharing social and economic responsibilities. From there it started the model of a family from the feelings of love and care. The article also states that the structures of families are different in different cultures. Im sure most people would agree on that. From my personal experience I know it to be true. To me family is the most important thing in the world but my family does not just consist of parents and siblings. My family consists of my mother, my brother, my two sisters, my aunts, my uncles and hundreds of close friends that are apart of my Donauschwaben ethnicity. My ethic background is different than most peoples. I am a German Folk Dancer, where I dance and practice the traditions my grandparents brought over from their homeland over in Germany. My family is this place where I get to practice my traditions, where all my friends and their families get to as well. My family has always been strong and proud to be Donauschwaben and its whom we are and where we come from. Its always been in my beliefs that you are who you are because of your ethnic traditions. I am a strong, independent, Donauschwaben women because of the struggles and traditions I practice.

ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 3 The Biophysical and Psychological Dimensions: The Biophysical Dimension deals with growth and development according to our book, Human Development in the Social Environment. Whereas, the Psychological Dimension deals with the attitudes and comprehension of an individual. In an interview I had with my grandmother Katie Dietz she shared what it was like to grow up in Csatalya, Hungry. When I had asked her what her growth and development was like in her hometown she answered with I never got sick, we had no doctors except a midwife and a horse doctor. With answering that it was clear that growing and developing properly were not a problem in her town. I then moved on to ask her about her their eating habits. I discovered that they would only eat what they grew and that they would never buy anything. Katie told me that their meals mainly consisted of flour, egg and milk since meat was too expensive to get. This is the way my family eats today, many of our meals consist of flour, eggs and milk as the recipes were passed down as traditions. I also asked my grandmother about the child rearing practices they had. She answered with We all have to work in the field everyday starting at the age of 10 or 11. I proceeded with asking her who mainly took care of you in your house, her response was My mother always took care of me, but at the appropriate age we were left alone most times. From child rearing I moved on to religious beliefs. She told me that they attended church every Sunday in her town that consisted of all Catholics. Since I have grown up close to my family our traditions are the same. Even though we have better access to things then my family did when they were young, we still eat the same way. We have learned not to waste our food and to not take anything for granted cause it can all be taken away from you. Since my grandmother was still living in Germany during the period of World War

ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 4 II, times got tough. And running was the only option they had left. Katie told me of how they had to only pack a small bag of their valuables and take off. They went from place to place trying to get to safety. When I had asked my grandmother about death and illness she told me that they didnt know any better and thats the way life was. When learning all of this, I wondered what the psychological outcome of her journey was but I realized with her speaking I already knew, it was a matter of life and death for her. It was her natural instinct for survival that kicked in. She ran and left everything she knew and loved behind to survive. Growing up knowing my grandmothers history and knowing where my ethnic roots lied, I feel as if I grew up differently than most kids my age. I grew up knowing of the hardness, sorrow, and suffering that went on and was raised to be aware of it. I grew up practicing my heritage and celebrating life and love. Ethnicity and these two dimensions can go a long way, it can cover just about any aspect of the persons life. Growing and Developing and the psychological ways are everywhere in a persons life, especially when you are dealing with a person ethnicity. You never know what a person has gone through to get where they are today without the facts. The growth of a person sometimes isnt just physical its mental as well. And a persons psychological state can result from anything. Whereas, ones ethnicity can make all that come together by one move. A move to the United States for example can make a person grow and develop in ways we may never understand, and cause or improve a persons psychological state of mind.

ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 5 The Social Dimension: When you think of belonging to a group many things come to mind from support groups to academic groups to athletic groups. However, the main thing I think of is my dance group I belong to. The youth group at the Carpathia Club dancing the traditional folk dances from Germany. This is where I practice the traditions of my ancestors and dance the dances they once did. Back in the day when our ancestors came over to America they didnt have anyone so clubs all over the country where created for them to meet at and meet people in similar situations as them. These clubs let our ancestors be themselves and practice in the traditions they grew up doing in their country. As the years went the traditions have been passed down from generation to generation. Now that its my generations turn we practice and share our culture and enjoy the company of each other while doing so, we have become a group. Now according to the book a group can be defined as two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other person (Ashford, Lecroy, pg.150). The book also states that the definition of what constitutes a group depends on the focus of the theorist. (pg.150) When we look at Baumiester he stated The need to belong is one of the most basic and powerful human needs, as well as one of the most social. (pg.150) The Donauschwaben group I belong too is just that a group. We are interacting with one another no matter the size and we are all influencing each other the same way our ancestors had influenced us.

ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 6 Conclusion: I have always identified myself as a Donauschwaben and a future Social Worker. But I have never thought about the two coinciding. My ethnic background has shaped me into the person I am today. And as a future social worker I feel as if my ethnic background will be able to help me become a better social worker. After learning of all the struggles my grandmother went through and going through some struggles of my own I feel that this will help me keep an open mind in dealing with different clients. I will be able to understand people who are strong in their culture and their beliefs the same way I am with mine. If anything I feel as if being so involved in my ethnicity will help strengthen my values as a social worker. Overall, I think that knowing who I am and where I came from can greatly help me in my future work by being able to understand what people may be going through and by being able to relate to clients on a personal level. In conclusion, I have learned of struggles of my grandmother making her way to America, and have learned how much I have been shaped by the practices of my heritages.

ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 7

Reference: 1. Gaikwad, M. (2012, October 12) Meaning of Family. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/meaning-of-family.html 2. Ashford, J.B., Lecroy, C.W., (2010 ) Human Behavior in the Social Environment. California, Jon-David Hague: Publisher. 3. Dietz, K. ( 2012, October 21). Personal Interview.