Final Reflection

The German speaking countries that we researched this quarter are all first world, industrial nations. The major linking cultural trait for these countries is of course the German language. The current culture of these countries is fairly similar to the rest of modern western civilization. This is of course from a birds-eye-view. Each country in the German speaking world has its own flavor, quirks, and cultural traits which are idiosyncratic on the world view. I would still characterize most of the German speaking countries in Europe as having Central European culture. I believe that it’s hard to differentiate the history and what I know about Europe’s past from the current culture of German speaking Nations in Europe. I will say that the cultural aspects of German countries are so varied that it is extremely difficult to really zero in on a certain facet of current German culture.

When I look at each individual German speaking nation, it is easy for me to say that things are very different in Germany than they are here in the United States. At face value, this is very true. The language is different, the currency is different, and national personalities are different. Although the each German speaking country is its own sovereign nation, and each country has its independence on some level, German speaking European nations are just as varied their culture as different regions of the United States. So although it may seem like both German and American culture are different, I think that they are very similar. At the end of the day, both Germans and Americans both want the same things out of life, we just go about things slightly different. I feel that mass communication and connectivity through things like the internet really have made an impact on both cultures becoming more similar to each other.

At the beginning of the quarter, I had some fairly common stereo-types concerning German culture. I believe that I pictured German history in Europe, and let that form a picture of German culture in my mind. I did learn that while Germany is steeped in rich history, both good and bad, its history is not necessarily its culture. I still have a feeling that when I visit some of the German countries, the setting will be fairly similar to what I experienced in Prague. I will say that I was surprised to discover Switzerland was more conservative than I originally believed. I guess as a whole that surprised me, because I always pictured the German world as a liberal society whose citizens all practiced socialism, which is very far from the truth. Liechtenstein is a monarchy and Switzerland is a direct democracy! Overall, my view on German culture has been enhanced with new ideas, yet I still hold onto the fact that life in Germany is not too different from life in the United States.