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 Meredith,

One element of your commentary really struck me. You said:

    My automatic response to why there's a diversity of cultures is that there's a diversity of human beings. Why is there a diversity of human beings? Because of accumulated changes in alleles, which happen partially at random, partially because of other changes in other alleles, which leads me into rant on homozygosity, bottlenecking, and cheetahs.

You posit that humans are diverse because of our unique bits of genetic material. Our genetic diversity adequately explains why you have blonde hair and I have brown, but I'm left wondering how we - and all people - have developed such distinct personalities. I suppose this leads to the "nature v. nurture" debate; are personalities heritable, or are we born, as John Locke claimed, "tabula rasa" (a blank slate)?

While I have difficulty accepting Locke's belief that people are born as completely blank slates, devoid of all character traits, I feel that our personalities are shaped by "nurture" more than "nature." Personalities consist of more than optimism or pessimism; a personality evolves from beliefs, opinions, and one's awareness of his or her surrounding world. As a person grows and experiences more of the world, his or her personality is influenced by what he or she sees. Often, a person first sees his or her culture, so the personality of that person acclimates to the surrounding views and attitudes. Simply put, a person "learns" his or her culture, and culture, in turn, influences the personalities of its people.

Of course, I'm not trying to suggest that every member of a culture shares a singular personality, but I think it is helpful to understand personality as a byproduct of culture. To make a sweeping generalization, I believe that most Americans have different outlooks on life, but they share a tendency toward outspokenness and a desire for individuality, because American culture promotes these values. Freedom of speech. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

So, why do cultures change? I don't think cultural evolution is a biological process, but a matter of collective exposure. In recent years, societies have become more globalized, exposing members of various cultures to new customs and beliefs. Since a culture as a whole undergoes new experiences, its personality must change to accommodate its new awareness. Am I making sense?

On an unrelated note: Critical Languages. Should Bryn Mawr focus on these languages?

www.languages.umd.edu/Critical/      

www.clscholarship.org/