美国文化对中国大学生的影响
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【摘 要】随着美国影视剧作品在全球的广泛传播，美国的生活方式、交往方式、道德观以及价值观也随着其向中国传递，尤其影响着追捧美剧、关注美国电影的中国大学生的行为方式和思想观念，在一定程度上出现了“美国化”现象。文章通过分析美国文化价值观的特点、美国主流文化的构成因素及其对中国大学生的影响，并在分析其影响的基础上提出对中国大学生进行科学人生观塑造教育的应对策略。
【关键词】美国文化价值观；中国大学生；行为方式；思想观念；人生观教育
0 Introduction
The implementation of China’s reform and opening up has brought unprecedented opportunities and challenges to all fields of society. It introduces western culture， technology， and advanced productive force and meanwhile there is some negative affect on many fields of our country.
Nowadays， America is one of the most developed countries in the world. Its culture greatly influences many other areas all over the world. Obviously， Chinese college students are also influenced by American culture. With the influence of American culture， they become more confidence and independent. Besides， they work hard to compete with others. However， they have not get the real quintessence of the American culture. They blindly pursue individual freedom and pay much attention to their creature comfort （Coben， 25）.
The purpose of this paper is to research the effective measures to eliminate the harmful trends of these students. The analysis of the influence shows that it is very important for college students to know the real quintessence of American culture. Then adopt it to build college students’ character. Now， the society needs talented persons who have high qualities. Facing with unprecedented challenges and opportunities， College students should cultivate themselves to be all-round talents.
The paper consists of five parts. Part one is “an introduction of some parts of American culture”. Part two is “influence of American culture on Chinese college students”. Part three is “an analysis of the influence of American culture on college students”. Part four is “character education”. Part five is “conclusion”.
1 Analysis
1.1 An Introduction of Some Parts of American Culture
“Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge， belief， art， morals， law， custom and members of capabilities and habits acquired by a man as a member of society” （Deng， 2）. As we know， American culture， especially American values， beliefs and characteristics， has influenced many other areas all round the world.
1.1.1 Some Basic American Values and Beliefs
1）Individual Freedom and Self-reliance
Americans love freedom. Freedom is so much a part of American life that it is often taken for granted.But this is not the freedom of the individual is probably the most basic and most strongly hold of all American belief. By “freedom”， Americans mean the desire and ability of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference from the government， a ruling noble class， the church or any other organized authority.
The desire to be free of controls was a basic value of new nation 1776， and it was continued to attract immigrants to this country.
Besides， Americans believe that one must learn to rely on oneself or risk losing freedom. This means achieving both financial and emotional independence from their parents as early as possible， usually by age 18 or 21. “It means that Americans believe they should take care of themselves， solve their own problems and “stand on their own two feet”（Deng， 33）.
This strong belief in self-reliance continues toady as a basic American value. It is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of the American character to understand， but it is profoundly important. Americans believe that they must be self-reliant in order to keep their freedom. If they rely too much on support of their families or the government or any organization， they may not be free to do what they want.
“By being dependent， not only do they risk losing freedom， but they also risk losing the respect of their peers”（Deng， 33）. Even if they are not truly self-reliant， most Americans believe they must at least appear to be so. In order to be in the mainstream of American life， to have power and respect， one must be self-reliant. Although receiving financial support from charity， family， or the government， which is allowed. However， “many people believe that such individuals are settling a bad example， which may weaken the American character as a whole” （Deng， 35）.
2）Equality of Opportunity and Competition
It is important to understand what American mean when they say they believe in equality of opportunity. “They do not mean that everyone is， or should be， equal. However， they do mean each individual should have an equal chance for success. For them， equality means that everyone should have an equal chance to enter the race and win”（Deng， 34）. In other words， equality of opportunity may be a thought of as an ethical rule. It helps ensure that the race for success is a fair one and that a person does not win just because he or she was born into a wealthy family.
If much of life is regarded as a race， then a person must run the race in order to succeed； a person must compete with others.“If every person has an equal chance to succeed in the United States， then it is every person’s duty to try. Americans match their energy and intelligence against that of their neighbors in a competitive content for success”（Deng， 34）.
“The pressures of competition in the life of an American begin in childhood and continue until retirement from work. Learning to compete successfully is part of growing up in the United States”（Deng， 36）.
3）Material Wealth and Hard Work
“The heart of the argument of individualism concerned the growth of the concept of private individual property， and ownership”（Macafarlane， 192）. Materialism means placing a high value on material possessions. But Materialism is a word that most American find offensive. “To say that a person is ‘materialistic’ is an insult. To an American this means this person values material possession above all else”（Deng， 35）. Americans do not like to be called materialistic because they feel that this unfairly accuses them of loving only material things and of having no religious values. In fact， Americans do have other values and ideals. Nevertheless acquiring and maintaining a larger number of material possessions is of much importance to most Americans.
Probably material wealth is the most widely accepted measure of social status in the United States. Because Americans rejected the European system of hereditary aristocracy and titles of nobility， they had to find a substitute for judging social status. “The quality and quantity of individual material possessions became the accepted measure of success and social status”（Deng， 35）.
As we know， Americans almost hard work. The North American continent was rich in natural resources when the first settlers arrived， but all these resources were undeveloped. Only by hard work could these natural resources be converted into material possessions and a comfortable standard of living. Hard work has been in those necessary and rewarding for most Americans throughout their history. Because of this， they have come to see material possessions as the natural reward for their hard work. In some ways， material possessions are seen not only as tangible evidence of people’s work， but also of their abilities. Most Americans believe that if a person works hard， it is possible to have a good standard of living. There is， however， considerable social pressure not only to maintain a good standard of living but also to improve it .
It is easier to understand what Americans are thinking and feeling if we can understand what these basic values are and how they influences almost every facet of life in the United States. The six basic values presented in this part-- individual freedom， self-reliance， equality of opportunity， competition， material wealth and hard work--can help us understand some aspects of American character and they strongly influence life in the United States and that in China.
1.2 Influence of American Culture on Chinese College Students
1.2.1 Possitive Influence of American Culture
During college students’ studying of the their courses， they have learned more and more knowledge and culture. Among them， “the most influenced culture is American culture”（Collins， 5）. “With the influence of American culture， Chinese college students have become more independent and self-reliance”（Waites， 25）. Most of them try to live by their hands. They utilize their spare time to earn some money instead of being supported by their parents. They usually work as tutors or do some part-time jobs， and so on. With the working experience， besides money， they have benefited a lot.
Besides， “nowadays college students are more confident and most of them believe equality of opportunity”（Waites， 26）. At the beginning of the first term of their college’s life， most of them made a speech to campaign for being a monitor or some other posts. They cherish every opportunity and try their best to run for it. They believe every one should have an equal chance to compete with others.
And consciousness of competition and hard work has greatly appeared in students’ minds， especially for the graduating students. With the encourage of some American youths’ successful experience， for example， when Bill Gates was 19 years old， he set up his Microsoft company. 20-year-old Dell created Dell company…etc.， Chinese college students begin to carve out career for themselves. Indeed， there is great influence of American culture on Chinese college students. However， there also is some negative affect.
1.2.2 Negative Affect of American Culture
College students who are the representatives of advanced Chinese culture are regarded as the successor of the country’s construction. However， with the negative affect of American culture， present cultural situation in many colleges is not optimistic. “Some college students are uninterested in Chinese culture and even sniff at it”（Waites， 31）. “Many students pay more attention to American culture instead of Chinese culture”（Stroey， 162）. Now the college students except students majored in Chinese classicism music， few of them are willing to learn Chinese classicism music， Chinese literature， and Chinese history. Indeed， traditional Chinese culture is facing great challenge.
Besides， many college students blindly adore nearly everything from America. They like fast food， such as KFC， Macdonald’s instead of Chinese food， although Chinese food is much healthier than fast food. And some of them are the crazy fans of films of Hollywood. They become lost facing American culture. “They persist in pursuing individually and freedom”（Storey， 256）. They become self-centered. They believe they are the best and do not want to cooperate with others. They have nearly no sense of discipline. What is worse， gradually they seldom respect and care about the collective and others.
So college students， facing American culture， please consider carefully what is the real quintessence of American culture. Otherwise， you will be misled by some negative factors.
1.3 An Analysis of the Influence of American Culture on College Students
1.3.1 Real Quintessence of American Culture
Culture is the incarnation of a national power， which is the important symbol of both a nation and a country. Any nation has its own culture. To develop his own culture， people from any country should learn others’ quintessence. What the most important is that you must know the real quintessence. American is a country that respect individuality and advocate individual freedom， individualism. What they emphasize is not to be cold to others and to be self-centered， but to strive and innovate independently. Common people’s successful stories are the quintessence of the “American dreams （Coben， 45）
Carnegie who used to be a penniless apprentice， has been a steel magnate now. Lincoln is a famous American president， who used to be a common people. They are all nonesuch for common Americans.
In many countries all over the world， personal relationship and his family background are the necessary qualifications for his individual success. For example， in Italy， if you want to succeed， first you need the godfather's help. If you are in Africa， people must get the Tribal chief's recommendation. However， in the United States， people will benefit from their relationship， but more important are personal diligent spirit， talent intelligence， and enterprising courage with the friendly personality. America is a country in which people have to do nearly every thing all by themselves. People believe firmly that everyone has equal opportunity. There， your family background does not support your success， and no one can help you succeed Individual progress is only attributive to your endless efforts.
Besides， Americans have get a truth from their country’s great change： since the wilderness can become the good farms， villages can become the cities. So， in the world， if you work unremittingly， you can achieve anything. Anything is possible. That is optimistic spirit. And the quintessence of optimistic spirit is that anything depends on human effort.
Facing the future， they are full of confidence， make great efforts to innovate， and pursue the victory.
These are the real quintessence of American culture， from which is the right thing we should learn to cultivated ourselves.
1.3.2 Some harmful trends
Chinese culture has been contributing greatly to the development of human being， whose language and character， literary quotation， literature and art， science and technology， arts and crafts， philosophy and religions， and moral theory all show Chinese culture’s great witchery.
However， with the affect of many foreign culture， especially American culture， some college students are lost themselves. They begin to adore American culture blindly， instead of learning the essence American culture to develop and innovate our culture. What is worse， some of college students have little interest in traditional Chinese culture. Some good traditional arts are nearly facing a crisis of no successor. However， many college students are busy with studying occidental arts， musical instruments， and western culture. Obviously we are following others without our own minds. As we know， Indian science and technology lags far behind China’s. However， India’s industry of software is quite developed， we still have a long way. The reason to the problem is that Hindus refuse to use the foreign software products， such as： IBM， while we accept them. We go after others and use others’ culture to consider instead of mine. Such a serious situation， let we have to face it and think about our own way.
1.4 Character Education
In American history， the educational system had ever met the similar problems， like ours， which caused lots of social problems. After pursuing a new program--character education， there was a virtuous circle in the educational system. So it is high time that we introduced this program to our educational system， firstly to our class （Ryan， 16）.
1.4.1 The Importance of Character Education
“Good character is known the good， loving the good， and doing the good”（Ryan， 5）. These three ideals are intimately concerned. We are born both self-centered and ignorant， with our primitive impulses reigning over reason. The point of a nurturing upbringing and education is to bring our inclinations； feelings， and passions into harmony with reason.
“Knowing the good includes coming to understand good and evil. It means developing the ability to sum up a situation， deliberate， choose the right thing to do， and then do it” （Ryan， 5）.“Loving the good means developing a full range of moral feelings and emotions， including a love for the good and contempt for evil， as well as a capacity to empathize with others” （Ryan， 6）.“Doing the good means that after thoughtful consideration of all the circumstances and relevant facts we have the will to act” （Ryan， 6）.
Character education helps students “know the good， love the good， and do the good”， which involves the head， the heart， and the hand， in an integrated way. It needs our obligation， patience to achieve students’ character， and we must take the responsibility for students’ character education. If we compare the society to a big building， then， the students are like the bricks. If all the bricks are not qualified enough， the society will also be destroyed sooner or later.
1.4.2 Views， Values or Virtues
View， values and virtues， which is the most important part in character education？ Let us analyze the differences. “Virtues are cultivated from within the individual and actually improve character and intelligence. Views are simply intellectual positions， and values evoke neither a moral commitment nor the promise of leading a good life. Additionally unlike views and values， virtue is not passive. Virtue is both the disposition to think， feel， and act in morally excellent ways， and the exercise of this disposition”（Ryan， 45）. So the facts show that virtue should be the key point in character education.
1.4.3 Building a Community of Virtue
Every kind of plant has a kind of environment to grow， so does virtue. In order to carry out character education， we must build a community of virtue where responsibility， hard work， honest and kindness are modeled， taught， expected， celebrated， and continually practiced （Ryan， 56）.
We should realize the teaching power of a school ethos and take actions that support a community of virtue. We should spare no effort to advocate traditional virtues of the two cultures， and aim higher， create resonance， institute meaningful service encourage students ownership， remember the little things， build close relationship and care enough to correct others. Community of virtue is very necessary for the character education entering a virtuous circle.
1.4.4 Cultivating Character through a Curriculum
As teachers， we should cultivate students’ character in the class. First， the colleges must add character education to the curriculum. In class， we can teach them from little things to the philosophy of life. We must bring the moral heritage of the two cultures into focus. “We have the responsibility to increase students’ moral literacy， ignite the moral imagination， promote the moral discourse， and foster moral integrity in class”（Ryan， 114）.
1.4.5 Engaging Parents in Character Education
It is not enough to do these above all for character education. One point this paper intends to add is to engage parents in this program. What we should do is to make them create a community of good examples and consciously build their family. Besides， we should persuade them of becoming involved in their children’s school life， although they are very busy.
These are the five points in character education. We really hope that the introduction of character education will bring a great change to our teaching system. If we will make it， we will have full confidence to help our students to know the good， love the good， and do the good.
2 Conclusion
Nowadays， human material civilization has been developing at a fast speed. However， we should not forsake the moral heritage of human cultures， because they are the spiritual treasure that we must pass from generation to generation. Fortunately， character education is a big help to our education system， to our nation， or even to the whole world. Looking into the future， we are full of boundless confidence. We believe that we will develop our students to be international communicators with high qualities who will keep pace with times and represent the orientation of advanced culture.
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