LSS 2053 Cultural Diversity Learning Objective 3

Reflective Essay 4

It was shown throughout history that words have power over people and that words can move hearts and change minds. Historical figures and past leaders had great influence on people and they were able to do that by mere words. Nowadays these words that were once used by great individuals are immortalized in books.

“A Person that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” These were the words of Dwight Eisenhower a former leader of the United States, in this quote he says that if people cared more for their material riches than their morals and values they would have lost not only what makes them human their material wealth would have been lost as well.

Desmond Tutu once said “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” He was a South African social rights activist fighting against the apartheid during the 1980. When all of the people acknowledge that other people are human and all are equal if that was possible I believe we can accomplish a true form of human-kind.

“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.” This is a quote from J.F Kennedy, also a former president of the United States. He believed that art can strengthen the roots of a culture, but only if the artist is free and able to fulfill his dream. This quote appealed to me because I think that art is a form of truth from the perspective of an artist.

These quotes were able to make people think and see things from a different angle. The individuals who said these quotes had a similar dream and that dream was freedom and the welfare of mankind.

LSS 2053 Cultural Diversity Learning Objective 3

With a partner, research the internet to find the missing categories. Write the meaning of the quotation in your own words:

Speaker	Quote	Meaning
Dwight Eisenhower	A Person that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.	When someone cares more for their material wealth more than their morals and ideals they would most likely lose their humanity and eventually lose their material wealth as well.
Martin Luther King, Jr	All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.	The major link between people is that we are all human.
Sheik Zayed	who does not have a past, has neither a present nor a future	All people should know and learn from their history.
Mohandas Gandhi	A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and souls of its people.	The people are the heart and core of their nation’s history and traditions
Amin Maalouf	Traditions deserve to be respected only insofar as they are respectable – that is, exactly insofar as they themselves respect the fundamental rights of men and women.	Traditions are to be respected and acknowledged if it’s morally right. If the tradition negatively affects the rights of others it will most likely be abolished
Martin Luther  King Jr.	God is not merely interested in the freedom of brown men, yellow men, red men and black men .He is interested in the freedom of the whole human race.	God doesn’t care about skin color. God cares about freedom for everyone.
Desmond Tutu	My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.	By accepting that we are all human we can become a true form of human-kind
Frank Borman	When you're finally up on the moon, looking back at the earth, all these differences and nationalistic traits are pretty well going to blend and you're going to get a concept that maybe this is really one world and why the hell can't we learn to live together like decent people	Looking at the earth from space, one wonders why we can’t get along decently.
Pablo Casals	The love of one’s country is a splendid thing, but why should it stop at the border?	Love should not be limited only in your country, it should reach others as well.
Dwight Eisenhower	The world must learn to work together, or finally it will not work at all.	If people of the world can’t get along, nothing will work.
Sheikh Zayed	Many countries go to war and then towards reconciliation. The history of mankind is full of stories of wars between people and states that have come together after fighting for long. Why can't Arabs be like them?	We must forgive and forget what has happened between who was once our enemy.
Martin Luther King, Jr	I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.	People are not to be judged by their appearance but by what defines them as humans.

LSS 2053 Cultural Diversity Ethnocentrism

LSS 2053 Cultural Diversity

 

Name: Hashem Hasan     

Section: CJD

 

 

Ethnocentrism

 

 

1. On the lines below, write a definition of Ethnocentrism. (in own words).

 

                                                     

Ethnocentrism is when an individual thinks that his culture, ideas, values, and background are superior to other’s culture. Also it is where the world is seen from the perspective of one’s own culture only. Ethnocentrism is also similar to prejudice, where the individual believes that others way of doing things is wrong. An example I have seen is when people of different nationalities think that their nation is better than any other.

 

 

 

2. Read the cartoon. How is Ethnocentrism reflected in the conversation below?

 

 

Write your answer on the lines below.

In the conversation above Ethnocentrism was depicted as intolerance, where one of the characters(Bucky) believes that he will tolerate them when “they stop being freaks and act like me” that showed that this character believes that he is better than the rest.

 

 

 

 

 3. Looking at the cartoon characters.

 

Imagine them in social situations. What kind of people would (would n’t) they associate with? What kind of events (movies, shows) would (would n’t) they prefer to go? Think of other situations.

 

Describe Bucky

 

 

 

 

Bucky would most likely socialize with individuals who have the same way of thinking and feelings towards other who are different from them. He would probably follow movies and shows that have stereotype and prejudice as a sense of humor and would most likely believe them.

 

 

Describe the man talking with Bucky. Let’s call him Tom

 

 

 

 

 

Tom is a more open minded person; in the comic strip he showed tolerance and an understanding attitude. He would probably befriend very different individuals who have different cultural background. The events Tom will most likely take part in diverse cultural events such as Carnival.

 

 

4. Drawing Ethnocentrism.

 

On a separate sheet of paper, make a drawing of Ethnocentrism. You don’t have to draw well.

 

LSS 2053 Cultural Diversity Course Goal 2

Stereotyping, Prejudice and Discrimination, these terms are used to depict ideas and information that are too general and could have false information. Due to the generalization of the information society would have the wrong or only part of the idea of the subject. The effects are very negative and have a strong impact on other people’s lives.

Stereotyping is the idea taken about certain individuals or way of doing things, but these ideas could be wrong or not accurate. However, most stereotypes are used as jokes and for other comical purposes, because it is used for jokes society take them as a true piece of information. Some of the stereotypes that I have seen are racial such as, saying Egyptians are smart and sexual such as; men do more or better jobs than women.

Prejudice is the judgment which is usually negative towards people or a person, because of social class, race, beliefs, etc… these judgments are being applied without base or actual experience and information. Some forms of prejudice are classism where people who are uneducated or poor are considered unimportant stupid individuals, racism where people think that their race is superior to other cultures.

Discrimination is the treatment on an individual based on his or her ethnic background, this treatment is based on stereotypes and prejudice which as we have learned are information that are general and may be wrong. Due to the lack of experience with other cultures people use any available information which could be wright or wrong. A form of discrimination that I have experienced is the treatment of foreigners in work place such as seeing a native English speaker we think they are smart and hard working.

I believe that Stereotyping, prejudice and Discrimination are the result of people focusing on what makes them different from other cultures. Another reason is that some people fear change and believe that their way of life is in danger. Everybody knows that change is inevitable that is why I ask will people accept this change and focus on how similar people are before it is too late?

LSS 2053 Cultural Diversity Course Goal 2 (answers to the questions about the song lyrics / comments on the video)

Lyrics from which popular song?

“But if you only have love for your own race

Then you only leave space to discriminate

And to discriminate only generates hate

And when you hate, then you’re bound to get irate, yeah..”

·         Can you recommend another song which deals with a similar subject?

·         Do you think music can help to unite people?

-The song is performed by the black eyed peas and the title is: where’s the love.

-I recommend Changes by 2pac which is also talks about discrimination.

-I believe that music can raise awareness to problems that are in the world today.

 

 

Your thoughts and comments on the video – “Mind Your Language”

-I feel that the video is showing many stereotypes and it is used for humorous reasons, but it is still a form of discrimination.

LSS 2053 Cultural Diversity Course Goal 2



LSS 2053 Course Goal 1 Revision

LSS 2053 Course Goal 1 Revision

1.       Which types of Cultural Diversity exist at ADMC? Give an example from each of the ten categories in your table of ten. Say whether each one is a Challenge or a Benefit.

There are many types of cultural diversity at ADMC, such as many nationalities, people speaking different languages, each person is also different physically and mentally and they enjoy different cuisine. There are various nationalities in the college, British teachers, south Asian technicians and many more. Most of the staffs and students are bilingual (they speak two languages: Arabic, English, etc...). We can distinguish the individuals at the college thanks to their physical appearance and mentality, the ideas, values of each and every one is respected and acknowledged. Each of these examples have benefits and challenges, thanks to the different nationalities we are able to experience many types of education, and communications between different people is possible because most of the people who go to the college speak their mother language and English or native English speakers know Arabic. There are challenges with cultural diversity, but the challenges are at minimum in the college.

 

2.       Define and give an example of Acculturation.

Acculturation is the adoption of another culture and being able to keep your own culture, nowadays in America there are many people of different cultures adopted the main culture while keeping their own for example: African American, Chinese American, etc… .

 

 

3.       Explain how child-raising in different cultures can have an effect on personality.

 

 

 

Raising a child in different cultures results in different personalities, because each culture has its own tradition and values, which result in different ideas and thoughts for the child to have then later on develops into a personality.

 

 

4.       Explain the difference between a “melting pot” and a “garden salad” related to immigration to a country such as UK, USA, Australia for example.

 

A long time ago in the USA immigrants from other countries would learn to be American and forget their own culture, which was the melting pot where different things are mixed and become the same. Nowadays they learn to be American and keep their own culture and that is the garden salad where different things come together in harmony.

 

 

5.       How can Multiculturalism have a positive effect on a large company?

 

The mix of cultures helps gain experience and new ideas, which leads to new problem solving methods, the capability to handle foreign affairs of the company and avoiding any stereotypes.

 

Reflective Task 2

LSS 2053 Cultural Diversity
Reflective Task 2


Cultural diversity is the homogenization of cultures, where different people who have different beliefs, speak different languages and have their own morals and values live and work together. Cultural differences are considered as a strength and as a weakness. The knowledge which is one of the strengths, where we share what we know with each other. The  bad habits which is a weakness, such as consuming alcohol or under-aged driving.

The strengths and advantages of cultural diversity are numerous and have great positive impacts on people's lives. Due to the variety of food and cuisines from different places we have more and possibly better sources of nutrients. Advancements in technology led to improved medical practice, education, etc···. Economical growth, raw materials and finished goods are available and are in great amounts. This was all possible because we have exchanged knowledge and experience from other cultures.

There are also many disadvantages and difficulties in cultural diversity. These are due to the negative habits that spread to people or people could have been over exposed to another culture and forget their own. Loss of language, where a person is at risk of forgetting his/her native language, one of the factors that led to this outcome are jobs and education requirements. Spread of disease from foreign countries, not being prepared for an unknown illness could lead to high death rates. Increase in crimes, this is probably because of bad influence from other people.

We know that cultural diversity can have many advantages if the ideas and values of others are respected and acknowledged, but there are some who don't agree with this and that led to the disadvantages.I believe that if people focus on how the differences between cultures can improve living the disadvantages will be insignificant.

Quiz - What are MUlticulturalism, Assimilation and Acculturation?

 

True or False? If FALSE, write the TRUE answer.

 

1.       A Multicultural society can be described as a society with a single set of values.	false, it has many sets of values.
2.       A “salad bowl” represents varied and separate cultures.	true.
3.       One aspect of Multiculturalism is respecting different cultures.	true.
4.       Cultural Diversity can be represented by a “melting pot”	false, sald bowl.
5.       Acculturation means learning the culture of your birth country.	false, it means the learning of the culture of host country.

 

Define in your own words:

1.       “Melting Pot”: people of diffireent cultures are to forget their culture and learn another.

2.       “Salad Bowl”: people of diffirent cultures learn about another culture and keep their own identity.

3.       “Assimilation”: where people  learn to adapt to other customs be similar to them.

4.       “Acculturation”: where people  learn to adapt to other customs and keep their own customs.

5.       “Enculturation”:process of first-culture learning.

Complete the sentence with words from the text:

Acculturation often results in changes to ______culture______, _______customs_______and ____social institutions____, as well as changes in food, ______clothing_____ and _____language______.

Give a synonym:

varied	many	respect	honor	dominate	take over control
multiple	many	central	main	interacting	working with
specific	certain	represents	illustrates	adopt	take in

 

Give the opposite:

varied	similar	respect	disrespect	gradually	instantly
multiple	similar	common	rare	dominant group	minoraty group
specific	general	contrasted with	compared to	adopt	reject

 

Culture and Personality in Anthropology

 

Read the section about Culture and Personality in Anthropology. Answer these questions about that section:-

1.       Define “Anthropology” in your own words. the study of humanity

2.       Define “movement” in this context. the advancement of something

3.       What do you understand by “socialization of children” Give an example the interaction of children and other people

4.       Read this sentence again and give examples of childrearing in different societies and cultures: “socialization creates personality patterns. It helps shape people’s emotions, thoughts, behaviors, cultural values and norms to fit into and function as productive members in the surrounding human society. The study of culture and personality demonstrates that different socialization practices such as childrearing in different societies (cultures) result in different personality types.”

If someone is living in a society where traditons and history are followed that person's perssonality would be like somene who would be known as some one who is old-fashioned.

5.       Read this sentence again and say to what extent you agree: “all humans are the same when born, but childrearing in different societies causes deviations in behavior and personalities from each other.”

I agree strongly, because when humans are born they do not have any defining thoughts about who they are and what are they doinng.

6.       Reflect on the reading above. Can you see a link between your culture and your personality? Think about that in relation to your own culture first, and then think about personality and culture in a different society. Reflect. Give examples.

I can see a link between my culture and personality. In relation to my culture my morals and values are passed down from my parents, thus creating my personality. In relation to other cultures it would be the same idea, but morals and values may differ.