Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Keys to Understanding


 Halima Adan
   SWK280
                                                       Keys to Understanding  

            I have had the privilege of having experienced both western and non-western cultures; however growing up with mainly a non-western culture with its values has shaped my assumptions of everything that’s outside my culture.  I was taught to value, respect and take care of my elders. For example when our parents, elders or other relatives need care we are responsible to care for them as just as they took care of us in our earliest stages of life.   I was taught to never speak back to, not only elders, but to anyone who’s older than I.  Even something as small as addressing elders by their first name is seen as extremely disrespectful. Because of this many younger Somali people address any elder as aunt or uncle, grandmother or grandfather. This cultural rule has even made it difficult for me to address my professors by their first name.  Throughout my years in schooling I have struggled with balancing my Somali culture with the American culture.  Therefore I have developed the assumption that westerners do not care for their elders. I have come to this conclusion by observing many elders being put into nursing homes.

            In the article “Cultural Assumptions and Values” by Stewart, Danielian, and Foster (1998)” the authors state “what is an assumption for one individual, or for one culture, may be a value for another individual or for another culture” (158) Having said this, it is clear to me that the assumptions I make are fully coming from my cultural teachings, which have given me a very narrow vision.  What I was taught to value is “karma”, which means,  “What you put out is what you get back”. I was told that if I took care of my elders now, when I reach an age where I need assistance, I will be helped out by the younger ones. So when I came to America and saw elderly folks put into nursing homes I immediately thought that they didn’t take care of their own elders and therefore they received “karma”. My assumptions have led me to look at the elderly and the younger generation of America differently.

            I have recognized that making a broad assumption about everyone from a culture that is different from mine is dangerous.  This is because we lack knowledge about the unseen and implicit differences in each culture.  Along with my assumptions came a certain judgment of negativity placed upon others that tended to make my own culture be superior to another culture. What I failed to realize is that my view of the western world was based on views of that culture only.   I forgot to  I forgot to assess my own culture as well. I see that if one looks deeply, there are people of my culture who don’t have the same view regarding “elders” just as there people of the western world who highly regard their elders. With regard to how elders are treated, the perception of the world from the way I viewed it became very narrow.  That is why I needed to go out of my bubble to see the differences and similarities within each culture and how these relate to values and behaviors.  In the reading (Stewart, Danielian, & Foster, 1998) I learned “a frequent objection made to efforts to analyze any culture is that people differ from one another in many ways, even within a culture, and any attempt to describe a people according to broad generalizations, such as cultural characteristics, results in a stereotype” (158). 
            In conclusion I have learned that regarding culture and people in general there’s more to it than the eye can see. We should reflect upon our own behavior and values, so that we won’t be negatively blinded by the narrow views to which we hold so tightly.  By seeing that, at the end of the day, no one person’s view is necessarily better than another’s.  The key to solving many issues that plague us internally and externally is to try to understand others. This will benefit you individually, as well as your community.


                                    References
Stewart, E. C., Danielian, J. & Foster, R. J. (1998).  Cultural assumptions and values. In M. J. Bennett (Ed.), Basic concepts of intercultural communication: Selected readings. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, pp. 157 – 172.  

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Social Construction

Social Constructivism-

In fifth grade my teacher, Mr. Erickson, was instructing us about the food chain. He told us it is necessary for one species to kill another as a means of survival, it is the "natural order" of things. He made his way from the bottom to the top in as much detail as possible. Insects seemed to be at the bottom, while animals such as the tiger were at the top. Then, after making his way to the top he drew a figure of a human being at the upper right hand side of the food chain. He then made a statement which had a profound impact on me. He said, "human beings are not necessarily part of the food chain, but exist outside of it because of our ability to think." Is it possible that we inhabit the Earth, along with everything else, yet exist independently? How could this be?

According to our book, social constructivism is, “the theory that individuals actively construct knowledge and ideas about reality and themselves through social processes and experiences” (Marsiglia & Kulis, 2009, p. 85). Human beings congregate and socially construct language, and then give names to objects in the phenomenal world. Human consciousness divides the world by discrimination through language. We are then deceived by our mental "constructs", and believe there is inherent separation. In fact, we are not separate from the world, we are a part of it. We could not survive, and would not exist, were it not for everything else. Without the sun, rain, farmers, workers, and grocery stores we would not have food to eat that creates our bodies. This is also the case with mental conception. How would I know what to write if language didn't exist prior to me writing?

President Obama could not be president if there were no people to preside over. I could not be a student in Diversity and Inequality without any instructor. Both the teacher and student, or president and citizen, are dependent on one another for their identity; they are interdependent and part of a whole. However, because we are human beings with the ability to conceptualize, we differentiate the teacher from the student, overlooking these are fleeting identities which have no inherent existence. This is not theory, but reality prior to conception. We are given identities because society agrees on their meaning through social constructivism. Would you consider yourself a pedestrian when sitting in a classroom? Eggs could not exist without the hen. Rain could not exist without the clouds. There isn't a place we can gaze where interdependence doesn't exist. We are the sum total of all experience, mind and body.

References

Marsiglia, F. F., & Kulis, S. (2009). Diversity, oppression, and change. (p. 85). Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books,

Inc.

Posted by BEAU.

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