Cultural Identity

Ticia R. Grant June, 1, 2011 Bridging dustup for Women designation 2 Course Director Brenda L. Blondeau The Consequence of Cultural individuality To understand the significant effect that our ethnic desktop has on our identity, we must acknowledge the advant get on withs provided by the sense of unity, of belonging to something bigger, and of collectively sharing a heritage with others. In contrast, someone who feels disconnected with said heritage might feel deprived of that highly sought by and by sense of belonging, which in turn can lead to a touch modality of non knowing who they should e, a lack of identity. It is the causes and effects of this conflict that Apryl Gladue describes in her writing, and she murders the clear argument that the cycle of going of her predecessors native shade is likely to keep repeating itself. This, in essence, is cause of the distress of paper Indians. Gladue coins this line paper Indians which she uses to refer to natural Americans w ho have get hold ofed their culture nevertheless by dint of classes, in enlighten and on paper. The term is also meaningful in the sense that according to overnment documentation, she is of Native circumstance hitherto she was not elevated or brought up as such. In addition to outlining the difficulties she has go about in losing her father and her connection to her heritage, she also speaks of her triumphs notwithstanding her crises of identity. To quote Gladue on page 206 she writes Unsure of how to make my way in the world, I soon formed my stimulate identity in academics. I deal this was a formation and transitional time for Gladue, as she no longer identified herself as existence either etiolate orNative hardly rather as a part of the academic community, wherein nationality, creed, gender, social status and even age atomic number 18 often overshadowed by an individuals intellect and ability. She describes creation admitted to the well-grounded bar and move a career as a civil servant as legal counsel to the DIAND, as a way of contri barelying her own ideas of law and policy concerning Natives in Canada, barely she plainly expresses that despite her efforts she never felt like she fit in at bottom her own community. This tone of voice of etachment, seemingly alone stems back to never having been raised by a Native, as a Native, and it is this wrong that plainly illustrates the permanence of this damaging cycle. I can definitely relate with the entire notion of feeling disconnected from my own culture, as I was also raised without a parent. I was raised by my mother, who was many ethnicities, but my father, who was born in Quito, Ecuador, left when I was very young. While I did go out some of the Spanish language, I was never brought up within the traditional Latin culture.Instead I was raised here, within western society and denied the opportunity to experience that part of who I am. I am reminded of this free-and-easy by my associate who was born in Spain, and his mother, who we currently reside with. The differences in cultural behaviours and beliefs are immense, particularly with regards to morality and family, in comparison to what I was taught to believe and how I was raised. To many people my features appear Hispanic, and when asked of my background I evermore answer Spanish because I do see it as part of my identity, but In cost of feeling ike I belong to the Spanish culture, I am sad to rate that for me it is a human beings that I will never know. The best I can do is hear to the music and mulct the language to speak the native tongue of my father, who I never really knew. It is save then that I feel connected to him, to my culture and to that something bigger that we all seem to yearn for, just it is vital that we admit that there are many other ways to define ourselves. References Apryl Gladeau, A stopping point of Loss Canadian Woman Studies (Volume 26 3,4) pg 204- 207, 2008Cultura l IdentityLosing Cultural Identity Both the springs Choy and Engkent focussed mainly on the ideas of culture, immigration and assimilation. These two essays showed that acculturation is bi-directional from both the sides and it requires neither a change value, although values may execute acculturated nor the internal change. Assimilation is unidirectional, towards the dominant group and it requires change in values and the internal change. Losing cultural Identity Immigrants always have fear that they will lose their identity when move into new society.In Im banana and tall of it, Choy expressed his father feeling by saying that Father used to say We lacked Taiost rituals, Taoist manners. We were, he said, mo li. Similarly, Engkent showed his father fear of losing cultural values and how he discouraged his wife not to learn English by saying these words That old women will get rich doing nothing. What have these women knowing ? Fan- gwei ways- make-up lipstick, smelly perfume s, fancy clothes.Once she gets through with them, they wont be Chinese about the land and the life they had been pressure to leave behind. Even the author Choy personally felt that he is caught between two cultures. He claimed himself as Banana, which means that he possessed both the Chinese physique outside and Western lifestyle inside. civilization of immigrants The acculturation is process of cultural change between two different cultural groups who come in contact with each other. The media and language are greatly responsible for acculturation.In Im a banana and proud of it, the author greatly influenced by the host culture through media. The host media like magazines, music and movies are the only choice for them to read, listen and watch. This showed great influence over immigrants soul and culture. On the other hand, there are some people unable to acculturate into new society due to greater affection towards their culture and lack of communication. In, Why My Mother Cant Speak English Engkent mother was unable to acculturate into new society. hats why she offered. lai-shi to the officer, which means bribe in Canada even after 30 years stay in Canada. Further, she face up difficulty in learning English. The berry (1990) psychologist defined acculturation is individuals change both by being influenced by contact with another culture and by being participants in the general acculturative changes current in their own culture. This means that culture is being influenced by internal force within the individual and external environmental factors.This acculturation leads to assimilation which gives either an harmony or conflict and stress. References Berry, J. W. (1990). psychological science of acculturation Understanding individuals moving between cultures. In R. Brislin (Ed. ), Applied cross-cultural psychology. Newhury Park SagePublications John W. Berry (2005). Acculturation Living successfully in two cultures. Retrieved from http//isites. harvard. edu/fs/docs/icb. topic551691. files/Berry. pdfCultural IdentityTicia R. Grant June, 1, 2011 Bridging Course for Women Assignment 2 Course Director Brenda L. Blondeau The Consequence of Cultural Identity To understand the significant effect that our cultural background has on our identity, we must acknowledge the advantages provided by the sense of unity, of belonging to something bigger, and of collectively sharing a heritage with others. In contrast, someone who feels disconnected with said heritage might feel deprived of that highly sought after sense of belonging, which in turn can lead to a feeling of not knowing who they should e, a lack of identity. It is the causes and effects of this conflict that Apryl Gladue describes in her writing, and she makes the clear argument that the cycle of deprivation of her predecessors native culture is likely to keep repeating itself. This, in essence, is cause of the mourning of paper Indians. Gladue coins this term paper Indians which she uses to refer to Native Americans who have learned their culture only through classes, in school and on paper. The term is also meaningful in the sense that according to overnment documentation, she is of Native status however she was not raised or brought up as such. In addition to outlining the difficulties she has faced in losing her mother and her connection to her heritage, she also speaks of her triumphs despite her crises of identity. To quote Gladue on page 206 she writes Unsure of how to make my way in the world, I soon formed my own identity in academics. I believe this was a defining and transitional time for Gladue, as she no longer identified herself as being either white orNative but rather as a part of the academic community, wherein nationality, creed, gender, social status and even age are often overshadowed by an individuals intellect and ability. She describes being admitted to the legal bar and pursuing a career as a civil servant as legal counsel to the DIAND, as a way of contributing her own ideas of law and policy concerning Natives in Canada, however she plainly expresses that despite her efforts she never felt like she fit in within her own community. This feeling of etachment, seemingly all stems back to never having been raised by a Native, as a Native, and it is this loss that plainly illustrates the permanency of this damaging cycle. I can definitely relate with the entire notion of feeling disconnected from my own culture, as I was also raised without a parent. I was raised by my mother, who was many ethnicities, but my father, who was born in Quito, Ecuador, left when I was very young. While I did learn some of the Spanish language, I was never brought up within the traditional Latin culture.Instead I was raised here, within western society and denied the opportunity to experience that part of who I am. I am reminded of this everyday by my boyfriend who was born in Spain, and his mother, who we currently reside with. The differe nces in cultural behaviours and beliefs are immense, especially with regards to morality and family, in comparison to what I was taught to believe and how I was raised. To many people my features appear Hispanic, and when asked of my background I always answer Spanish because I do see it as part of my identity, but In terms of feeling ike I belong to the Spanish culture, I am sad to say that for me it is a reality that I will never know. The best I can do is listen to the music and learn the language to speak the native tongue of my father, who I never really knew. It is only then that I feel connected to him, to my culture and to that something bigger that we all seem to yearn for, however it is vital that we recognize that there are many other ways to define ourselves. References Apryl Gladeau, A Culture of Loss Canadian Woman Studies (Volume 26 3,4) pg 204- 207, 2008