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What is multiculturalism and its concepts essays
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What is multiculturalism and its concepts essays
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In "Goin’ Gangsta, Choosin’ Cholita," Nell Bernstein argues that some young people claims racial and ethnic identities other than their own, which is a nice thing in motivating diversity in our community. People tend to do that because they are influenced by music and television, that contains interracial interaction and cultural diversity. After that, these people start to imitate the culture that they are affected with. As the days pass, Bernstein mentions that the suburbs and small towns are becoming more diverse and multiracial, which inspired most people, who inhabit in these areas, with city life and claiming other racial identities. Finally, Bernstein believes that being who you want to be is the most significant goal and aim in
I learned many things about Philip Caputo and his tour of duty. He described how he felt in the beginning about the Vietnamese people, which was not as much hate since him and the other soldiers were not as knowledgeable about all the conflict that was taking place in Vietnam. Caputo was very opinionated towards his views of the Vietnamese people. He actually felt sorry for all the villagers who had to see and deal with the negative environment that was brought upon them, and bear the Marines who probed their homes for prohibited Viet Cong relations. Caputo did not find it fair how the American troops mistreated the villagers and protected the concept of apprehending the Viet Cong. However, throughout the end of his tour, he and his men disliked the VC very strongly, learned how to hate and wanted to kill them.
Living the Drama by David J. Harding is a text which draws on many sociological theories that are presently relevant to the lives of many individuals. Particularly this compilation of personal accounts and theoretical connections textbook focuses on the role of neighborhood and community’s effect on the lives of present day boys. The book provides real life examples are given to demonstrate two key topics being cultural heterogeneity and collective efficacy. In neighborhoods collective efficacy is relevant regardless of the racial or socioeconomic make up of the area, as it comprises the neighborhoods trust and cohesion with shared expectations of control, which in response determines the public order of that community. In these communities we then find cultural heterogeneity, which is defined as the existence of a myriad of competing and conflicting cultural models. Cultural Heterogeneity, according to Harding, is greater in disadvantaged neighborhoods especially in relation to the topic of academic ambitions and career aspirations of adolescents in these areas. Youth and juveniles are heavily effected by the collective efficacy of an area which determines how may different social models and norms there are in the area or neighborhood in question. In Living the Drama, examples are given which indicate that higher collective efficacy would likely result in less cultural heterogeneity. This relationship between the two theories Is important as it effects the collective leadership, direction and social norms of an area and plays a role in the success or failure of the youth from that specific neighborhood.
In his essay, “On Being Black and Middle Class” (1988), writer and middle-class black American, Shelby Steele adopts a concerned tone in order to argue that because of the social conflicts that arise pertaining to black heritage and middle class wealth, individuals that fit under both of these statuses are ostracized. Steele proposes that the solution to this ostracization is for people to individualize themselves, and to ‘“move beyond the victim-focused black identity” (611). Steele supports his assertion by using evidence from his own life and incorporating social patterns to his text. To reach his intended audience of middle-class, black people, Steele’s utilizes casual yet, imperative diction.
Although Boyz n the Hood helps to resist the stereotypes of young black men, and shed light on the real, lived experiences and institutional oppression of black people and young black men in particular, the film also reinscribes a stereotypical narrative that all black people are impoverished and become incriminated in gang activity. Not all black people experience poverty and gang activity. One could see this film as perpetuating the single black experience as if all black people are exactly alike and have exactly the same
Julian, one of the main characters of the story, struggles with his identity tremendously. He viewed himself as an upright scholar that graduated from college and was not racist in any way. “True culture is in the mind, the mind, the mind…” (O’Connor, 1965). Julian believed that if he could make nice with and/or become friends with African-American people that he was not racist. On the contrary, he did not have any friends of the African-American descent nor could he engage in a meaningful conversation with an African-American person. O’Connor sets a p...
For instance, Brooks himself confesses that he has himself in the past gravitated towards places where he believed he could be most comfortable in and where he also felt he could be his true self. He further states, that the majority of his friends are middle-income level Caucasians and conservative Christians. Brooks’ main argument in the essay is that many individuals in the United States often do not even bother to show that they would like to build diverse communities. The essay, Brook says, is about the public discourse on race and is meant to make us ponder about the stereotypes and assumptions we have when we think about diversity or people from other ethnicities. It is also meant to make us look where we fit in the diversity debate? Are we truly for the integration of
Identity is a substantial component of a person, it’s something that determines who they are and help establish themselves with people who you find enjoyable and shares similar interests. It could bring people together, and provide a sense of belonging and unity. However, there are times where these people who are within certain cliques are perceived more negatively or believe that all people within that group perpetually have a certain set of traits. In most cases, these negative perceptions lead to discrimination and conflict, and obscures the positive and more genuine traits of an individual. In S.E. Hinton’s book, The Outsiders, there is a group of poor and lower-middle class teens who are labeled as greasers. This group of wild teenagers
...can also be applied to other groups. She focuses on the experiences of black women as they respond to this limitation, but her underlying ideas can be used to discuss other peoples’ experiences as well, especially in terms of how they define themselves in relation to the controlling images associated with them. While Skylar is not part of the demographic Hill Collins discusses explicitly, she does illustrate the interaction between controlling images and self-definitions, including resistance, and using dialogue and concrete experiences to determine whether knowledge claims are accurate. Most people, regardless of their place in society, experience controlling images, or someone else’s “first impressions” of them, with consequential limitations imposed on their abilities to be who they really are. Thus, it is important to examine how to confront and challenge this.
...s and by those inside their own communities. One of the things she points out is that the way we define ourselves is not how the world always sees us. We are all different, but we choose to identify ourselves by the people surrounding us, the culture that we are exposed to, our actions, and the achievements that we obtain.
In the portion "Gangsta Culture" from Bell Hooks' We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity
Parental pressure is often part of a child’s life. The pressure depends on gender, society, and also culture. The really short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kinvaid is a conversation between a mother and daughter. The mother talk most of the time; she gave a long series of warnings and advice to the daughter, who responds only twice. These advises are mostly about how to take care of her dad, or future husband, and also household chores, cooking, manners, social conduct. The voice of the mother seemed commanding and “bitchy” but the mother seems to expect a great deal of her daughter, and she did say what she had to say to let the girl know it.
This is saying that like vegetables in a salad, ethnic groups are being able to maintain their own identities while they can still participate in the culture of Americans.
Involved in social interaction is the concept of a social self. A social self, as explained by George Herbert Mead, is a symbiotic interaction; the individual self is a process of interaction as opposed to a “thing.” In terms of multiracial individuals, this means that they’re social self is developed through communication with themselves and with others. As explained by Shih and Sanchez, multiracial individuals have developed their sense of self by being misunderstood by “white” and non multiracial communities. In terms of the article, if multiracial individuals are feeling like their full self isn’t being accepted, they will view themselves as outcasted and unaccepted by their community. Unfortunately, it is difficult enough for a monoracial individual to feel accepted, let alone a multiracial individual.
Thankfully, sociologists study what cultural elements dictate society’s influence on racial inequality and Brekhus (2015) enumerates identity authenticity as one. Density, “whether one performs the identity adequately” and duration, “whether one performs the identity enough of the time” (Brekhus 2015:120), comprise how authentic an identity is. Although some individuals fail to find their identity until later in life, they observe the duration component by establishing their identity as innate. Erin Johnston (2013) exemplifies Paganism as a supposedly innate trait, where her participants “described [it] as an essential and permanent element of their being” (Brekhus 2015:121). Subcultures, such as music genres, also have identities, where the hip-hop industry desires a racially black, old school, from the hood artist. Conversely, what is not desired signifies identity authenticity and a white, suburban, mainstream artist is not authentic hip-hop. In American society, race is an identity everyone holds, whether white, black, latino, asian, mixed, etc. There are auxiliary characteristics inclined for and against each race, mostly chalked up as
Whether around a group of friends or among total strangers, many people feel compelled to act in certain ways to please those around them; this part of our identity is labeled conveniently as social identity. A social identity can sometimes be very close to one's personal identity, but the differences between the two is caused by social pressures and obligations, and the extent to which it differs is based on many factors such as race, heritage, age, etc. Specifically, the pressures on minorities in a predominantly white society may cause them to behave in certain ways. Also, examining these pressures may help us further see the reasons for this behavior. Both The Reivers and On The Road are commentaries on how this social identity develops, and both novels state their stance on what role race should play in determining social identity quite clearly.