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What does culture mean to you
What does culture mean to you
What does culture mean to you
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This weeks reading focused on the topic of culture and as well as cultural differences and what this means in terms of education and teaching.
Erickson’s article reflected on the different concepts of Culture in society and within educational practice. His readings emphasized the notion of “multicultural education,” by reflecting on the ways in which culture has been thought of and how those varying definitions of culture have relevance for education in general and for multicultural education in particular. According to Erickson “everything in education relates to culture—to its acquisition, its transmission, and its invention (Erickson, 2004, pg. 31).” However, he notes how culture is still a difficult concept to grasp by outlying the difference
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(2001). The Clash of Ignorance. The Nation. pp. 1-5.
Edward Said’s article, “The Clash of Ignorance,” begins with a critique of Samuel Huntington’s essay “The Clash of Civilizations?” According to Huntington, “nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations.” Therefore, this belief is based on the assumption that cultural differences is the ultimate cause of conflict and places the Western culture as superior to the “other”
In response to Huntington’s essay, Said rejects orientalist thought that use simple generalizations on Islam and the West. Rather he urges examining a multiplicity of “Islams,” with all their many diverse features if we hope to make sense of Muslims. According to Said (2001), “Labels like "Islam" and "the West" serve only to confuse us about a disorderly reality. (Said, 2001, pg. 1).” He believes that there lies a great problem in unedifying labels like Islam and the West. These kinds of labels places cultural differences in opposing potions such as “Us vs. Them, or the West versus Islam.” According to Said (2001), this kind of ignorance is the fundamental cause of conflict. Furthermore, labels such as the “West versus Islam/the Other” can be traced by to the colonial era where the unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colonized led to the assumption that the colonized were “savages, uncivilized, and barbaric.” Such labels justified the colonial mission to “civilized” the so-called other leading to what Abdi explains as the processes of de-philosophizing and in the process, de-epistemologizing Africa and other colonial
Ugbu, J., U. (1992). Understanding cultural diversity and learning. EDUC 160 Urban Education (Spring 2014, pp. 213-228)
These concepts are easily understandable for a student audience, and the examples provided by the author encourages a deeper understanding of the expectations I have when reading the books on multicultural education. This book fits within my understanding of education because the author’s ultimate argument reinforces the understanding I have for multicultural education. However, the author has given numerous examples in his book and also explored interesting concepts in multicultural education. This has challenged my understanding of education because I have learned a lot and after reading this book my perception on education has changed because I have gained great insights about the topic. I am ready to apply the concepts and ideas I have learned in my future classroom as a
Thomas W. Lippman gives an introduction to the Muslim world in the book Understanding Islam. He has traveled throughout the Islamic world as Washington Post bureau chief for the Middle East, and as a correspondent in Indochina. This gave him, in his own words, "sharp insight into the complexities of that turbulent region." However, the purpose of the book is not to produce a critical or controversial interpretation of Islamic scripture. It is instead to give the American layman an broad understanding of a religion that is highly misunderstood by many Americans. In this way he dispels many myths about "Muslim militants," and the otherwise untrue perception of Islamic violence. In this way the American reader will become more knowledgeable about an otherwise unfamiliar topic. However, the most significant element of Lippman’s book is that it presents Islam in a simple way that makes the reader feels his awareness rise after each chapter. This encourages him to continue learning about the world’s youngest major religion. Understanding Islam dispels many misconceptions about the Muslim world, and presents the subject in a way that urges his reader to further his understanding of Islam through continued study.
In the years since the early 90’s, Huntington’s premise have not been proven wrong. Along the years, various conflict occurred around the world in which can be identified as the examples of the clash of civilizations. Certainly, other factors such as politics, economics and military also contribute in many conflicts, yet the most catastrophic and chaotic ones are inevitably occurred in the dispute between civilizations. Between Orthodoxy and Islam there was wars in Bosnia, Kosovo and the Caucuses, between Islam and Africa there is Boko Haram, between Islam and the Hindu civilization happened a perpetual terrorism, between Orthodoxy and the West occurred wars in Croatia and Slovenia and the current crisis in Ukraine, and of course, between the West and Islam, there was the phenomenon of Charlie Hebdo, not to mention about the widely-known 9/11 tragedy. The clashes
Propaganda produced in the Arab world against the United States and the Western world, alongside the incitement and propaganda aimed against Israel, the Zionist movement and the Jewish people. Among those participating in the anti-American incitement and propaganda are Arab regimes, as well as the media and the education systems throughout the various Arab countries. This mechanism of incitement and propaganda reflects to a large extent the actual "mood" of hostility towards the United States and the entire Western world, prevalent within the Arab and Muslim society. Feelings of hostility are cultivated by terrorism-supporting countries with explicitly anti-American policies, such as Syria and Iran, as well as by Islamic movements, left-wing organizations and various "popular fronts". The more Western-oriented Arab countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan generally tolerate the existence of the incitement and propaganda system, though they at times attempt to limit its impact, lest it should affect their relations with the United States (Ayubi, Nazih, 1999). With the emergence of Islam in the seventh century, conflict immediately emerged between Muslims and Christians. Both religions had periods where its followers were inspired with a mood of hatred and violence (Spencer, H, 1998). Therefore, this hatred led to the rejection of Western civilization, since the West was evil and Westerners were enemies of God. God had enemies and needed human help in order to overthrow them. This was the dualism, which was inherent in Islam. Most people in the United States and more generally in the Western world find it impossible to understand the motives and purposes that drove the perpetrators of these crimes, those who sent them and ...
I share the view of Edward Said who responded to Huntington’s thesis in his 2001 article, “ The Clash of Ignorance”. He argued that Huntington’s categorization of the world’s fixed “civilizations” omits the dynamic interdependency and interaction of culture. Said (2004) also argues that the clash of civilizations thesis is an example of “ the purest individious racism, a sort of parody of Hitlerian science
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
The world is made up of many different types of people, each one having his or her cultural background. Over the years, the United States has become increasingly populated with cultural diversity. This influx has prompted school administrators to recognize the need to incorporate multicultural programs into their school environment including classroom settings, school wide activities, and curriculum as it becomes more evident that the benefits of teaching cultural diversity within the school setting will positively influence our communities, and ultimately the entire nation’s future. The purpose of this paper is to share the pros and cons of multicultural education in the classroom. Additionally, I will express my views compared to those in the reading requirements for this assignment, as well as, new knowledge obtained through the research. Finally, I will share situations where I was challenged introducing a multicultural issue during a class.
Orientalism as termed by Edward Said is meant to create awareness of a constellation of assumptions that are flawed and underlying Western attitudes towards the Muslim societies. Evidence from his 1978 book “Orientalism”, states that the culture has been of influence and marred with controversy in post colonial studies and other fields of study. Moreover, the scholarship is surrounded by somehow persistent and otherwise subtle prejudice of Eurocentric nature, which is against Islam religion and culture (Windschuttle, 1999). In his book, Said illustrates through arguments, that the long tradition in existence containing romanticized images of Islamic stronghold regions i.e. Middle East, and the Western culture have for a long time served as implicit justifications for the European and American Imperial ambitions. In light of this, Said denounced the practice of influential Arabs who contributed to the internalization of Arabic culture ideas by US and British orientalists. Thus, his hypothesis that Western scholarship on Muslim was historically flawed and essentially continues to misrepresent the reality of Muslim people. In lieu to this, Said quotes that, “So far as the United States seems to be concerned, it is only a slight overstatement to say that Muslims and Arabs are essentially seen as either oil suppliers or potential terrorists. Therefore, very few details such as human density, the passion of Arab-Muslim life has entered the awareness of even the people whose profession revolve around reporting of the Arab world. Due to this, we have instead a series of crude, essentialized caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way as to make that world vulnerable to military aggression” (Said, 1980).
In 1992 within a lecture Samuel P. Huntington proposed a theory that suggests that people's cultural and religious identities will undoubtedly be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world, this theory is known as the Clash of Civilizations. Therefore this essay provides a criticism of this theory, whether I agree or disagree with it and also the aspects I like or dislike about the theory as a whole.
As we entered the new millennium, Edward Said’s article, “The Clash of Ignorance”, appeared in the October 22 edition of The Nation, in 2001. His paper was a critical response to my thesis which first appeared in 1993, “The Clash of Civilizations?”. The following years saw many adopting his argument as a valid counter to my thesis. However, I believe that his argument builds more to the notion of the clash of civilizations stated in my paper, strengthening it, rather than weakening it. In this paper, I will discuss and address the arguments that he had put forward.
As we proceed further into the 21st century, multiculturalism becomes more relevant to obtaining a truly global society. Dr. James A. Banks defines the meaning of multicultural education and its potential impact on society when it is truly integrated into American classrooms. In his lecture, Democracy, Diversity and Social Justice: Education in a Global Age, Banks (2006) defines the five dimensions of multicultural education that serve as a guide to school reform when trying to implement multicultural education (Banks 2010). The goal of multicultural education is to encourage students to value their own cultures and the diverse cultures of those around them without politicizing their differences but rather, as Banks passionately explains in his lecture, “to actualize the ideals stated in the Constitution” (2006) forming “civil, moral, and just communities.”
Gradually, despite their many internal differences, the countries of Western Europe began to conceive of themselves as a single civilization, known as the West (Hall and Gieben 1992:289). The challenge from Islam was an important factor in shaping Europe and developing the idea of the West. Europe’s cultural identity was originally characterized by religion and civilisation, eventually, Europe developed a sharper geographical, political and economic definition; closer to the modern secular concept of the West (Hall and Gieb...
The cultural diversity in society, which is reflected in schools, is forcing schools not to solely rely on content-centered curriculum, but to also incorporate student-centered lesson plans based on critique and inquiry. This requires multicultural education to a dominant part of the school system, not just an extra course or unit. Further, it demands that learning itself no longer be seen as obtaining knowledge but rather, education be seen as creating knowledge. Multicultural education should be seen as affirming the diversity of students and communities, promoting the multicultural ideas of the United States, and building the knowledge and behaviors needed for students to be a positive and contributing member of society and the global community as a whole.
Culture is a powerful influence plays a big role in our interactions. Culture may also impact parenting style and a developing child. Having a strong sense of their own cultural history and the traditions associated with it helps children build a positive cultural identity for themselves. This also supports children’s sense of belonging and, by extension, their mental health and wellbeing. This class is crucial in understanding and working well parents, staff, and children. An effective educator understands how students’ cultures affect their perceptions, self-esteem, values, classroom behavior, and learning. As director, I need to use that understanding to help my students and staff feel welcomed, affirmed, respected, and valued. One way that I can do this is by using multicultural literature, especially children’s literature, to honor students’ culture and foster cross-cultural understanding. If cultural differences are not understood by teachers and management, it can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. It will be my job to do all I can to overcome both language and cultural differences to ensure a positive learning environment for