Fall 2018
Knowledge and Understanding Level 2
Knowledge and Understanding Level 2
During the Fall of 2018, I took Interpersonal Communication, CMST 101W. This class focused on how people exchange information using verbal and non-verbal communication. While this was a writing intensive course, most of the course revolved around discussions in class. We discussed various topics such as culture, technology, relationships, power, and the stages of communication. One of the first few papers we wrote in this class had us discuss our personal culture. Later, we were assigned to interview someone from a different culture and then write a paper about how they define their culture. I chose to interview my sign language instructor, Kari Sween.
This assignment provided me an opportunity to interact with someone from another culture as well as be able to ask questions that further advanced my understanding of other cultural practices (Knowledge and Understanding Level 2). I was able to understand how influential sign language is not only for her to communicate, but to construct her own cultural identity. In my paper, I wrote, "Before, I had always thought of language as just a portion of culture. Sween instead had defined her culture in a way that revolved around language because it is of the upmost importance." Throughout my class with Sween, I was able to learn more about Deaf culture; however, taking the opportunity to ask Sween more in-depth questions provided me with a much greater understanding of Deaf culture. This experience showed me that challenging myself to interact with people from other cultures and to ask more complex questions can help increase my knowledge as a global citizen more than if I had tried learning about them through google searches or books. Showing interest in other cultures and taking the time to listen to others not only helped me learn more but also helped me form new perspectives about culture. I will apply this knowledge in my career field as well as in my personal life as I interact with people from different cultures or backgrounds.
Global Citizenship Artifact #4
Attached below is my completed paper that I wrote for this assignment.
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cultural_interview_paper.docx | |
File Size: | 38 kb |
File Type: | docx |