Spring 2018
Self Awareness Level 1, Knowledge and Understanding Level 1
Self Awareness Level 1, Knowledge and Understanding Level 1
As part of my Communication Studies minor, I took CMST 203, Intercultural Communications. Although this was a required class for my minor, I was excited to learn more about how to better communicate with people from other cultures. We learned from our textbook, documentaries, and PowerPoints as well as from different activities in and outside of the classroom. We focused on cultural differences and perceptions and how various elements influence the way other cultures communicate and how we can learn to bridge the gap to communicate more effectively. A major assignment we had in this course was to attend events focusing on a culture other than our own and then complete field experience reflections. This class helped to push me out of my comfort zone in order to learn from new experiences and gain a better understanding of the various cultures around me.
By reflecting on the cultural events that I attended for this class, I was able to identify myself as a member of a culture (Self-Awareness Level 1). Part of becoming a better global citizen is to first understand that you are part of a culture that is different from others. Due to my privilege as a white person, I never had to define myself as part of a distinct culture. As I was these attending events that showed me other cultures, I started to realize that I belonged to a culture that varied greatly from others. I began to understand how my upbringing, religion, family concept, education, traditions, and so much more were all influenced by the culture I belong to which then shaped me into the person that I am. By first understanding my own culture, I am able to realize and pay attention to the varying cultures around myself. Something that I would do differently next time I seek to experience another culture is to do some research about that particular culture before I attend the event. That way, I can better understand and make connections from what I am learning and experiencing.
After identifying my own culture, I was able to understand my various cultural boundaries, rules, and biases (Self-Awareness Level 2). Being conscious of the stereotypes and biases that I hold helps me to understand the areas in which I still have yet to learn. Staying inside my own culture doesn’t allow me to challenge myself or open myself up to new opportunities. Once I started experiencing other cultures for these field experiences, I began to ask myself why I had the stereotypes that I had so that I could begin to re-educate myself. In my paper I wrote, "I think that it is very important to continually evaluate yourself and try to understand why you think or do the things you do. Understanding where your judgements come from can help you try to figure out how to reverse misconceptions or stereotypes that you hold." My life experience taught me to act and think a different way, and I realized that only thinking within my culture caused me to think and act ignorantly. Seeing a different way of living from the perspective of another culture helped me to realize the boundaries of my own culture. Being able to first analyze my culture and my thinking allows me to understand where I need to make adjustments in order to be a better global citizen. I will apply this knowledge of understanding my own cultural boundaries throughout my life as I will always be seeking to expand and challenge myself as a global citizen. Something that I know will be a challenge is that as I learn more, I might think that I have learned enough or that what I had learned was always true, and it will be important for me to not become ignorant and miss out on opportunities to continue learning.
When I attended these various events for my field experience assignments, I was able to ask questions about other cultures and then summarize what I had learned about those cultures (Knowledge and Understanding Level 1). Throughout these experiences, I asked simple questions so that I could start gaining a better understanding of other cultures and recall what I had learned. These simple questions about cultural practices were instrumental in my learning because I needed to first understand the fundamentals of a culture before I could dive any deeper. It was difficult at first to ask questions because I was unsure of what to ask and I also was afraid I would accidentally be rude. Thankfully, it got easier to ask questions once I started. In my paper, I wrote that I discovered that people are “welcoming if you show respect, genuine interest in their culture, and a desire to learn more.” I began to learn that it is important to be curious about other cultures and other people’s perspectives. As a white person, my privilege could allow me to stay inside the comfort of my own culture and not have to learn more about other cultures. I learned that I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone and be conscious of taking opportunities to learn about other cultures. I will apply this knowledge of being cognizant of taking opportunities to ask questions throughout my everyday life. As a media professional, it will be important for me to work with and represent other cultures, and I will need to ask other people questions in order to gain a better and more authentic understanding of their culture.
After identifying my own culture, I was able to understand my various cultural boundaries, rules, and biases (Self-Awareness Level 2). Being conscious of the stereotypes and biases that I hold helps me to understand the areas in which I still have yet to learn. Staying inside my own culture doesn’t allow me to challenge myself or open myself up to new opportunities. Once I started experiencing other cultures for these field experiences, I began to ask myself why I had the stereotypes that I had so that I could begin to re-educate myself. In my paper I wrote, "I think that it is very important to continually evaluate yourself and try to understand why you think or do the things you do. Understanding where your judgements come from can help you try to figure out how to reverse misconceptions or stereotypes that you hold." My life experience taught me to act and think a different way, and I realized that only thinking within my culture caused me to think and act ignorantly. Seeing a different way of living from the perspective of another culture helped me to realize the boundaries of my own culture. Being able to first analyze my culture and my thinking allows me to understand where I need to make adjustments in order to be a better global citizen. I will apply this knowledge of understanding my own cultural boundaries throughout my life as I will always be seeking to expand and challenge myself as a global citizen. Something that I know will be a challenge is that as I learn more, I might think that I have learned enough or that what I had learned was always true, and it will be important for me to not become ignorant and miss out on opportunities to continue learning.
When I attended these various events for my field experience assignments, I was able to ask questions about other cultures and then summarize what I had learned about those cultures (Knowledge and Understanding Level 1). Throughout these experiences, I asked simple questions so that I could start gaining a better understanding of other cultures and recall what I had learned. These simple questions about cultural practices were instrumental in my learning because I needed to first understand the fundamentals of a culture before I could dive any deeper. It was difficult at first to ask questions because I was unsure of what to ask and I also was afraid I would accidentally be rude. Thankfully, it got easier to ask questions once I started. In my paper, I wrote that I discovered that people are “welcoming if you show respect, genuine interest in their culture, and a desire to learn more.” I began to learn that it is important to be curious about other cultures and other people’s perspectives. As a white person, my privilege could allow me to stay inside the comfort of my own culture and not have to learn more about other cultures. I learned that I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone and be conscious of taking opportunities to learn about other cultures. I will apply this knowledge of being cognizant of taking opportunities to ask questions throughout my everyday life. As a media professional, it will be important for me to work with and represent other cultures, and I will need to ask other people questions in order to gain a better and more authentic understanding of their culture.
Global Citizenship Artifact #5
Attached below is my field experience reflection paper. We were assigned to write about each experience, but a section of our final assignment, we reflected on all of our field experiences.
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Field Experience Reflection Paper | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |