Culture is a characteristic shared by a group of people that incorporates social behavior, language, music, literature, art, place of birth, and religion. Some cultures are widespread, and many individuals associate themselves with their beliefs, values, and origin. However, others are relatively small, with few people who associate themselves with that particular culture. The values of the culture and its identity cannot be defined depending on the size. No matter how widespread or kept within a small region, or change over time, every culture provides teaching about ourselves, those of others, and the global community. This paper's primary purpose is to reflect on the knowledge obtained after studying racial development, personal cultural identity, and the cultural identities of others throughout the semester.
In this semester, I have learned that racial development is a dynamic developmental process that takes place over time, and it is all about personal growth. Racial identity is personal development influenced by interaction with other people, institution, and cultural environment that matures over time. From the application assignments, I have learned that people undergo a developmental process to establish their racial identity. It is also important to learn that three types of racial identity occur among people and include people of color, biracial people, and white people. From the class discussions and readings on racial identity development, I have also learned that individuals undergo different stages to establish racial identity.
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In the pre-encounter stage, people, for instance, the Black, are absorbed by many beliefs and values of the white culture, and on the encounter stage, the individuals acknowledge the impact of racism on their lives. On the immersion stage, the black individual develops association to visible symbols of one's racial identity and avoids those associated with the whites. In the internalization stage, the pro-black attitudes become more expansive where individual secure own sense of racial identity. The last stage of commitment enables the individual to translate a personal sense of blackness into an action plan or commitment that concerns blacks as a group sustained over time and comfort the race of the individual and those of others around.
I have two things that baffle me concerning my racial identity development, and the first one is how an individual can establish racial identity when subjected to more than two races at the same time. Another thing is why people decided to establish the issue of races; for example, I am a white person, and people consider me as from a white race, and when an individual is black, he/she is considered from the black race.
From various aspects of my cultural identity, I have learned that belonging to a certain culture involves various language, religion, gender, nationality, and ethnicity boundaries. Owning a culture by individuals plays a critical role in embracing traditions that have been passed down through generations. From the application assignments, I learned that our parents, teachers, friends, and social media play a critical role in shaping an individual's cultural identity. The assignments enabled me to learn that owning a culture is essential because it adds value to an individual's cultural identity through practicing religion, wearing traditional clothes, or eating food that is associated with a particular culture.
From the readings, I learned that even though personal cultural identity happens from birth, most people, especially in Western societies, reach a stage in adolescence where they begin to reflect who they are after maturing cognitive and increased social awareness. In the YouTube video "The Muslin on the airplane," I also note that some of the individuals view other people from a different perspective; for instance, the Americans, when they hear about the world Islam first thing that comes into their minds is terrorism.
When it comes to an individual's cultural identity, I am still wondering how a person can maintain a personal cultural identity after moving to different countries. Another thing is how my cultural identity influences others, such as immigrants brought up in different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. I am also wondering about the effects that loss of cultural practice has on an individual's cultural identity. It baffles me how climate change and globalization are likely to influence my cultural identity.
I have learned that the culture of each individual is critical in establishing who the person is, and respecting the cultural identity of others is vital to effective coexistence. From the course materials, I learned that understanding the cultural backgrounds of other individuals play a critical role in embracing equality in society and fighting against cultural racism. In the YouTube video about "The Muslin on the airplane," I learned that respecting the cultural identity of other people without associating it with things like criminals or terrorists is critical in ensuring a good relationship between people of different cultural backgrounds. Two things make me wonder concerning the cultural identity of other people. The first one is what is likely to happen when different people from different cultural backgrounds mix and interact extensively for a long period. Another thing is if an individual can have more than one cultural identity because people can understand the language and many other cultural aspects from a different community.
The race and culture of an individual play a vital role in providing teachings about other people because they use it to define themselves in society. Many factors such as institutions, cultural environment, and interaction between people play a critical role in influencing an individual's racial identity. On the other hand, an individual's cultural identity can be shaped by parents, social media, teachers, and friends. Understanding other people's culture is essential towards achieving equality and a good relationship between individuals of different cultural backgrounds. Respecting other people's culture is also crucial, and people should avoid associating the race or culture of other people with malicious activities such as terrorism.
