Cultural Identity

EDUC 601 Week 8 Cultural Identity

Session 8 Objectives • In Session 8, you will: • Define “cultural identity” • Review cultural stereotypes • Define “language crossings” in relation to cultural identity • Revisit the definition of “culture” • Examine cultural superiority and personal identity • Discuss the impact of cultural identity on K-12 ELL settings and how to create a culturally safe classroom Benedictine University

EDUC 601 Week 8 Cultural Identity Benedictine University

What is Cultural Identity? • Cultural identity defines who we are and how we are viewed by other people • It is constructed very broadly, in terms of an individual’s association with a number of important social groups, including family, gender, place of residence, economic position, and ethnicity • Although none of these social groups on their own build the complete identity of a person, taken in combination they provide some of the basic elements of cultural identity • By explicitly understanding how individuals see these different social groups, many stereotypes can be addressed and challenged Benedictine University

Cultural Identity… • From personal associations or membership with a group, individuals draw personal strength and pride, as well as social importance and historical continuity from using the same language as their group • In modern and open societies it is difficult to define the boundaries of any particular social group and the linguistic and cultural identities of its members Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and cultureOxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Benedictine University

Cultural Identity… • Group identity based on race would seem easier to define, yet there are almost as many genetic differences between members of the same White (or Black, or Asian) racial ‘groups’ as there are between the classically described races • Despite the entrenched belief in the one language = one cultural equation, individuals assume several collective identities that not only change over time in dialogue with others, but are liable to be in conflict with one another Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and cultureOxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Benedictine University

EDUC 601 Week 8 Cultural Stereotypes Benedictine University

What is Stereotyping? • Stereotypes are as old as human culture itself • They reflect ideas that groups of people hold about others who are different from them • Stereotyping is the process of categorizing and making assumptions about members of a particular group solely because of their membership in that group • These assumptions can be either positive (e.g., those people are smart), or negative (e.g., Those people are loud), but they are more frequently negative Benedictine University

What do you see? Benedictine University

Optical Illusions • This picture is an optical illusion • You may have seen a: • Young lady with a ribbon around her neck and a feather in her hair or an • Old lady with a white shawl wrapped around her black hair, a black fur coat around her shoulders and a pronounced jaw line • Which did you see first? • It does not matter which image you saw first or if you can even see the two images • The point here is that: • “Two people can see different images but both can be RIGHT!” Benedictine University

Cultural Stereotypes • Based on the last exercise, recognizing the complex nature of identity is critical because “reality” may very well be somewhere between what you see and what the student sees • Both visions are correct but as an ELL teacher, you must facilitate an understanding that is acceptable for both • Group identity is not a natural fact, but a cultural perception • What we perceive about a person’s culture and language is what we have been conditioned by our own culture to see, and are based on the stereotypical models already built around our own notions • Group identity is a question of focus and diffusion of ethnic, racial, national concepts or stereotypes • Read pages 68 – 69 in Language and Culture, when you have finished reading, proceed to Slide 18 Benedictine University

EDUC 601 Week 8 Language Crossings Benedictine University

An Act of Identity • Language crossing as an act of identity relates to choosing one way of talking over another, depending on the topic, the interlocutor and the situational context • More and more people are living, speaking and interacting in-between spaces, across multiple languages or varieties of the same language • For example: Latinos in Los Angeles, Pakistanis in London, Arabs in Paris, etc. • Such language crossings, frequent in inter-ethnic communication, include switching of codes, i.e. the insertion of elements from one language into another Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and cultureOxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Benedictine University

An Act of Identity • Language crossing enables speakers to change footing within the same conversation, but also to show solidarity or distance toward the discourse communities whose languages they are using, and to which they perceive their interlocutor as belonging • By crossing language, speakers perform cultural acts of identity • Language crossing can be used also for more complex stances by speakers who wish to display multiple cultural memberships and play off one against another Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and cultureOxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Benedictine University

An Act of Identity • The ascription of cultural identity is particularly sensitive to the perception and acceptance of an individual by others • Additionally, it relates to the perception that others have of themselves and to the distribution of legitimate roles and rights that both parties hold within the discourse community • Cultural identity is therefore a question of the: • Degree of commitment to the language spoken or imposed by others and • Personal, emotional investment in that language through the process of acquiring it Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and cultureOxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Benedictine University

EDUC 601 Week 8 Culture Benedictine University

Culture is… • Culture is a significant force which brings not only interest and enjoyment into one’s life • But may also bring difficulty, discomfort, or even conflict into one’s life • Three additional definitions of culture are: • All of the accepted and patterned ways of behavior of a given people. It is a body of common understanding. It is the sum total and the organization or arrangement of the group’s ways of thinking, feeling, and acting…everyone has a culture and no one can live without a culture (Man and Culture, Ina C. Brown) O’Sullivan, K. (1994). Understanding ways: Communicating between cultures. Sydney: Hale & Irenionger. Benedictine University

Culture is… • Three additional definitions of culture are: [Cont.] • Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and other capabilities or habits acquired by members of a society (E.B. Taylor) • The sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings, which is transmitted from one generation to another (The Macquarie Encyclopedia Dictionary) Culture is NOT necessarily the same as “nationality” and/or “ethnicity” O’Sullivan, K. (1994). Understanding ways: Communicating between cultures. Sydney: Hale & Irenionger. Benedictine University

EDUC 601 Week 8 Cultural Superiority Benedictine University

Culture Superiority • People tend to have a more positive image of their own cultures than they do of other cultures • This may very well be a natural world-wide phenomenon • It is not uncommon that we feel that our culture has achieved more, or has made more material progress, or we are more attractive or bigger or cleaner, or that we have a longer, richer tradition O’Sullivan, K. (1994). Understanding ways: Communicating between cultures. Sydney: Hale & Irenionger. Benedictine University

Culture Superiority Three patterns of cultural superiority, in descending order of frequency are: The first attitude is one of unquestioned superiority. This feeling of superiority may be accompanied by a wide range of emotion – indifference to other cultures, feeling sorry for other cultures, having a rather patronizing concern to ‘help’ them, to outright dislike and contempt for them. #1 O’Sullivan, K. (1994). Understanding ways: Communicating between cultures. Sydney: Hale & Irenionger. Benedictine University

Culture Superiority Three patterns of cultural superiority, in descending order of frequency are: The second attitude is characterized by recognizing the principle of cultural equality. Here there is a desire to reduce or eliminate any feeling of superiority, even if there is actually no informed recognition of the worth and validity of the other country. #2 O’Sullivan, K. (1994). Understanding ways: Communicating between cultures. Sydney: Hale & Irenionger. Benedictine University

Culture Superiority Three patterns of cultural superiority, in descending order of frequency are: The third, and by far the least common, approach is one of genuine exploration, in which people seek to see the other culture from its own perspectives and not judge it by external values. Its internal logic, its validity, its strengths are slowly uncovered and genuine respect emerges. #3 O’Sullivan, K. (1994). Understanding ways: Communicating between cultures. Sydney: Hale & Irenionger. Benedictine University

Tips for Teachers • Tips teachers should consider: • Be aware of your personal culture and the influences it may have on you as a teacher • Understand that culture is pervasive. It influences the way you act, see, feel, do, interact, and behave • Accept that quite a lot of your own behaviors and behaviors of your students are rule-governed and ritualized. You are a member of a culture which regulates your behaviors • Don’t make assumptions about other people’s cultures based on their ethnicity or nationality O’Sullivan, K. (1994). Understanding ways: Communicating between cultures. Sydney: Hale & Irenionger. Benedictine University

Tips for Teachers • Tips teachers should consider: • Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the people in your culture are diverse individuals, whereas the people in other cultures are indistinguishable • Look for the knowledge, awareness and skills needed to improve intercultural communication within your class • Accept that stereotyping is inevitable, be aware of it and help your students to guard against stereotyping • Don’t draw conclusions about a student’s culture based on some aspect of their lifestyle O’Sullivan, K. (1994). Understanding ways: Communicating between cultures. Sydney: Hale & Irenionger. Benedictine University

Tips for Teachers • Tips teachers should consider: • Don’t assume, when you see something that seems familiar in another culture, that it has the same meaning and significance as in your own culture • Accept cultural difference as a reality. Underneath, the people of the world can be profoundly different • Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your culture is more complex than others • Allow yourself to like and dislike aspects of other cultures, but don’t condemn entire cultures • When you judge another culture you are, more than likely, using your own culture’s standards to do so O’Sullivan, K. (1994). Understanding ways: Communicating between cultures. Sydney: Hale & Irenionger. Benedictine University

Cultural Identity