Furtado 19936055 Reflection PDF

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CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Faculty of Humanities

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET To be attached to all assignments (ALL SECTIONS MUST BE COMPLETED)

STUDENT NAME:………Joyce Furtado………………….................. STUDENT ID:…………………… 19936055……………………………………… UNIT NAME AND NUMBER:………………… Culture to Cultures COM 155………… DUE DATE:………25.08.19……………………………………………………………. WORD COUNT:………………………………2196……………………….…………………………………………………. TUTORIAL DAY AND TIME:………………… Mondays 05:00p.m.( Perth time) ………….... TUTOR’S NAME:…… Dr Andrea Dodo-Balu and Ms Barb Bynder ……….. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOUR TUTOR’S NAME IS ON ALL SUBMITTED ASSIGNMENTS

DECLARATION: I declare that I have retained a copy of this assignment. I have read and understood Curtin University policies on Plagiarism and Copyright and declare that this assignment complies with these policies. I declare that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted previously in any form for assessment.

Signature:………Joyce Furtado……

Date:18.08.19....

Culture to Cultures Critical Reflections (semester 2 2018)

Thank you for being a part of the unit this semester, we have really valued you input and engagement! These questions ask you to reflect on your experience and learning in Culture to Cultures, in order to reach a higher level of understanding and engage in a process of continuous learning. Reflective writing requires critical thinking skills, and that you not accept what you read, think, believe, or experience at face value. It is about learning from our experience and developing our understanding. It should integrate theory and practice, and identify learning outcomes of your reading/experience. Reflective writing is a personal response and a way of thinking to explore your learning. It is a subjective assessment, so we encourage you to use the first person (personal pronouns) in your writing. This assessment is not asking you to summarise unit content, it’s meant to be personal – about your experiences and thinking. When we mark this assignment, it’s not to judge anything you’ve written, but to see how you evaluate your learning and thinking. Reflective practice is an important part of personal and professional development and we hope you will take it with you beyond this unit. Please type your responses to the questions underneath each one. There are 4 questions in total.

Questions: 1. Rate in order (1 being the most significant or influential) what you think the main influences were at the start of semester on your thinking in relation to other cultures/people from other backgrounds. Reflect on whether these have changed over the semester. Main Influences

Home/family

Rate in order of significance (1 being most significant or influential) At the start of semester 4

At this point of semester 2

Community

4

1

Peers at school, work, college, university

5

1

Friends

5

2

The media

5

1

Affiliations (groups/subcultures you belong to or identify with)

4

2

Education

5

1

Being exposed to people from different backgrounds

4

1

2. Identify some assumptions you (and/or the students in your class/discussion group) had at the start of semester about race, culture and identity. Critical reflection involves thinking about how assumptions can be challenged. Reflect on how the topics or concepts from Culture to Cultures can be used to explain or challenge these assumptions. (approx. 500 words)

There are a few topics covered in this unit that challenged my assumptions such as my thoughts on Aboriginal peoples and the extent to which media influence an individual’s thought. One of the most significant assumption that I had at the start of this unit was regarding Aboriginal peoples in Australia. Most of my opinions about Aboriginal peoples stemmed from an essentialist view based on what I saw in the media. My assumptions were that most Aboriginal peoples drank heavily, were addicted to drugs and unemployed. I am now very ashamed of my past views and shocked about how gullible I have been. I realise that I had fallen victim of my own dominant discourse about the way I thought of Aboriginal peoples to which I conformed without realising it. Upon reading the different topics I became conscious of my essentialist thoughts that I now actively try to suppress by thinking focusing on the diversity of people that exist within a culture. I also now understand that the history of Aboriginal peoples has contributed to the way they are perceived which has in turn led to misrepresentations. In addition, I had heard of the acknowledgement of country through meetings, but I had never understood the significance until now. This unit has enabled me to recognise the value and the significance of Aboriginal culture. I now have the upmost respect and really listen to the acknowledgement of country when I hear it. Furthermore, I often find myself thinking about what the elders who are mentioned, have been through during colonisation. In addition, I now understand and recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples have a continuing connection to the land therefore the acknowledgement of country is a way of validating the importance of the traditional custodian of the land. The topic on media analysis was on eye opener for me as I was not fully aware of the extent to which media representation can influence the way people think about other cultures. This topic has helped as I now critically analyse everything I see or read instead of accepting the information presented as actuality. The media analysis topic explained that what is presented in the media is often governed by political point of views. I also now tend to thoroughly review what people post on social media as I came across a few posts that, after analysis, appeared to be reported by secondary sources or were just hear say rather than based on facts. Thus, what is seen on T.V or social media need to be critically analysed before making conclusion as the media has the power to portray a culture or a group in a positive or a negative light.

3. A) Have you (or someone you know) been subjected to essentialist/othering/stereotype views because of the way you (or they) identify

yourself (themselves)? What happened and what were the circumstances? (Approx. 250 words) When I first came to Australia from Mauritius, I started working in an organisation as an administrative assistance and during the first few months there I was subjected to essentialist and othering views in a variety of circumstances, by my colleagues. English is my second language and in Mauritius I studied English from prep to Year 12, but I did not often speak in English. Thus, although my written English was quite good, I had to get used to the speed at which people spoke and the meaning of the slang words used during conversation. As a result of my background, it took me more time to respond to people when asked a question. Due to my slow response time, my colleagues tended to use very basic English or spoke louder when they were talking to me. Moreover, my colleagues would sometimes talk about me that when I was in the room as if I could not understand. I also remember another occasion where I brought in some Mauritian food at work for lunch. It was a curry and after I heated my lunch, some of my colleagues complained to me stating that the office reeked of curry smell and that they did not understand how I could eat something like that for lunch. They also commented about me having garlic breath after lunch. These experiences were very frustrating for me and made me feel inferior. At one stage I even thought of going back to Mauritius as I was so depressed about going to work.

4. B) In the unit we have explored a range of theories, concepts, ideas and issues around identity. Reflect on your personal views about why the situation discussed in question 3A happened and how these have affected your own identity, and interactions with culturally and linguistically diverse people. (Approx. 350 words)

One of the main reasons why my colleagues might have behaved this way might stem from their essential views of other culture. Essentialism can be defined as a system of fixed belief about people or things, and does not take under consideration realities thus, it assumes that there is a fundamental essence of things that sums what it is (Holliday, Kullman & Hyde, 2017). Based on the readings, my colleagues had an essentialist view of culture as they assumed that because I am from another culture I belong exclusively to that culture and language and I am unable to completely understand them. Furthermore, they did not try to understand the complexity of who I really am which is another essentialist perspective. By talking about me whilst I was in the same room and commenting on my lunch, my colleagues displayed othering. Othering is a concept whereby a person views another person as “alien” or intrinsically different from them (Holliday, Kullman & Hyde, 2017). This essentialist view might have been based on media representation of people in other cultures. In addition, my colleagues might have thought that they were being nice and understanding to me by using

basic English and talking louder. They might have been unaware of how derogatory and profoundly patronising their comments were to me. These first few weeks had really affected me personally as it had impacted on my self-esteem and I started doubting myself because with my English Skills. This self-doubt is still affecting me (to a lesser extent) today. On the other hand, because of my personal experience I am more understanding towards people from different culture and really try to get to know them and their circumstances. I currently work with people from a broad range client who come from all over the world. Some of them came to Australia on a refugee visa and that cohort are already a very vulnerable group who might have some mental health issues so when I meet them I try my very best to make them comfortable and engaging in small chats about their lives and their family instead of making assumptions about them.

Reference Holliday, A., Kullman, J., & Hyde, M. (2017). Intercultural communication (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.

5. How do you see Culture to Cultures contributing to your area of study, as well as overall personal and professional development? (Approx. 400 words) The unit greatly contributed to my area of study as I am doing a major in psychology. Having a deeper knowledge on how culture can shape one’s identity and the complexity of each culture, will help me in communicating more effectively with the people engage with. I work in a disability employment service where I am also involved with the branding of the organisation. Although I have been in the industry for more than 10 years and I am very well aware that disability can come in many forms, we, as an organisation had a tendency to advertise our services from an essentialist point of view. Thus, we would often use pictures of people in wheelchairs or having obvious physical disabilities in our promotional materials. When I started reading more about essentialism, stereotyping and media representation, I found myself questioning every single aspect of how I perceive and interacted with people with disabilities. This self-reflection was very challenging for me as I did not realise how my clients could be hurt and feel inferior to others because of my prior views. During the lecture for social justice and activism, it was pointed out that if someone has some privileges, it can be used to bring awareness of any unfair treatment that could serve towards social justice. This topic got me thinking about my position within the organisation I work for and realised that I should at least try to do something about how we use media representation of people with disabilities. Although, the thought of actively wanting to change things for the better made me good about myself, I was also worried about how my ideas would be criticised by my fellow colleagues.

Nevertheless, I decided to bring up the subject up at the latest management meeting which sparked a lot of discussion. I thoroughly discussed the definition of essentialism and demonstrated how this view was demonstrated within the organisation and the importance of changing things. The conclusion of that meeting was positive as I was given the permission to start changing some of the pictures on the website. This process of transitioning to a non-essentialist view is still in progress at this stage due to the financial cost associated in changing all the promotional materials but at least is has started. Overall this unit has not only positively impacted on me personally and professionally, but it has also helped the community to move forward....