Stage #1: Cultural Self-knowledge
Stage #1: Cultural Self-knowledge
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"Those who feel culture operating in themselves are more likely to feel how culture operates powerfully in others" (Weigl, 2009).
"Those who feel culture operating in themselves are more likely to feel how culture operates powerfully in others" (Weigl, 2009).
Building this awareness and capacity is important because without it, people may hold beliefs and/or attitudes that negatively affect their interactions with others who are ethnically and racially different from themselves ("Multicultural guidelines: An ecological approach to context, identity, and intersectionality," 2017).
Learning about one's own cultural influences through the process of self-reflection lays the groundwork for the formation of greater cultural understanding of others. For many, starting this process as students beginning in high school or post-secondary education aligns well with human developmental stages and their ongoing search for self. For others, this may be an opportunity to learn about their family's history and the many complexities of family and external life that make up their unique, personal fabric.
Strategies: The Self-Interview: Questions for Consideration
Strategies: The Self-Interview: Questions for Consideration
Write your responses down to reflect on at a later date.
Write your responses down to reflect on at a later date.
Where was I born and where did I grow up? What broader culture was my own imbedded in?
What is my ethnic background? If unknown, ask yourself about the environment/home in which you were raised. What is their ethnic background?
Which cultural or ethnic group do I most closely identify with? Why?
What did/do my parents do for work? What socio-economic implications did this have on my development and experiences?
What do I do for work? How has this choice influenced, or been influenced by my sense of self?
What do I do with my spare time?
Does religion/spirituality play a role in my cultural identity? How?
What values and exterior influences drive my actions? See Layered Ecological Model
How many languages do I speak?
Case Study #1: Frida Kahlo, Mexican Artist
Case Study #1: Frida Kahlo, Mexican Artist
Frida Kahlo, Mexican Artist
"Although her father was German and her mother of indigenous and Spanish descent, Kahlo prioritized and celebrated indigenous cultural values and belief systems throughout her life" (Santana, 2019). During her painting career, Kahlo explored cultural aspects of her identity as two opposing forces: the colonial European side and the indigenous Mexican side. As a child she contracted Polio and was teased for the resulting shortened leg. Later, Kahlo was seriously injured in a bus accident and suffered chronic pain due to this incident (Santana, 2019).Frida Kahlo, Mexican Artist
Cultural self-study leads to increased intercultural literacy.
Q: Start by asking yourself: Cultural self-study leads to increased intercultural literacy.
- Who am I?
- Where did my family members come from?
- How do my life experiences and traditions influence my perspectives and shape my biases?
- What choices do I make when viewing and framing my own identity?
Above: Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, circa 1940.
https://www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-with-thorn-necklace-and-hummingbird.jsp
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