29 Jan What value, if any,

HU140 Cultural Diversity

Unit 1 Assignment

Examination of Harmful Thinking

Instructions:

To complete this assignment you will need to have watched the video within the Unit 1 content titled, “Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story.” Once you have viewed this video follow the instructions that follow.

For your first assignment in this class, please choose one question from each of the question sets below and respond to it. Each response must be at least 200 words and must demonstrate your own understanding of Adichies ideas. Please make sure that ideas are in your words as much as possible. A good rule of thumb is that any quotations used should be very short, and that for any one line of quoted text, there are at least five lines of your own. The goal of this assignment is to measure your own understanding of Adichies ideas, to see how you interpret these ideas yourself, and to connect these ideas to your own understanding.

Please include all questions in a single word document. You will submit this assignment through the assignment tab.

Question 1:

According to Adichie, why is a single story about a person or place dangerous? What is her reasoning, and what examples does she offer for her thinking?

How does Adichie experience the dangers of a single story in her own life? Specifically, how does she experience herself as being on the receiving end of a single story, and how does she find herself perpetuating single stories as well? (Consider her single story of poverty about Fide, her U.S. roommates single story about Africa patronizing, well-meaning pity filled with preconceived notions about catastrophe on the continent, and Adichies own single story about Mexico with the “abject immigrant.)

Adichie says that power is the ability to tell the definitive story of another person: Why does she think that this is so? What kinds of examples does she use to make this point? (Media, literature, leaders, etc.)

Question 2:

For each statement, please offer an interpretation of it in your own words. Consider what the statement means, what you think of it, and whether you agree with the statement or not. Be sure to explain why you think what you do.

About her experiences, Adichie says: All of these stories make me who I am. But to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten my experience and to overlook the many other stories that formed me. The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story. Please explain this idea in your own words, say whether or not you agree with it, and use an example to illustrate your point.

The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar. Please explain this idea in your own words, say whether or not you agree with it, and use an example to illustrate your point.

Adichie notes how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story, particularly as children. Please explain this idea in your own words, say whether or not you agree with it, and use an example to illustrate your point.

Adichie says that a single story is created by show[ing] people as one thing, only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become. Please explain this idea in your own words, say whether or not you agree with it, and use an example to illustrate your point.

Question 3:

Connect Adichies ideas whether you agree with them or not to your own experiences.

Consider a time in your life when you thought or felt like someone had a single story about you: What was this experience like? How did it happen? What did it make you feel like? How did you respond to this single narrative?

Consider a time in your life when you thought or felt like you had a single story about someone else or a group of people: What caused this single story? Were there multiple factors, or just one thing? Do you still have this one narrative about this person or group of people? If not, what changed your perspective?

Stereotypes are often formed through single stories. (See #4 question.) Often (but not always), relatively powerful people or groups of people perpetuate these stereotypes over other people, cultures, countries, etc. You may have heard the statement that history is told by the winners, or some variation thereof. Consider: What role does power play in forming stereotypes? What kinds of stereotypes – of groups of people, or places – do you know of, and how do you think these stereotypes came to be what they are?

Question 4:

What reasons does Adichie give for her ambivalent feelings about categories? Why do you think she nonetheless identifies, however, with her background, gender, and other features?

Think about Adichies struggle in relation to your own life: Can you relate to her struggle, be it in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or other aspects? How do you see other people (celebrities, writers, friends, leaders, etc.) experience this tension?

HU140 Cultural Diversity

Unit 2 Key Assessment

Stereotypes and Barriers to Critical Thinking

Instructions:

In this course so far we have discovered stereotypes and how they can have an impact from the perspective of others. For this key assignment you will be conducting research and writing a paper on stereotypes and how they act as barriers to critical thinking.

Please follow these guidelines and questions:

Specifically you will be investigating and researching stereotypes that personally affect you or interest you. You could research stereotypes that affect you as a student, your gender, your culture, your religion or even age. You could look into a stereotype that is associated with your chosen profession or activities you do. The important aspect to remember is that your voice and experience should be the main focus on the project, and your sources and research should back up and support what you have to say.

Consider these questions:

Why did you choose this stereotype? Provide background on why you choose the stereotype you did, and why it is important to you to write about.

How does this stereotype affect you? What impact has it had, or might it have, in your life?

How does this identified stereotype act as a barrier when critical thinking is concerned? What is the importance of being able to think critically when dealing with stereotypes?

What steps could you take to change the perception or influence this stereotype has in your life?

You may discuss more than one stereotype in your paper.

Remember to keep personal voice throughout the paper, but support your thoughts with cited research.

The research paper must be a minimum of 750 words and include multiple resources. You must use APA formatting for any citations and referenced sources used. You must also include a bibliography (a reference page) in APA formatting.

HU140 Cultural Diversity

Unit 3 Assignment

Cultural Appropriation Research Paper

Instructions:

In the last decade, much discussion and debate concerning cultural appropriation has occurred in the United States. Cultural appropriation has been defined as the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture. Controversy and debate about this topic occurs in many areas of our society, from what constitutes appropriate Halloween costumes and how to wear jewelry and clothing from cultures not ones own (if at all) to whether or not elements from one culture can be placed into a different environment, and so on.

For this assignment you will be conducting research into cultural appropriation and addressing the criteria below in a research paper. As you conduct your research, please highlight, underline, or make note of important or persuasive points that you see authors making in their work, as well as where you see arguments that you think fall short.

What criteria do you think should be applied to determine whether a person is engaging in an act of cultural appropriation or whether that person is acting appropriately in her use of taking or using things from another culture?

For this assignment, you are encouraged to use examples from popular culture, explore references to different public figures and artwork discussed in the essays you read, and employ other ideas to help you create your list of criteria.

Research Paper Criteria:

Your writing should be a minimum of 500 words.

In the first part of the research paper, please explain your criteria to determine whether someone using cultural items that are not their own as appropriate or not.

Then, explain each criteria you identify along with any quotations and examples you have found in your research.

Finally, please offer additional reflections on the idea of cultural appropriation.

Please use APA formatting for any citations or resources used.

HU140 Cultural Diversity

Unit 4 Assignment

Personal Narrative Different From Your Own

Instructions:

As we learned in Week 1, one of the ways to help counter the dangers of single stories is to try to listen to peoples’ stories, and this week is devoted to understanding the viewpoint of another when in comparison to your own. While you will have a chance to create your own story as a final project in this class, this week you are being asked to research the personal narrative of someone who is different than yours. This personal narrative can be in the form of an article, a written story, or even a video. The library resources will be effective in starting your research for this project.

For this assignment, please complete the following requirements:

You will need to do research and find someone who has a different personal narrative than your own. This person does not have to be well known, but you will need to find a resource that allows you to discover substantial information about the individuals life experience so you can compare and contrast it to your own.

Look to discover someone who has had a different life experience than your own. You will then need to compare and contrast what differences and similarities that you are able to identify in a written essay and address the following:

What differences does this individual have in comparison to your own? How might these differences influence the perspectives or viewpoints this person might have?

Do you see any similarities even though you both have had different experiences?

What drew you to the person you chose for this assignment? Is there something unique that you identify with in their personal narrative? Why did you choose them?

What can you learn about your own personal narrative through the understanding of someone elses?

How does reading and analyzing these perspectives help you grow in your perspective of others? If readings these perspectives do not help you grow in this way, you are welcome to address reasons for this lack of growth instead.

This should be completed in a minimum of 500-words.

HU140 Cultural Diversity

Unit 5 Assignment

Art and Social Justice

The Stonewall riots in 1969 and other issues in our country contributed to the formation of an LGBTQ+ community that is diverse in its individual interests and expression but unified in its desire to strive for civil rights and equality in the United States. We also explored in this unit how art is used as a tool to achieve social justice and the importance of this to society as a whole. For this assignment you will be writing an essay that identifies and shares the profiles of various social justice artists.

Instructions:

Research and find two to three artists that create art for the purpose of promoting and/or representing social justice in some way. You will use your research about the artist, their work, and their perspectives to present a profile of them in your essay.

For each artist include:

The artist name, highlights of their artistic statements, at least one image of their work if possible, a short quote or two, and their views on how art can make an impact for social justice causes.

Why does the artist feel it is important to create art for social justice causes?

What steps have they taken to use art to make a difference for others who may find themselves in socially unjust circumstances?

How have others reacted to or responded to the work the artists have created for social justice purposes?

What is your personal reaction to their work? Do you feel their work is important? That there work can make a difference? Why or why not?

You can also include other personal perspective in response to the artists’ work and viewpoints on art and social justice.

This essay should be a minimum of 500 words, or 250 words for each artist that you profile.

HU140 Cultural Diversity

Unit 6 Assignment

Diversity in the Workplace

Instructions:

For this assignment, you are asked to perform some research on the demographics and background of the workplace you will enter (or in which you will continue) after completing your education at Herzing. (Please note: If you are undecided about your field, are not planning on working after graduation, or fall into some other category, please pick a field that most interests you for the purposes of this assignment.)

Assignment Details: You are an employee at a company and you are tasked with helping to create a more inclusive and diverse culture. To do so, you must identify problems facing your workplace, and industry in general, and aim to create Points of Pride for your company.

These Points of Pride must be best practices that you create based on the research you’ve done regarding your chosen field. They should also reflect knowledge of best practices in terms of inclusive workplace practices from your research as well.

This assignment must have a minimum of 4 points of pride. For each individual Point of Pride please include the following:

Identified Problem

Point of Pride (Best practice that you will create to address the problem)

Ways to achieve the desired best practices (3-5 action items that can be taken to achieve the Point of Pride)

A brief rationale for your idea (Why do you think this will work?)

You are welcome to make this assignment as creative as you’d like either in style or content, and you are welcome to fill in details about your company as you see fit in order to explain your Points of Pride. (You may put your ideas into a chart format, use a Word document, include graphics, or present them in some other way. If you have questions, please contact your Instructor.)

For example:

Identified Problem: Some female employees feel intimidated to give presentations in front of the company because it’s 85% men. Female employees report that they sometimes feel that it’s an “old man’s club” at work, often not being invited to golf outings and other social events.

Point of Pride: Increased number of presentations given by women at both local and national conferences. Women report feeling more supported by their employer.

Action Items: Work-related social events expanded to include ideas generated by all employees. Employees were asked to put their ideas in a hat and the ideas were voted on at the monthly staff meetings. The employee whose idea was chosen received a nominal award for her contribution.

Rationale: This Point of Pride explicitly addresses a common complaint regarding workplace environments. Sometimes, it’s not the equality of work that’s a problem; rather, some of the extra items like social outings can lead a person to feel demoralized and not as part of the group. This specific activity helps to address this problem.

HU140 Cultural Diversity

Unit 7 Assignment

Digital Storytelling

In Week 1, we heard Chimamanda Adichie speak about the power of stories to combat dangerous and dehumanizing narratives. At the end of her talk, she says, “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity”. As a result, according to her, when we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.

As we also saw in Week 4, we all have our stories to offer, and the power of the first-person narrative can be helpful in reducing stereotypes, understanding those who differ from us, challenging our preconceived notions, and helping us connect more fully to our human community.

Storytelling has become popular again in recent years, with storytelling competitions popping up across the country. Some, like The Moth and Ex Fabula, aim to celebrate stories from all kinds of people in our country and in our world. Your final project is in the spirit of shared storytelling.

In the story make sure to address the course objectives, which include:

Identify harmful stereotypes used to marginalize groups of people.

Examine the impact of inequality among groups of people.

Analyze historical and contemporary cultural texts related to “othering.”

Instructions:

For the final project in this class, you will provide your own story in a creative way that’s unique to you. You have a choice in this assignment:

You can either interview a person different from you and share your results and analysis in your presentation, OR

You can tell your own story in a way that relates to the ideas and themes of this class.

Whichever option you choose, you must complete the assignment according to these parameters:

Create a PowerPoint presentation that tells your story or the story of the person you’ve interviewed.

The PowerPoint must be 6-10 slides in total

It should include images, quotations, photographs, poems, artwork, short videos, original writing, main ideas, graphics, and/or any other visual or textual aid that you find relevant to your life or to the life of the person you interviewed.

Using either the Speakers Notes section in PowerPoint or the Audio function, narrate the story you have chosen to tell.

If you use the Speakers Notes, please write a minimum of 150-200 words per slide;

If you use the Audio function, please keep your narration to approximately 1-2 minutes per slide.

Instructions for how to use these features in PowerPoint, as well as for where to locate free resources for platforms that are compatible with PowerPoint, are available in the “Read Me First” section of Blackboard.

If you choose to interview another person who’s different from you, you may include portions of that interview in your Audio narration.

If you choose the interview option, please conclude your presentation by saying what you learned from this experience:

Has your perspective been broadened?

Does it remain the same?

What value, if any, do you find in your interview? Why?

And what new ideas do you take away from this experience?

If you choose to offer your own story, please conclude your presentation by saying what you learned from this experience:

Has your perspective about your own life been broadened?

Does it remain the same?

What value, if any, do you find in telling your story? Why?

And what new ideas do you take away from this experience?