During my undergraduate studies I was required to take a minorities and diversities course. Coming into this class, I believed that I was ahead of the game because I had a basic understanding of what the theories were. I can whole heartily say that I am fortunate that my undergraduate credit for this course was not transferable, allowing me to realize how deep the meaning of diversity and oppression really is. I was always under the impression that diversity simply consisted of race and ethnicity. I never sat back and examined the different ways an individual could be discriminated against. Through this course, I was able to look at diversity with an open mind. I saw how mental and physical disabilities play a role in stigma and I learned a …show more content…
You did not lecture at us, but instead, allowed us to express our own opinions comfortably amongst one another. You, nor my peers, ever expressed any judgments towards another classmate, which allowed a peaceful and comfortable learning environment. Reading from the textbook is great, but the class's willingness for open discussion was what really allowed me to grasp the theories to its full extent. I think a lot of people in today’s society fear conversations revolving around racism, sexism and any other forms of discrimination because it can cause an uncomfortable feeling during discussion. We all were able to connect with one another, even if our opinions differed slightly. I am fortunate that I was granted the opportunity to talk about my own personal experiences and opinions because it allowed me to view situations from a different perspective. The content to the course was fully discussed and explained in great detail, but I think most of our learning came from our weekly …show more content…
Personally, I ‘forget’ about discrimination from time-to-time because I never took the initiative to keep up with recent news articles. This allowed the class to understand that these issues are ongoing and might only be getting worse as time proceeds on. There are times where I will be watching the news or see an article on Facebook and I say to myself “Wow this will be a good article to use for my weekly discussion”. I am most definitely more aware of the issues going on in today’s society due to our weekly article discussions. It was a pleasure to be a part of the diversity and oppression course this term. I think that it was a fantastic experience and I hope to take another class with you in the
As a result, my thinking and perception was shaped and influenced by many of the negative stereotypes of African Americans that has been perpetuated in our society at large (this is where education can be a great liberator of falsehoods and misconceptions). I have come to appreciate Professor Marie’s Intercultural Communication course, for the class has broaden my critical thinking skills and stretched my thinking and understanding. Finally, how do I think this information will be of use to me? True understanding and teamwork will not begin to occur until individuals begin to speak up about address and embrace the controversial topics of race and culture. Setting aside the problem of racism and covering it up by saying that everyone is the same, does not eliminate the issue. Trying to patch up issues around the world dealing with culture and racism only provides a quick, short lasting solution, for when the temporary patch falls away, the problems will have grown twice as big. All it does is temporarily set aside what we know is still there.
We have been given a multitude of chances to take the lessons of our ancestors in stride and better ourselves from their experiences, but instead we choose to neglect our lessons and relapse into a society fueled by hatred. The act of dehumanization has been an ongoing reoccurrence throughout our tarnished history. It may change, and evolve into new levels of hatred. It has no bias; it will choose its victims between race, sex, social levels and many other faucets that most of us are born into. In short, the historical lessons of this course have taught me that if we wish to provide a better future for not only our generation but also the generations that are to follow us, then we must change the way that we treat others who are different than us. The best way we can achieve this goal is to learn from the lessons that have been so prevalent throughout our
As a freshman at Cal-State Fullerton I began to ask my self where inequalities come from and what causes them, why does society use the term minorities and why minorities are oppress. While working at the Volunteer & Service Center I was invited to join a group that plan an event called the Social Justice Summit. This event was a grassroots event that helped raise awareness about different inequalities and oppressions in the community to over 500 community members. With this event, I understood that there isn’t one solid answer that exists about what causes inequalities and oppressions. And even now, the only thing that is clear is that people need to know what is happening in the world. This is why I want to continue my education in the field of Ethnic Studies. Specifically I want to find out the struggles of the Chicano/a population. Find out about pass movements and what we can learn about those movements, what we can improve about those movements, to help the Chicano population today.
Self proclaimed philosopher, english writer, and novelist Aldous Huxley wrote the book Brave New World. One of the issues in the novel is how uniform the society is. There is no diversity in the in Brave New World. Huxley carefully examined on why society is the way it is. He wants the audience to understand the philosophy of a unique society different from a normal society.
As can be seen, the victories for individuals who are in a certain group or society are so difficult to achieve because there are a lot of stereotypes and limits that others put in place that prevent certain individuals from achieving and pushing through diversity. During High school, I remember being treated harshly when I became pregnant at the age of 16; during the 90’s this was not precisely common for most High school students.
Although it is now illegal to discriminate anyone based on one’s race or gender it is still a practice that many take part in, whether it is in the work place or prejudice that take place as part of who someone is. As the momentum started to pick up behind the equal rights movement of the mid-century an even a greater number of people began to be aware of the fact that there really is no difference between people and that all should be treated the same. As time has progressed so have the beliefs of people, things that were once a part of everyday life like children not being able to go to school together are a thing of the past. We now live in a time of acceptance and less judgment we now live in a nation where we are not judged by the color of skin, but the content of our character (Martin Luther King
Although I enjoyed the course I was deeply disappointed because the material presented in class was really dismissive of my history and culture. It was not until I took this course that I can firmly say that I feel like I am covering material that validates my culture and my experience. I believe that by providing alternate curricula other than the Eurocentric curricula offered in our schools and universities we will be able to provide a more equitable education for students and in the same stance we will be able to diminish the influence of privileged systems that exist within academic settings. These will probably not be completely eradicated because I think that these systems are deeply embedded in our society, but we can definitely strive to create a more equitable society where everyone shares the same privileges.
The debate on race relations in the United States has been a topic for hundreds of years and it has still not come to a close. From Slavery and Segregation to the Black Lives Matter Movement. Discrimination continues to tarnish society. On college campuses minorities such as African- American, Hispanic, and Asian have been sorely underrepresented;
I was aware of these oppressions and have often times struggled with what I can do individually to work towards alleviating these oppressions. The Next Steps portion of the chapter on racism really outlined methods of actions that could be applied to all forms of oppression. One method entitled “FLEXing Cross- cultural Communications,” outlines productive communication, depersonalization, and open- mindedness when it comes to understanding and practicing competency. This model serves as a tool to motivate action to those form other cultures in ways that in the end everyone can
Diversity is a notion, when applied to the majority of circumstances, can create a positive conclusion. The trick to producing a positive outcome is often how the different aspects are brought together. Consider a classic dinner combination peas and carrots, the two colors look appealing and the two flavors comes together as one making a superb side dish. Now consider oil and water, these two substance are not often considered a good combination. Although, this is not always the case; olive oil and vinegar (which is water based) when mixed, come together into a delectable salad dressing. Diversity and inclusion should also apply to humans by bringing people together who are different it can creates a whole that is enhanced by the uniqueness of each individual.
Although most of the things I learned matched my life experience, the most significant one is explained in the Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination chapter of our textbook. The chapter talks about how prejudice will change faster if confronted by people who see it occurring (Schmitz 2012). In my own experience, when I moved to the U.S from Ethiopia in 2011, I was treated unfairly in most places simply because of my background. Instead of confronting the people who showed me such treatment, I kept ignoring the fact that I was discriminated against. However, as I start learning about injustice and discrimination, I started challenging and calling-out any biased treatment toward me or any other person. The result was very outstanding. Not only did I successful stopped peopled from committing immoral acts but I was also able to learn why they engage in such actions. Matching what I learned with my experience has helped me to gain a better understanding about the material I learn and helped me to apply it in my day-to-day
The racism had a big historical significance if we go back to the history. Also, I learned what is capitalism is how capitalism effected with other society. Things that I have a deeper understanding of your core values in the context of social justice theory. I learned to identify various forms of power, privilege, and oppression that have existed in the USA throughout history and into present time. I learned to skillfully engage in reflective learning to explore and understand your service experiences. This course focuses on issues of diversity, oppression and social justice. It is designed to prepare social work students to be knowledgeable of people’s biases based on race, ethnicity, culture, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, social and economic status, political ideology, disability and how these contribute to discrimination and oppression. The challenge of my preconception I personally thought the class will being kind other social classes but when I in the class I learned so many different thing that I was thought I will learned and my teacher classified in many ways. Before in this class I thought the racism it is something you can make your own but I learned it is something that from in our genetics. Also, I thought racism it is
Before, I had a sense of how I identified in terms of many different factors. With this class, I was able to realize that my racial and overall identity is composed of a mixture of the factors not considering these factors independently from one another. I believe that my strong sense of self has always remained the same, the great difference is that I now know why I think the way I do and I am now also able to see why people think the way they do. My story tells a lot about me; it says that I have always had a strong sense of self and have always tried to live according to that sense of self. It also says that I have not always known how to interpret myself or make sense of why I am the way I am. It has definitely shown that I struggled with understanding other people’s perspectives, especially when they conflicted with mine but I am now working on maintaining an open mind instead of becoming immediately defensive. My story also shows that although I have always been well aware of racism and have always felt against it, I have not done what is necessary of me to stand up against racism. The resources I can rely on within me to fight against racism are the coping skills I have internalized for so long. Some resources I have outside myself include the skills I am learning in my Master’s program at Simmons as well as some local community outreach programs that strive to advocate and end racism and other oppressive
Now that we have explored my past, present, and future experiences with diversity, it is time to see how they are present within and effect each other. Firstly, let’s look into how my future is present in my past. The most obvious portion of my future that is in my past is my willingness and efforts to love and include everyone and to spread this world view. It took a fellow classmate of mine to demonstrate to my third grade self that we are all human beings and we all deserve to be treated as such. In my future, I aspire to demonstrate this world view to my students and inspire them to treat each other accordingly. This aspiration directly reflects my world view struggles I went through in third grade, for I want to help my students come to
I read the Stem Diversity Awareness article as well as watched the Ted Talk where Jedidah Isler spoke about how students of color face racism as well as challenges that could impact their futures. I thought and agreed with everything Isler spoke about. I think it’s absolutely true that our society still excludes and distinguishes people of color. Isler mentioned how a man at their lunch table pushed all the dishes towards her and told her to basically make herself useful. It’s truly unfortunate that our society thinks things like this are appropriate and okay.