Multiculturalism. A long often misleading word, but what does it mean. Does it mean the combining of all cultures to form one that is meant to be the best of all? Or does it mean a world where all cultures thrive equally well and each is respected? Oddly enough, neither is often true. The true meaning lies not in the intent of the word itself, but in the real world application of it.
Quite recently, I began working near a family who moved to the United States of America within the last couple of years. They came from Lebanon and were looking to live a life far away from the turmoil of the Middle East. The family has three sons, by the names of Ali, Hassan, and Kevin. Ali is the oldest with Kevin being the youngest. Kevin is a senior at high school, Hassan is a junior in a local university, and Ali owns a small restaurant. The entire family speaks Arabic, but only the three sons have learned to speak English very well. Only Kevin speaks perfect English, but both Hassan and Ali can be understood if they try and speak clearly. It is apparent to me that English is never spoken at their home. This is probably not a good idea for their parents’ sake, but they never came over to America to take up its culture either.
Whenever the brothers talk to me about Arabic, they always comment on how difficult it is to translate certain phrases from Arabic to English. Many words are part of their culture and have no direct translation. This is most likely why they do not take up English as a first language. It does not have any reflection upon intelligence, but is merely the people retaining their culture. As Amani Ammari, a student at Oakland University relates, “My siblings and I speak full Arabic but you wouldn’t be able to tell if you heard us speak English, my parents on the other hand are very intelligent but are looked at as stupid because of the way they speak.” Most families hold onto their cultures, including language, even when put into an environment where that becomes very difficult.
The more I interact with this family, the more I begin to understand Tan’s writings. She writes, “But I have noticed in surveys -- in fact, just last week -- that Asian students, as a whole, always do significantly better on math achievement tests than in English.
middle of paper ... ... Given that multiculturalism is a framework that says that anyone can sit at the table so long as they accept certain political and cultural divisions which ultimately work to make impossible your ability to change the basic structure of meaning in society, or which seek to extract any political potential from the things you say, the things you embody and the things you want. You can have holidays, but not your language. You can have a month of the year for your race, but no justice.
“Multiculturalism is sometimes used to describe a condition of society; more precisely, it to describe a society where a variety of different cultures coexist” (Internet). In simpler terms, it is the feeling of being attached to more than one culture. Multiculturalism can have a positive role in society. A positive
Nikitina, E. G., Urazova, L. N., & Stegny, V. N. (2012). MicroRNAs and Human Cancer.Experimental Oncology, 34(1), 2-8. Retrieved from http://archive.nbuv.gov.ua/portal/chem_biol/eol/2012_1/002.pdf
History is often written as if there is a defining moment where everything changes. It is most often the case however, that a series of events and stresses are the culprits of such change. As is the case of the decline of jazz’s popularity. Sure some may point to The Beatles landing in JFK airport and others may say Elvis’s television appearance. But in reality, there were many evolvements both technological and cultural that lead to what some may call the “great decline” in music history. The television itself had a huge impact on our both our culture and technology, and still stands today as one of the larger influences of our society. Considering the era, one can’t talk about jazz without mentioning the civil rights movement. Likewise, jazz itself cannot be mentioned without talking about drugs and their influential impact on it’s musicians such as Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Lester Young, and John Coltrane. At it’s peak Jazz music could be heard in nearly every hall of every major city in America. Big bands were everywhere, musicians were endless, and the nations appetite see...
...ution of slavery in America began with the European colonialists who established their colonies in various parts of America. The Europeans then starting exploring on a number of farming activities that required labor. This gave rise to slave trade through which the Europeans could obtain cheap slaves from Africa, then transport them to America. The slaves resisted being sold into slavery but most of them ended up suffering as a result of it.The history of slavery of America has undergone a number of shifts characterized by a number of abolitionist movements that played a key role in liberating slaves and their future generations.
The questions suggested by the term "multiculturalism" range far and wide, embracing questions of inclusion: Who and what is to be taught?—questions of criteria: On what grounds, if any, can "we" make appraisals of "other cultures"?—questions of self-identity: When I say "we," who am I including in such august company?—questions of the meaning of multiculturalism: What is it? What is its purpose...
People form East Asian immigrate to the Unite States, which is an ethnic cultural crucible, that only is a small ethnic group. However, they have been considered to be different from other minority ethnic groups because of their high school achievement. According to Huang, Asians get higher score than whites get at schools, especially in mathematics, science and other technical areas(cited from Pang, Han,& Pang,2011; Peng& Wright,1994). As immigrants, Asian American are not only adjusting themselves to acculturation, but also bringing and keeping their own culture, habits, behaviors, and belief system. The questions are: Are there any relations between culture and achievement in Asian American family education? How does their culture influence
The critics argue that multiculturalism ultimately favors one community than another, exacerbating conflict, ethnic difference and limiting the individual’s right to self-identity (Prato 2009: 2). They argue that the fundamental problem of multiculturalism is that its meaning differs from scholars to scholars (Watson 2000, Parto: 3).
Music is an outlet to all aspects of life and culture is a significant way of forming people and the way they live. Although not always seen directly culture has an overbearing influence on the music that is produced and made popular. The political Climate of the early seventies was full of fire with issues such as Vietnam and constant protest throughout the county. Later in the 70’s the end of the Vietnamese conflict brought the rise of the Watergate scandal and Iran Contra. These issues swept headlines and ingrained people’s thoughts. Social issues also played a big role in the developing culture of the seventies. Protests and constant outbreaks about gay rights and women’s rights seemed to overtake the country in storm. Later in the Decade the social climate changed to a celebration of the Past and a can-do attitude. Political and Social climates had an overbearing influence on the attitude that was being developed throughout the seventies. This climate was also transparent in the music world of this decade. In the early 70’s music lyrics were being created that were representative of the popular method of protest and social change. Music is a common way of expression and during this time artist and groups took the most of their popular music by expressing viewpoints on present issues. In the mid to late seventies the birth of new styles that broke from the old seemed to dominate the music industry. These new types of music ranged from disco to television pop. The music of the decade represented the culture and was greatly influenced by events and beliefs of the 70’s. At this time in American history, music and life became closely nit. In the late 1970’s, national issues settl...
In the Poem, Grendel attacks a mead hall, Affectionately named, “Herot”. where all the danish warriors sang, drank, and feasted. Grendel attacks the danes who are asleep in the mead hall, the sound of the danish warriors jubilant activities made him angry, some say it made his blood boil. So late into the night when when all the merriment was
The goal of an education is to gain knowledge to help improve one’s understanding of the world. If we shy away from topics like racism and cultural diversity, then we risk not being able to understand a huge part of the way our world works. Consider this: are all the people we converse with in a day the same ethnicity? Are they all from the same cultural background? If they all are the same ethnicity or from the same cultural background, then one might not need to understand why cultural diversity affects how someone would respond to a problem or situation. Let’s face it: the world is not homogenous there are multiple different races and cultures. We need to teach not judge others without getting to know them first.
In Chapter 8 and 9 of Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell exams some of the ways that Asian and American students learn math, arguing that some of the principles in the US education system should be reconsidered. I generally agree with Gladwell’s point of view. I believe in two ways, students ' principal spirit and the length of students’ studying, the US education system leaves much to be desired, though an overhaul is in progress.
When music began to become structured as a part of civilization around the 13th century, the only place one could go to hear music was a concert hall or royal palace. This tradition lasted all the way until the mid-20th century, when jazz and rock spun off as new “genres” from traditional classical themes. Before this, classical music was the popular music; going to the symphony was a common activity among both the upper and middle class. One could argue that modern popular music is simply a revolution of classical music; for classical music has s...
Multiculturalism is the existence of a different culture’s within a certain city, region or country( class notes). Australia is a great example of multiculturalism as it has a vast range of cultures living within its borders. Multicultural festival are run in various locations around Australia to celebrate the multicultural society in which we live. Some examples of multicultural festivals celebrated in Australia are Paniyi, a traditional Greek festival, Chinese New Year and St Patrick’s Day which show the Greek, Chinese and Irish culture. Each
Many nations around the world would cease to exist if they were not made up of so many people with so a variety cultures. Many ideals and biases have been established that state that many cultures should assimilate and become one with the majority. Another bias is Multiculturalism which states that an individual is able to keep one's cultural identity and create unity through this. What seems to be the most successful and easiest way to create unity is to let people keep their cultural identities. It assists in the making make a united union because it allows many people of many different cultures to express themselves and share ideas. Multiculturalism also acts as a pull factor which is that all other cultures will be accepted. Also, with multiculturalism, culture barriers will not stand in the way of people fitting in with society giving individuals a sense of freedom that they are not obligated to become part of a cultural majority.