Topic 1: Identity-Culture Clash

We are identified by many things: our accent, language, nickname, favourite band, dress style, likes and dislikes, the team we support, our ethnic group, country of origin, family background and history, school, religion, or political beliefs. Official documents like birth certificates, travel passes and passports authenticate our public identity, giving us certain rights, denying us others. Because we identify ourselves with certain cultural groups (and are identified by others in terms of our membership in certain groups), we may experience "culture clash," or conflict resulting from our cultural identities. For this blog assignment, I want you to discuss one of the following : 1. Desbribe a time when your identity/membership in a cultural group created a problem for you. Did you face discrimination, resistance, or ridicule? Why? It's not enough to describe the problem: try to help us (and you) understand the underlying issues. 2. Describe a time when someone else's identity/membership in a cultural group caused you to act in a certain way. Did you discriminate, respect, or ridicule someone? Why? Again, analyze the underlying issues. Please post by Saturday, Sep. 29, at 3:00 p.m.

WELCOME!

This blog is an extension of our in-class dialogues on identity and culture. While I want you to be very comfortable expressing yourself, you must always keep in mind that you are writing to several different audiences: your peers and the Internet community. Writing is a public act, which requires a level of responsibility from the writer. Please refrain from using offensive language, etc. I am not worried about your grammar or spelling, though I want you to remember that what you write is a reflection of you.