613). The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) identify the accumulated knowledge, unique skills, and unique values as markers of cultural identity (2009). Generally, cultural identity can be conceived of as the group of which an individual calls herself a part. With this label come specific traditions, languages, food, clothing, grooming habits, music, and other cultural markers.
In contrast to this relatively stable notion of cultural identity, Fierlbeck (1996) argues that culture is ever-changing, "continually fluctuating and metamorphosing" (p. 12). She also states that cultures are constantly 'bumping into' eachother, overlapping and shifting (Fierlbeck, 1996). In short, Fierlbeck (1996) argues against the usefulness of the term "cultural identity," positing that identies are just as influenced by culture as by "qualities and quirks that have nothing to do with culture" (i.e. physical traits, sexuality) (p. 14).
Cultural identity is affected by an array of forces. Soedjatmoko (1976) argues that modern communications (read: mass media) shapes and influences cultures and thus cultural identities. Immigration and biculturalism also shape cultural identities.
A review of the literature on cultural identity shows the concept is politically loaded. UNESCO suggests that states have the responsibility to respect the cultural identities of minority groups and prevent them from being socially excluded from the cultural life of the community (2009). Fierblek (1996) contends that the concept of cultural identity requires, at times, treating one group different from another. Take, for example, certain Middle Eastern countries' cultural practice of disallowing women from showing their faces in public. While this is concieved by some as an infringement upon human rights, to respect this cultural identity would be to allow this cultural behavior to survive. Thus, the concept of cultural identity can be confounding when applied to political treatment of immigrants. Moreover, it can present a human rights dilemma: is it more ethical to allow a culture to retain its traditions or to enforce 'universal human rights'? Further, this dilemma points to an even deeper issue: is the Western notion of universal human rights not universal? Does the Western notion of universal human rights fail to understand cultural differences?
In both the 'negative' and 'positive' concepts of cultural identity,...
Cultural Identity In the case of Justine, cultural / religious beliefs could stand in the way of saving Justine's life. But if her grandmother insists that cultural beliefs (cutting the skin to open a place for surgery of the heart will ruin her life when reincarnation happens) prevent the possibility of closing the hole in her heart, and the mother of Justine agrees, healthcare professionals have no choice but to postpone
All of the researchers must be given equal weight relation to the importance of their work. The following sampling of research represents some of the key authors and works in the area of location and personal identity. Toft (2003) examined the connection between personal identity, culture, and geography. She concluded that culture and ethnicity are governed by geography and that these issues are the root of conflict. When one group
Personality Development in Immigrant Children Personality development is one of the most commonly researched areas of psychology. At first blush, the relation between personality and the cognitive development of immigrant children may appear somewhat nebulous. However, as contemporary research moves ever closer to an integrative approach, the fields of social and biological science -- once regarded as discrete disciplines -- are merging like the overlapping disks of a Venn diagram. The cognitive
Cultural Intelligence In today's increasingly culturally diverse world, cultural competence, or what has become known as "cultural intelligence (CQ)" has received increasing research attention. Several authors, with various purposes and audiences, have developed assessment instruments to help individuals and groups understand their level of cultural intelligence. Included among these is the instrument developed by Earley and Mosakowski (2004), under the title "Diagnosing Your Cultural Intelligence." Earley and Mosakowski's instrument addresses three areas
Cultural Assimilation According to The Mosby Medical Encyclopedia, cultural assimilation is a process by which members of an ethnic minority group lose cultural characteristics that separate them from the main cultural group (Cultural pp). In the September 22, 2000 issue of Daedalus, Dorothy Steele writes that the assimilation of millions of immigrants into one society is what defines America, however in the shadows, millions of nonimmigrant minorities, such as African-Americans, Native American
Cultural Differences of Adolescent in the United States The United States, ever since the time when its history began, has been an accumulation of different cultural patterns who took refuge here for independence in expressing the thoughts. Resiliency or adaptability is featured as a phenomenon of fruit yielding adaptability in spite of difficult or intimidating surrounding. In this paper we shall analyze the cultural differences among adolescents in the country. In
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