HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 1 Discussion
Discuss the role of language in cultural and ethnic diversity. Identify terms and/or phrases that were acceptable when you were younger, but are now considered insensitive or offensive. Are these changes for the better?
In addition to your main response, you must also post substantive responses to at least two of your classmates' posts in this thread. Your responses should include elements such as follow-up questions, a further exploration of topics from the initial post, or requests for further clarification or explanation on some points made by the classmates.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 2 Discussion
Listen to Download Listen toor read the following letter to the editor:
I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending someone or their culture. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language, and our own lifestyle. This culture has developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. If you wish to become part of our society, learn the language! “In God we trust” is our national motto. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, based on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is entirely appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don’t care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express opinions, and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other great American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE. God Bless America.
Discussion Prompt:
Who is intended to be included in the "We" of the last paragraph of the letter?
Is our society more accepting of some immigrant groups versus others?
After writing your initial post, reply to at least two of your classmates.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 3 Discussion
Choose one of the following incidents involving religious freedom.
A Jainist student attending public high school has requested that the cafeteria staff clearly list the contents of each dish so that he can be certain he does not eat any animal products.
Native American members of a church want to be allowed to ingest peyote because this drug has historically been part of their religious rituals.
Following his baptism, a Sikh student wants to wear his required symbolic knife (kirpan) to school.
An employee who is a Seventh-Day Adventist wants to be excused from work every Saturday because it is their Sabbath.
Discussion Prompt:
Describe how each of the different perspectives on diversity (Anglo-conformism, melting pot, separatism, and pluralism) would assess the situation.
Are the individual’s rights to behave in accordance with their faith in danger of being violated?
How do you think the incident should be resolved?
Remember to respond to two of your classmates’ initial posts with your own opinions and ideas.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 4 Discussion
View this TED talk (Links to an external site.) on racism, politics, and solutions, and then post your answers to the questions below:
Discussion Prompt:
What do you think of the solutions to the problem of racism that were proposed in this talk?
How do these solutions address or fail to address the types of racism we learned about this week?
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 5 Discussion
View the following video and then post your answers to the questions below.
Discussion Prompt
Who do you think the poor are in the United States?
How do you define welfare?
Remember to respond to two of your classmates’ initial posts with your own opinions and ideas.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 6 Discussion
View this TED Talk (Links to an external site.) on violence against women and then post your answers to the questions below.
Discussion Prompt
Explain an incident you have witnessed or participated in that demonstrates the “bystander” approach mentioned in this video.
Remember to respond to two of your classmates’ initial posts with your own opinions and ideas.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 7 Discussion
View the TED Talk,
“What the Future Looks Like” (Links to an external site.)
and then answer the questions below:
How did you respond to Gabriella Huggins’s film?
Which, if any, images or narration spoke to you personally?
Remember to respond to two of your classmates’ initial posts with your own opinions and ideas.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 8 Discussion
Let’s discuss disabilities as being sorted into three groups: physical, emotional, and physiological.
In your discussion post, choose one of these groups and profile a person (real or imagined) who has a disability from that group.
Describe the disability. To which group(s) does it belong? What are its effects on the person you are profiling?
Explain some of the challenges that this person has to overcome to function in everyday society.
Remember to respond to two of your classmates’ initial posts with your own opinions and ideas.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 1 Assignment
Culture and Conflict Reflection Essay
In this essay, you will reflect on the causes and consequences of prejudice and apply the theories and strategies of conflict resolution to a fictional situation.
Respond to the following statement:
“All those women on welfare have it made. All they do is stay home and make babies while the rest of us have to work and pay taxes to support them.”
Reflect on this statement in the context of what we have learned about prejudice. This should isn't simply writing down your first reaction or what you already know. Reflection involves critical thinking, which means rethinking your existing knowledge and previously held opinions in light of what we have learned about prejudice.
Propose strategies that could resolve this particular prejudice.
Your essay should be 1–2 pages in length.
Remember to use appropriate formatting as per APA (6th ed.):
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 2 Assignment
Racial Oppression Reflection Essay
Choose one of the following scenarios which illustrate a variety of incidents that have occurred on a university campus.
Imagine that you are a residence hall counselor on campus, and the student described in the incident has come to you to ask for advice.
What sort of advice would you give to the student?
Explain why your advice represents the best course of action for the student to follow.
Your essay should be 1–2 pages in length.
Remember to use appropriate formatting as per APA (6th ed.): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/0 (Links to an external site.)
Scenario 1: Jessica
Jessica is a 22-year-old Mexican American who moved from Illinois to attend college in California. Lately, she has noticed that the majority of her Hispanic classmates are able to speak both English and Spanish fluently, and most speak Spanish to each other in her Chicano studies class and socially.
Jessica’s parents spoke Spanish at home but did not insist on their children becoming bilingual. For this reason, Jessica understands Spanish when it is spoken to her, but she does not speak it fluently.
Jessica has found that she feels more comfortable and relaxed in classes where most of her classmates are white rather than in her Chicano studies class, where she does not share the experiences of the other Hispanic students. This realization has upset her, and she has come to you for advice.
Scenario 2: Jim
Jim is an 18-year-old white student living away from home for the first time. He and his girlfriend were hanging out at the park when they noticed a car pull into the empty parking lot. No one got out of the car for nearly an hour, and it was getting dark. Jim and his girlfriend had planned to stay a while longer, but the car made them feel nervous.
As they left the park, they passed nearby the car, and Jim knocked on the window to see if the occupants needed any help. As the window rolled down, Jim noticed that the men were black. He said, “Hey, what’s up? What are you guys doing here?” One of the men was insulted, became angry, and stated that they had every right to be in the parking lot. He claimed that Jim was racially profiling them. He has gone to the campus mediation center to report the incident and is demanding that Jim formally apologize.
Jim is very upset because he feels he is being unfairly called a racist.
Scenario #3: Anthony
Anthony is a 20-year-old Chinese American student who recently transferred to your university from the community college in his hometown. He met with his advisor earlier today to discuss his schedule. As he was leaving the office, his advisor said, in a friendly and jovial manner, “The restaurant on First Street has the best wonton soup in town!”
The more Anthony thought about this, the more upset he has become.
In this assignment, you are asked to reflect on one of the presented scenarios. This isn't simply writing down your first reaction or what you already know. Reflection involves critical thinking, which means rethinking your existing knowledge and previously held opinions in light of what we have learned about prejudice.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 3 Assignment
Religious Oppression Reflection Essay
How would you define pluralism? Write a 1–2 page essay on pluralism, concentrating on religion and religious oppression.
Use concepts and specific examples from this course, history, current events, the media or other external sources, and the textbook to either support or oppose the following statement:
"Pluralism is the greatest philosophical ideal of our time."
Remember to cite your sources and use appropriate formatting as per APA (6th ed.): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 4 Assignment
Legacy of Racism Reflection Essay
Identify your earliest exposure to people who were racially or culturally different from you through movies, television shows, or music.
What was your age?
Who was the person and how was he or she different?
What impressions did you have about these people from these media?
From a cultural pluralist’s perspective, do you think this experience was positive or negative for you?
Your essay should be 1–2 pages in length.
Remember to use appropriate formatting as per APA (6th ed.): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/0 (Links to an external site.)
This should isn't simply writing down your first reaction or what you already know. Reflection involves critical thinking, which means rethinking your existing knowledge and previously held opinions in light of what we have learned about race and culture.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 5 Assignment
Classism Reflection Essay
Watch this TED Talk (Links to an external site.) from Gary Haugen, The Hidden Reason for Poverty the World Needs to Address Now.
Write a 1–2 page paper using what you have learned in this course and at least one external source.
Explain your interpretation of the complexity of social class, poverty, and discrimination in terms of the interconnections among race, ethnicity, age, gender, and schooling.
How are they related? How are they unrelated?
Remember to cite your sources and use appropriate formatting as per APA (6th ed.): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 6 Assignment
Sexism Reflection Essay
Read the article, "When Men Experience Sexism."
“Women have been fighting against sexism for a long time. If men can learn from them, it will be to everyone's benefit.”
— Noah Berlatsky, The Atlantic, 2013.
What does this statement mean?
Cite specific examples from the article to support your conclusions.
Your essay should be 1–2 pages in length.
Remember to use appropriate formatting as per APA (6th ed.): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/0
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 8 Assignment
Ableism Reflection Essay
Watch the PBS segment (Links to an external site.) on Georgia’s segregation of students with disabilities. Write a 1–2 page paper in which you address the following:
What might be the state of Georgia’s rationale for this practice?
Other than the obvious, horrific examples given in the video, how could such segregation be damaging to students with disabilities?
How could the state of Georgia address this issue? Remember to take into account their possible rationale for the practice.
Your essay should be 1–2 pages in length.
Remember to use appropriate formatting as per APA (6th ed.): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/0
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 2 Signature Assignment Topic
For this course, you will write a research paper on various elements of a preapproved cultural study.
Some examples of cultures are linked below. You can also choose a culture not on this list, as long as it is approved by your instructor.
HUM 370 Signature Assignment Topic Ideas Download HUM 370 Signature Assignment Topic Ideas
This week, you must choose and submit a culture you will research for your Signature Assignment.
Upload a two-paragraph Word document in which you:
Identify and briefly describe the culture you will research.
Explain your goals/purpose in researching this culture.
Africa Asia Americas Europe Middle East Oceania *More Specific Topics Ancient Egypt Dravidian Culture (India) Aztec Classical Greece Ottoman Empire Aborigines (Australia) Colonial America Nok Culture Zhou Dynasty (China) Maya Hellenistic Greece Persian Empire Austronesian People 18th Century Haiti Mali Empire Han Dynasty (China) Inca Roman Republic Hittites Lapita People 19th Century Poland Benin Empire Song Dynasty (China) Olmec Roman Empire Ancient Israel Tongan Empire 20th Century Costa Rica Mossi Kingdom Maurya Empire (India) Pueblo Etruscans Phoenicians Moai Culture Medieval Ages France Ghana Empire Gupta Period (India) Adena Celts Babylonians Melanesian Culture Renaissance Italy Kingdom of Sine Heian Period (Japan) Hohokam Magyars Fatimid Dynasty Micronesian Culture Alabama (1950- 1980) Kingdom of Nri Muromachi Period (Japan) Arawak Vikings Abbasid Dynasty Pohnpei People 1950s America Zulu Edo Period (Japan) Camdeba Merovingian Dynasty Umayyad Dynasty Chamorro Culture The Modern Cherokee Nation Songhai Empire Three Kingdoms Period (Korea) Iroquois Carolingian Dynasty Sumerians Papuan People Ashanti Empire Kingdom of NamViet Inuit Tudor England Assyrians Kingdom of Hawaii Aksumite Empire Khmer Period (Cambodia) Taino Byzantine Empire Akkadians Maori Culture (New Zealand) Kingdom of Zimbabwe Mon Dvaravati Period (Thailand) Toltec Visigoths Medes
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 5 Signature Assignment Outline
This week, you will submit an outline of your Signature Assignment research paper.
Your outline must include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion sections in outline format.
You should include topic sentences for each section and paragraph transitions that help tie your major points together.
Use current APA Style as appropriate.
Research Paper Outline:
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
CULTURAL CONTEXT
Represented in the United States
Individualistic/Collective
Artistic
Values
Religion
SEX and GENDER ROLES
ACCULTURATION
CONCLUSION
See rubric for specific grading criteria.
HUM370 Cultural Pluralism
Week 7 Signature Assignment Research Paper
Research Paper Instructions
In this paper, you will discuss various elements of a preapproved cultural study.
Research Paper Content:
Begin with an introduction with a thesis statement.
Provide a brief history of your culture.
Explain how your chosen culture is represented in the United States.
Discuss whether this culture is individualistic or collectivistic. Provide at least one example.
Detail some of the artistic contributions of this culture (e.g., art, music, architecture, dance).
Explain some of the values of this culture. Provide at least three examples.
Discuss this culture’s religion(s). Include name and basic belief system of at least one of the major faiths.
Detail some of the sex and gender role differences in this culture. Provide at least three examples.
Discuss what we would need to know to acculturate into this culture. (If a past one, what would we need to do for preparing for our time machine to fit in). Provide at least one concrete suggestion.
End with the conclusion.
Specific Paper Requirements:
The paper should be four to six pages in length (Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, 12-point font, and double-spaced)
Must contain in-text citations in current APA Style
Check your spelling and grammar
Include a minimum of three or more credible sources (e.g., books, journal articles, magazine/newspaper articles)
Paper Outline:
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
CULTURAL CONTEXT
Represented in the United States
Individualistic/Collective
Artistic
Values
Religion
SEX and GENDER ROLES
ACCULTURATION
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
