...Construction of Identity and Worldview: The Influence of Social Variables The meaning of human identity is vast and complex. Identity, for our purposes, is in part a derivation of an inseparable piece of one’s consciousness, and largely an assembly of attitudes, behaviors, values, and beliefs collected and learned during a lifetime. Individual identity, as the centerpiece of an individual’s place in society, is the mechanism through which worldviews are shaped. Identity may seem a nonessential study of little consequence in comparison to more explicit and trenchant topics, but actually is very consequential. Identities and worldviews are, after all, what have defined and created our reality as we know it. Movements toward social equality and political progressiveness have been born as a result of identities and worldviews differing from that of the collective. To study the social variables that mold identity and construct worldview is to study how our species has created our reality. Learning about the way identities and worldviews are shaped is the first step necessary in altering the formation of those identities and worldviews in order to change our thinking; to create a better and more equal reality. In some cases, such as my own, the formation of an individual’s identity is influenced by a collection of social variables typical of those within their society, as well as variables considered atypical. An absence of organized religion, Caucasian racial categorization, a culture...
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...Question: The formation of Identity is shaped by many circumstances. How is this explored in your prescribed text and one other related text of your own choosing? One’s initial identity is significantly nurtured by family ideals and beliefs in conjunction with the sheltered environment in which they are raised. However, we are all apt to be considerably shaped by society’s social and cultural influences. Consequently, our identities are a comprehensive construct of society’s values and one’s ethnic background in addition to our occupational duties and interactions with others. In Shakespeare’s ‘Othello,’ and the film, “To Sir with Love,” the identities of the key characters are shown to be a constitute of such circumstances with a particular focus on the influence of relationships. In Shakespeare’s ‘Othello,’ the discriminative attitude of Venetian society towards people of black ethnicity is presented as a significant influential factor in the shaping of Othello’s identity. This is explored through the use language in which Othello is repeatedly referred to as the “Moor” and by the derogatory terms “thick-lips” and a “Barbary horse.” Othello’s black exterior denotes to his position as a ‘outsider’ and therefore his marriage to Desdemona, a white woman is considered unfathomable, “If she in chains of magic were not bound, whether a maid so tender, fair and happy, so opposite to marriage that she shunn’d,” Contrastingly, Othello’s elevated status in Venetian society, reflected...
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...Everyone in society has different identities that helps describe who they are. We all have different roles that make us unique and are influenced by occurrences that happen within the home and outside the home. Some of our identities can make us much stronger individuals or weaken us by being judged. My identities however, have made me a much stronger person to achieve goals, wishes, and successes. In this paper I will go more in detail on how my identities made me became more appreciative of where I come from and the experiences from childhood up to now. My culture has shaped my understanding of how important the values and traditions done at home can bring the family very close. My generational status really has influenced my decision on...
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...others help us to define who we are. Our identity is what we perceive ourselves to be as well as how others view us. One’s identity is therefore an essential element in defining themselves. For that reason, it is especially important that we are comfortable with our identity. As individuals, people have unique characteristics and personalities as well as belonging to groups that influence such factors as their lives go on. Although great emphasis is put on creating ones identity alone, a number of factors such as ones appearance, society, environment, religion and race can shape our identities thus help us to define who we are. It is also believed that our genetic makeup has a large role in determining who we are. Our identity can be considerably shaped by our appearance. Physical appearance is the first, and often most important, and most lasting impression others get of us. Society will create different assumptions about others based on simple factors such as ones fashion and ones physical qualities. As a result, many will adjust their identities to be accepted by society. For example, people tailoring their personal appearance to fit what they want others to see them as. An individual who dresses very formally is likely to want others to view them as high class or wealthy. Although, factors such as height and skin colour cannot be so easily altered and depends on ones genetics. The effects of appearance on our identity can be seen in ‘Skin’, where Sandra, despite...
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...to form relationships, and thus a true of sense of identity and belonging. This connection is apparent in Peter Skrzynecki Immigrant chronicles poems - '10 Mary Street' and 'St Patrick's college' where the persona experiences a sense of self and belonging through his relationships with his home and family, and conversely a feeling of spiritual alienation through lack of said connections. By employing a variety of literary techniques Skrzynecki has represented how relationships are a landscape for identity, and thus how they affect one's experiences of belonging or not belonging. Relationships significantly impact belonging and are shaped by an individual's participation within particular communities. In '10 Mary Street' and 'St Patrick's College' the persona forms bonds with his family and European migrants,and is conversely isolated at his school due to a lack of consideration for the social values and customs present. The persona's understanding of the set “pre war-europe” routines and customs within the home is enjambed “My parents watered plants - grew potatoes And rows of sweet corn: Home from school earlier I'd ravage the backyard garden” this reinforces the relationships formed with his parents and other migrants “Heated discussions, embracing gestures: Visitors that ate”. This, juxtaposed with his experiences of isolation in the anecdotal 'St Patrick’s College' “Caught the 414 bus like a foreign tourist, unsure of my destination every time I got off”, encapsulates, through...
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...Javier Cepeda Harris SYD4700 Reaction Paper #1 1. According to Farley, the concept of race consists of two components: social and physical. Social recognition and identity as a distinct group is important for a group of people to be considered a race. Also, every race is considered to be somewhat distinct in appearance from others. However, the fact that physical appearances matter when defining race is what makes it a “socially constructed” concept. The different races that are known to us today each carry a physical characteristic in which it identifies with, but what is important to note is how these differences were chosen. Society as a whole is what chooses the physical component in race and because of this it varies from time to time and place to place. 2. To support the statement that race is a “socially constructed” concept one must consider that racial formation, which is the process in which race operates as a central axis of social relations (Gallagher 19), is said to be a result of diverse historical practices (Omni and Winant). It is clear that racial terms and identities are something that has been shaped by the general public over time. For someone to claim they are black or white is nothing out of the ordinary in our society today, but what is intriguing is the fact that as recent as the late 19th century such racial grouping would have been quickly challenged. The term “black” came about when the distinction of indentured servitude and racial slavery...
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...defined as the process of creating and sharing meaning through the use of symbols (Dobkin-Pace, 2010). Communication shaped the person that you are and gives you a distinct identity. There are certain channels and contexts that are very important to the communication process due to the means of delivery or transportation. Also your environment and culture has an enormous influence on your communication skills. AS communicators we are improving our skills of communication every day. Verbal communication is messages expressed through formal language. It can be oral, written, or even signed and still can be verbal as long as words are involved. Nonverbal communication is messages expressed through symbols rather than words. Nonverbal communication can include hand gestures, facial expressions, touching, the inflection of your voice, the clothes you wear, and even silence. For example if someone ask you a question but rather than verbally answering, your facial expression gives the answer to the question. Before any messages can be exchanged there has to be a type of delivery or transportation called channels. Channels are the mediums that carry messages between communicators. (Communication in a Changing World, 2nd Edition. MBS Direct p. 24). The choice of a channel is an important part of the communication situation. The communication channel influences the message you send by intervening in the communication process and altering the intent, substance, or result of the...
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...October 3, 2011/Fall 2011 African Diaspora & The World (SADW 111-05) Shaping my Diaspora Consciousness vs. Society An old saying about the African American slave trade still circulates amongst us today: "they set us 'free' while keeping us enslaved." After the abolishment of physical slavery, the self-esteem and sense of identity of many African Americans remained in the hands of the dominant race. Their tools of malice and control transitioned from whips and legislation to social stigmas and stereotypes. The social stigmas and stereotypes formed are the concepts of identity, race and gender. As notions of equality grew more popular, the malice diminished but the social stigmas and stereotypes remained. To deny their influence on the shaping of my identity would be equivalent to denying the slave trade's existence. Despite the relevance of both in today's society, both are starting to fade away into the thick cloud of historical amnesia that tends to grasp the minds of every American generation. In order to ensure that the lesson’s learned, and to be learned from both remain, it is imperative that such topics be discussed and evaluated. Identity is a complex shaped by individual characteristics. Gender is however a group defined by masculinity and femininity, the attributes attached to being born male or female. Race is framed by social relations and historical context. All social conceptions formed by social construction. People don’t have an understanding of how society...
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...The way in which we view writing and literacy influences the way we view our own writer identities (Cremin and Baker, 2010). Writer identities are composed and stem from a variety of elements relating to previous schooling experience, our upbringings, beliefs, the people we surround ourselves with and our perceptions of writing (Cremin and Baker, 2010). Before enrolling into this unit I, like many other pre-service teachers viewed myself as a reader more than a writer (Gardner, 2018). Being a writer to me focussed hugely on people who produced and created writing as their paid job such as authors or journalists. Fresh out of high school having done many exams and constantly being exposed to writing online and through social media, I still never viewed myself as a writer....
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...was you.” This is a scene where we see Maya’s core identity, her name, being wiped out and tempered with. Throughout ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’, we realize the protagonist, Maya, faces several identity crisis in her life and is thus left to write a biography of the culmination of incidents that have occurred throughout her life and hence that have shaped her identity today. Those around her mold Maya’s identity. Her relationships are what define her. There are no two ways about it; Maya’s rape calls her identity into question. Suddenly, she is portrayed as both a woman and child but she feels like neither. Thus, she is left with spending the rest of the book trying on different identities...
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...differ slightly based on our life experiences within our worldview or a previous worldview. Worldview is defined by how a person interfaces with others and/or situations; basically, their perception of life. A biblical or Christian worldview is shaped by God’s commandments. One’s worldview is subject to change or re-shaped based on life experiences and/or by excepting learned ideas introduced into our lives. (Weider and Gutierrez 61). There are five questions that evaluate and define one’s worldview position. To have a biblical worldview, the answers to these questions must be scripturally based. The first question is, where do you believe the origin of life began? It is clear that having a biblical worldview, one believes that God is the creator of all things. From creation of the Heavens and earth (New King James Version, Gen. 1.1), He progresses through all of His creations (Gen. 1.3-25) to His finality; man, the sole creation of His likeness (Gen. 1.26-27). God, the Creator, rules above mankind and provides all that we need. (Acts 17.24-25). Seeing the world through the eyes of being created in God’s image should encourage us to serve others but ultimately serving the one who created us. The second question is of identity. In Genesis 1.26-27, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air, over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps...
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...Stacie Hankinson December 31, 2013 Child of the Americas is a poem by Aurora Levins Morales that addresses social diversity. It is a poem about an American girl who talks about her heritage, as she came from a mixture of various cultures. She also expresses her identity as an American. This poem is truly about cultural diversity and the effort to determine the writer’s ethnicity. The poem is interesting and intriguing and leaves the readers pondering over their own ethnic identity. The author is saying that; Yes I maybe one race but all races live within me and around me. In this paper, I will be identifying figurative language, as well as an example of symbolism and imagery that I found interesting. One might find confusion with trying to determine what cultural background Morales should associate herself with. She is a product of many ethnicities passed down her family lineage and that of the United States of America, where she has grown up. She has the opportunity to be any ethnicity and culture that she wants; Spanish, Jewish or American. She can speak Spanish or English or even mix the two languages. (Morales, 1986). “I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness, a flashing knife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft.” (Morales, 1986) Morales uses figurative language in the form of a metaphor. She relates her spoken language to that of a crystal bladed knife. Crystals are one of the most sought after rare materials and are very valuable. “…born into this continent...
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...Abstract This paper will be written in an effort to evaluate the cultural identity of my sister-in-law, which she is of Hispanic ethnicity. This will be an interview, which I will identify the social expectations and values and norms within her society as she was growing up. I will also identify her view of the world shaped by the social movements and educational as well as occupational opportunities which were available to her. Self-Assessment of Hispanic Ethnicity Being culturally responsible means being able to identify bias in yourself and others and being sensitive to systems that contribute to the positive and negative reinforcement of that bias. Being culturally responsive entails being competent enough to guide clients through the process of negotiating the similarities and differences between cultures – and recognizing the effects that those boundaries have on the lives of the individuals we serve. This paper will reflect the cultural identity of a Hispanic woman and how she perceives her own identity and the influences in her life. I think you will be as surprised as I was at just how different those in this culture can be from my Caucasian, small town Iowa, cultural is. When you were born, what were the social expectations for a person of you identity? “Family by far is the most valued part of any Hispanic's life I have ever met. When I say this I mean that in a very different way than anyone outside the Hispanic...
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...Identity. Eight letters that are powerful, to show who people are and what they stand for. Everyone has identity because it's what make people say the things, do the things that they do and be the way that they are. In all movies, TV shows and books people have identity. Their identity shapes who people are and what they will become. The people and things that you're surrounded by can influence your choices. Identity develops as you go through meaningful moments that impact their life. In short stories “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, “The Bass, the River and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell and “Papa’s Parrot” by Cynthia Rylant, the characters learn about themselves through significant moments First in “Fish Cheeks” Amy Tan learns about herself...
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...Mirescu Final Exam Relating Power to Political Identity What I shall attempt to do in this paper is display my knowledge of the definition of power. I will also attempt to discuss the different theories of power looked at during this course and apply them to another familiar topic, political identity. I will pick one of the many theories of power we looked at and explain how it relates to political identity. Political identity and power are directly proportional. The more power one has, the more vivid political identity he will have. The more clear political identity one has, the easier it is to gain power. Before discussing and applying power to political identity, I will explain each topic, for one may question the importance of engaging in either of the topics. After referring to Webster's Dictionary, the definition of power is the ability to do something or act in particular way. Power is also the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or a course of events. Human power is very important to us. We utilize power as a way to feel superior to other humans who do not have the resources, or means to obtain power. Humans without power often need guidance, people to follow, look up to, and listen to. Political identity in the most obvious sense describes one of the different parties that one can possibly belong to. However, any part of ones identity used to vote can be considered a political identity. Richard Dahl placed power into three categories...
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