...Cultural Assessment Being culturally competent means more than having an awareness for a culture different than your own for the majority culture. Cultural competency involves having an open mind-set and respect for the unique cultures, values and principles of all diverse ethnicities. I had very little interaction with the Haitian culture until I started working at a very culturally diverse facility. While completing my nightshift rotation, I had the pleasure of befriending someone from Haiti. After many years of friendship, I still feel that I know very little about her heritage. This diversity course gave me the perfect opportunity to interview and conduct research on the Haitian culture. Exploring this culture was a true revelation...
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...Haitian Culture ORIGINS OF CULTURE The Republic of Haiti is a Caribbean country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. It is approximately 500 miles from Key West, Florida. It was first settled by the Spanish in the late 1400s, during the era of Columbus. After the entrance of Europeans, Hispaniola's indigenous population endured near-extinction, in what is perhaps the worst case of depopulation in the Americas. A generally believed hypothesis indicates the high mortality of this colony in part to Old World diseases to which the native people had no immunity due to a lack of exposure to the European diseases. A small number of Taínos, the natives to the island, were able to stay alive and set up villages elsewhere. Spanish attentiveness in Hispaniola began to diminish in the 1520s, as more profitable gold and silver deposits were found in Mexico and South America. It was the decreasing interest in Hispaniola that allowed the French to create a colony in the early 1600s. French buccaneers created a settlement on the island of Tortuga in 1625, and were soon united with like-minded English and Dutch privateers and pirates, who formed a anarchistic international community that survived by marauding Spanish ships and hunting wild cattle. Before the Seven Years' War (1756–63), the economy of Hispaniola slowly expanded, with sugar and coffee becoming important export crops. After the war the colony underwent rapid expansion. In 1767, it exported 72 million...
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...she always told me and my sister “Don’t take my kindness for weakness”. When she said those words to us we knew we better get it together before she gets us. The culture expectations for men is to make something of themselves; so when or if they have a family they can be financially stable. Nowadays, if a man or woman leaves Haiti to come to the United States they would be expected to take care of their family back home. For some reason people in Haiti have this perception that the United States is easy to live in; and money comes from trees and you do not have to work hard for what you have. That dream is quickly squashed until they actually come here and see for themselves how it really is to live in the United States. My initial thoughts of gender issues were the basic upbringing in male and female. Now, that I have started reading and discussing this topic it definitely involves much more. I thought that this subject was going to break down the difference between men and women; and the different obstacles each gender had to go through in society. I think the nature of this course is to open up your thoughts about the different stereotypes; whether positive or negative about a specific group or individual. It gives insight on how different influences play a big part on how an individual or a...
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...Macbeth. (Shakespeare, 1606) Sinister, baneful, and villainous are all commonly associated with the practice of Voodoo. It is commonly believed that Voodoo is solely black magic; concerned with satanic rituals and terrifying dolls made to mirror victims and then used for torture. This is due to the misrepresentation of the practice shown in movies, discussed on social media, or even communicated to others verbally. Voodoo is actually a religion made up of Catholic, African, and Native American practices rather than a dastardly form of magic. Of course there will always be individuals with ill intents no matter what the circumstance is, but with the evil there is also the virtuous. Voodoo dates back to the 17th century; originating in Haiti and being taught orally due to the lack of the ability to read or write in West Africa. Throughout time, “Vodou” got the reputation of being known as witchcraft that can manipulate individuals bodies and make them “zombies”(an individual who has been put under a spell that no longer can think or act own their own. They simply become a slave to the spell). Also, most individuals are aware of the well known “sorcery” of using pins in a doll that represents a chosen target to bring agonizing pain to that individual. This is a popular myth linked to Voodoo. Hopefully now Voodoo is a little more deMYTHified (haha get it because I was going to say demystified but myth sounds like myst). One reason that Voodoo is thought to be solely bad is because...
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...How the group met and got started Today I am going to talk to you all about an American hip hop group from the mid 1990’s called the fugees. The fugees represent several different elements of music styles such as hip hop, soul Caribbean and reggae. The members of the group the Fugees include Rapper Wyclef Jean, singer/ rapper Lauryn hill and rapper Praas Michael. The name Fugees came from the term refugee meaning someone fleeing from a foreign country, they looked at it as since there are many displaced Haitians who look up to the United States for political and social asylum the term refugee is used as a derogatory term for Haitians in general. Pras and Wyclef were both born in Haiti and moved to the United States as children they are both also cousins. Wyclef is the son of a pastor and Pras is the son of a deacon. They both grew up in Brookyln, New York and then later moved to Newark, New Jersey as teenagers. Lauryn as a child listened to her parents Motown 1960’s soul records. Lauryn came from a musical family, her mother sang at weddings and played the piano, and her brother played the saxophone, guitar, drums and harmonica. Lauren had been singing in her church choir and in gospel groups with her family members since she was a little girl. Her first public musical appearance was at an Amateur Night in a show called its ShowTime at the Apollo she sung her version of a Smokey Robinson song called “who loves you” and was booed for her performance. As a 13 year old freshman...
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...Feminist perspectives are slowly becoming the standard for deconstructing popular culture. When doing so issues of masculine hegemony, gender roles, heteronormativity, objectivity, and an abundance of other concepts that stir up controversy are brought to the surface. Popular culture allows for the challenging of problems women have faced for many years, but it some cases is adheres to these traditions. It is vital to be able to see the overall message in a pop culture text in order to understand its implications. Some texts hold messages that were not intended to be there in the first place. There will forever be controversy when it comes to pop culture, especially when it comes to television shows, as the average Canadian watches 30 hours of T.V a week. (Ryan, 2013) When being constantly exposed to these messages it is important to know what information you are being fed. Some shows are more complex than others, and consist of mixed messages when looking at them from a feminist standpoint. One example of this would be The Mindy Project, a sitcom that first aired in 2012, and has since gained an average of $2.34 million viewers per episode, (IMDb, 2012) The Mindy Project is packed full of messages that can be depicted from a feminist standpoint, but are often blurred behind the hilarity it is known for. To give a brief synopsis of the show, Mindy Lahiri, played by Mindy Kaling, also the director of the show is the main character and also the narrator. The show is about her...
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...At one point in time aspects of stereotypes were probably true, to an extent. Though there are stereotypes for many different topics and issues most revolve around race and culture. What makes stereotypes racist is that people choose to view them as a representation of an entire culture or race. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says in her 2009 Ted Talk “...that is how to create a single story, show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.” It is a whole lot easier to see things as black and white (or brown and white) than to waste the energy trying to understand every aspect of a culture or people. Children naturally divide things into groups, their world are very black and white. A skill that is often neglected throughout childhood is learning how to grow past this. We are all vulnerable to to falling victim...
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...first successful independent freed slave state in the world, a fact that rocked the socio-political, economic, and moral foundations of the Caribbean.[1] However, in the period following the Revolution, there is a noted increase of slavery in the Caribbean as a whole. Did the success of the Haitian uprising merely serve as a lesson for Caribbean planters and reinforce the slave society? To answer this question one must examine the factors that led to the Revolution’s success both externally, in the European metropoles, and internally, in the psychological and socio-political dynamics of Caribbean societies. Therefore, the Haitian Revolution appeared to impede abolition in the Caribbean in the short term because it reinforced white stereotypes of African savagery and inferiority, convinced planters of the danger of liberal and abolitionist ideals, and created a large void in the coffee and sugar markets which other colonies quickly filled by introducing more slave labor. While these effects should not be minimized, they were merely the logical aftershock of the tumultuous events in the established racial hierarchy. Ultimately, the Haitian Revolution was a major turning point in abolitionist history because it restructured the balance of power in the Caribbean thereby allowing a political gap for British abolitionists, the first organized anti-slavery movement from a metropole, to enter and because it drastically altered the psyche of enslaved Africans throughout the Caribbean...
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...The definition of an immigrants is a person who leaves their country for another country. They leave for all types of reasons such as a better life, escape from trouble in their own country, or simply a change in venue. Immigration can lead to the diversity of not only people, but of ideas. Unfortunately, immigration is not always the easy process, people tend to make it out to be. The two problems facing immigrants today, is first arriving to the country to the country safely, and being accepted once they get there. In Paul Farmer’s essay, On Suffering and Structural Violence: A View from Below, he discusses how some people are unable to get opportunities other people have based on location. For example, in Haiti a country located in the same hemisphere as affluent such as, the United States, Great Britain, and other powerful western countries has struggles with providing food and water to their people. These are the type of people who want a better life, but do not have the opportunities to get them in their own country. They may want to leave their country, but that can prove to be an even more difficult task, because finding the...
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...Ziegenbein 1 Elana Ziegenbein Professor Milner EDUC 210 26 April 2011 Freedom Writers The movie “Freedom Writers” is an inspiring story about one teacher’s dedication and commitment to her students. Remarkably, she manages to overcome the many struggles and hardships and significantly change the lives of her students. The film is based on an inspiring true story that encourages teachers to be passionate about their work. Many individuals do not understand the complex work teachers contribute to society or the challenges that teachers must face throughout their career. “Freedom Writers” and all that I have acquired this semester has exposed me to the realities of teaching and challenged me to consider whether teaching was right for me. Teachers, Schools, and Society introduced me to the realities of teaching that most people don’t realize until they experience it themselves. Many concepts covered in the readings correlated with the educational concepts and theme in the film. One major educational concept mentioned in both the text and the film is different ways of learning. “Freedom Writers” demonstrates the different ways of learning from the beginning of the movie. Mrs. Gruwell is assigned to a classroom of “at-risk” students. Many of the students are failing, have no desire to perform well in school, and have no respect for their teacher or their peers. Instead of simply giving up on these students, Mrs. Gruwell sacrifices her lifestyle, challenges the board of education,...
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...GENDER ASSESSMENT USAID/HAITI June, 2006 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by DevTech Systems, Inc. GENDER ASSESSMENT FOR USAID/HAITI COUNTRY STRATEGY STATEMENT Author: Alexis Gardella DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. 2 Gender Assessment USAID/Haiti TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements Acronyms Executive Summary 5 6 7 1. GENDER DIFFERENTIATED DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS 1.1 Demographics 1.2 Maternal Mortality 1.3 Fertility 1.4 Contraceptive Use 1.5 HIV Infection 1.6 Education 1.7 Economic Growth 1.8 Labor 1.9 Agriculture and Rural Income 1.10 Rural and Urban Poverty 1.11 Environmental Degradation 9 10 11 12 2. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF GENDER IN HAITIAN SOCIETY 2.1 Status of Haitian Women 2.2 Haitian Social Structure: Rural 2.2.1 Community Level 2.2.2 Inter-Household Level 2.2.3 Intra-Household relations 2.2.4 Economic Division of Labor 2.3 Economic System 2.4 Urban Society 13 3. ONGOING USAID ACTIVITIES IN TERMS OF GENDER FACTORS OR GENDER-BASED CONSTRAINTS 3.1 Sustainable Increased Income for the Poor (521-001) 3.2 Healthier Families of Desired Size (521-003) 3.3 Increased Human Capacity (521-004) 3.4 Genuinely Inclusive Democratic Governance Attained (521-005) 3.5 Streamlined Government (521-006) 3.6 Tropical Storm Recovery Program...
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...Student Name: Lecturer’s Name: Date: Southern Contemporary Fiction and the Issue of Race Thesis: Southern contemporary fiction contained a lot of truths about the race relations between Black and White Americans in the twentieth century. Introduction Since the beginning of the twentieth century, there has been a significant shift in the focus of southern literature, both fiction and nonfiction. In the nineteenth century, most Southern fiction works were mainly on the Civil War and the Reconstruction. However, as that generation died away, the new crop of authors who had never experienced the civil war or the Reconstruction became more objective in their writings about the South. Contemporary Southern writers such as Harper Lee, Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner wrote fiction, but the stories written had a lot of truth about the way communities in the American South lived like in the twentieth century. As a result, one cannot fail but notice that there is one recurring issue in almost every novel in contemporary Southern fiction; the issue of race. (Sundquist 1994) Authors usually write stories which are a reflection of the attitudes and the norms of their time and contemporary Southern fiction reflects this. The southern part of the United States has always had a large percentage of people of African descent living there. At the beginning of the twentieth century, two states actually had an African-American majority; South Carolina and Mississippi...
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...which people can attempt to understand why people, specifically groups of people, act the way they act, uphold certain traditions that they uphold and maintain certain customs that each culture has. It is only when a full knowledge of all similarities and differences amongst human beings is attained, that we can learn to work together as one for better of this world that we call home. Cultural Psychology In order to define cultural psychology, a definition of culture must first be stated. Culture is defined by the attitudes, behaviors, and symbols shared among a large group of people (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). These attitudes, behaviors and symbols are passed down from one generation to the next. Attitudes consist of beliefs, values, stereotypes, superstitions, opinions and general knowledge. Behaviors are where customs and traditions come from within the group. Behaviors are also what determine the cultural norms and the roles in the people of that particular...
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...princesses from different cultures and nationalities. These royalties come from around the world; For instance, Cinderella, Belle, and Snow White are from central Europe, Jasmine epitomizes the Arabian princess, Pocahontas the Native American one and finally Mulan the Chinese princess. In 2009, the movie The Princess and the Frog introduced Tiana, the first black / African-American princess, to the Disney kingdom. On the surface, the denotative meaning presents the animated film as a promoter of equality and feminism. They portray women in an optimistic and encouraging image of strength, will, and power. However, once it is really scrutinized down to the connotative meaning and specific details, we can notice lots of controversies and stereotypes. The following analysis will present the differentiation of genders, races, and classes in the movie The Princess and the Frog. The movie is centered on a young hard working African American waitress named Tiana. Ever since she was a little girl, she shared her father’s dream of opening up her own restaurant “Tiana’s Palace”. She crosses path with an arrogant, careless frog who claims to be Prince Naveen of Maldonia. Actually, Naveen was transformed into a frog by a devious voodoo magician named Dr. Facilier. In order to return human, similarly to the children novel, Naveen supposed that he should kiss a princess. Assuming that Tiana was royalty due to her attire, he offered her some help in return of a kiss. Tiana herself then gets transformed...
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...of human beings—men, women, and children—is a crime against humanity. It is also a symptom of a world that has yet to meet the goal of recognizing that we are all the same and that we are interconnected. It is a crime that demonstrates a clear lack of the value that we are all brothers and sisters. It is the continued victimization of people who are most in need of help. It is the willful and deliberate act of taking advantage of human beings by forcing them into forced slave labor or sexual exploitation. It is a form of modern slavery and it should have no place in modern society. Human trafficking is not just a problem in the so-called Third World. It is not just a problem in countries with a high rate of poverty, such as Haiti; that is a stereotype that can prevent wealthier nations from intervening and putting an end to this blight. Human trafficking is a problem that can be found in the United States and other industrialized Western nations. It is a problem that can be found on a global scale, a problem that requires micro and macro strategies to intervene and eliminate. Human...
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