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Introduction
Introduction
Hello all, and welcome to my blog. My name is Alexandra Osintseva, but I prefer to use my nickname, Sasha. I'm 18 years old I was born in Chelyabinsk, Russia and I moved to Canada when I was two years old. I first moved to Halifax, then New-Brunswick, and finally to Quebec. I have been living here ever since. My mother tongue is Russian, and I learned English when I came to Canada, and then learned French when I moved to Quebec. I went to primary and secondary school in French, and after my experience with French, I decided to go to CEGEP in English. I also learned Spanish in high school. As you may see, I was exposed to many languages from a young age, which helped me choose my program in college. I chose the Language Program, because I love to talk to people from other countries in their native tongue, since they show their true self in the language, they are most comfortable with. I also love to learn about different cultures, whether it’s eating their traditional food, learning about their customs, getting to know their language and special idioms they have in their language, and so on. Throughout my primary and high school years, I’ve always felt more comfortable with being friends with immigrants or people from different backgrounds than French-Canadian or Anglo-Canadian, which was a bit of a struggle, since there aren’t many who live in Saint-Eustache. So, I jumped at every opportunity I had to travel the world. In the summer of 2016, I left the continent for the first time since I moved to Canada. I visited nine countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Italy, France and Monaco) and it made me fall in love with European languages and cultures. The country I loved the most was Germany. I felt so at home there, which was a feeling I’ve never felt before, because being an immigrant can have its down sides when it comes to finding your identity. So, I told myself that when I go to university, it would be in Germany. I stuck to that goal, learned the German language, learned about the culture, did a student exchange in Freiburg and visited the country by myself, with friends and with family twice more since my trip in 2016. Every time I went back, I felt even more like I belonged there, and it was easier for me to speak with natives of that country. This is an amazing feeling. However, I’ve always found it kind of strange that I feel at home in a country in which I’ve never lived in before and that I have no connection to familywise. There is nothing wrong with Canada, it’s a great place to live in, but somehow, I don’t fit in here. So, my first idea for this big project was to explore this feeling of feeling at home and see how being multicultural differs from being monocultural in the way it shapes our identity. Why do people not feel at home even though they grew up in that country?
My interests are dancing, traveling, learning about different cultures and languages, listening to music, talking to new people and having fun with friends, reading, watching movies and tv series, etc. As I’ve mentioned before, I love Germany. I was wondering if I could combine one of my interests with this country and explore that topic a bit more. So, I thought about it and I’ve seen that the travel culture in Germany is much more present. For example, every German person I’ve spoken to over the past few years have always done a student exchange somewhere, they travel almost every vacation they have, they speak or try to speak more than one language, and so on. Here, I feel like people aren’t really interested in discovering the world, at least, not as much as Europeans do. So, maybe I could explore the reasons why this occurs. Why are Germans or Europeans more open to traveling and value cultural exchanges more than Americans or Canadians?
Inspirations, Sources
Inspirations, Sources
These videos helped me think about my subject and made me very curious to know more!
This video talks about how even if you've lived somewhere all your life and now you've moved to another country and have lived there for a certain amount of time, you take the values and habits of that new culture. He also says that there are 3 ways that you can relate to a culture: Confront, Complain or Conform. If you choose to confront, you choose to be relatively ethnocentric. If you complain, you will find yourself living with other foreigners who don't conform to the society around them. If you choose to conform, you can benefit from that culture and it will broaden your views of that culture. He also says that "We all see the world through cultural glasses." He says that the way you perceive a certain culture, it will shape your reality. He says that "cultural diversity increases problem solving ability", because the way people see certain obstacles and handle problems will vary from culture to culture and from person to person, so having diversity will ensure a better solving ability. Also, if you spend your time not adapting to the culture you live in, you will constantly think that people are rejecting you. If you do conform and change the way you see that culture by learning about it, you will be less miserable.
I found this video to be very interesting and it helped me find my topic. I agree with pretty much everything he says and it really opened my eyes. I think that we should all learn from people like him, because we should learn to embrace people's differences instead of judging them. I think that conforming is the way to go when moving to a new country. However, conforming does not mean letting your whole former identity go, it simply means you understand how a culture works and you get used to it.
Talker's Credentials: "Julien is the founder of Mondå, a project that helps Norwegians benefit from cultural diversity while supporting talented foreigners in their efforts to adapt and connect with Norway. He is educated as an astronautical engineer and is currently completing a doctoral degree in Norway. He is originally from Canada and speaks English, Norwegian, French and Spanish. He has been active in higher education policy at the European level, at the national level in Norway and locally at different institutions. He became the first foreign board member of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Other positions include the Norwegian national research committee (UHR), the board of the national Norwegian doctoral organisation and the presidency of NTNU’s doctoral organisation."
This video explains how cultures differ from one another. There are many obstacles when learning a new culture, but you have to adapt to each and every one to be able to see what their experience of life is. Also, he says that "culture is our mental programming", which means that we learn these behaviors and attitudes from the people around us and it is passed on through generations.
I really like this video, because what he explains is very inspiring, since he talks about how cultures differ and how fascinating this phenomenon is. I think that we should all travel and learn about different cultures, because it can help you see the world differently and experience many different situations you would've never thought to live through. I also really like the way he uses personal anecdotes to explain his points, because it helps you understand better with examples.
Source: Bourrelle, Julien S. “Learn a New Culture.” TED, www.ted.com/talks/julien_s_bourrelle_learn_a_new_culture.
This book really inspired me about how we see ourselves and how we identify with different cultures and societies. I think this reading will help me a lot in this project.
I find that everything he says about culture and identity is true. We should not say that we have only one identity, because your identity, or identities in this case, will always change thanks to the people that surround you. The different communities, languages, cultures, people, and so on, all shape who you are and that's what makes every single person unique. I also like the fact that he explains that in order to not be threatened of being taken away your culture or identity, you have to be comfortable with what you have and be open to learn more about other cultures. I really like his way of explaining things and I think that this book really makes you think about your personal identity-ies. So, how would you describe your identities?
Source: Maalouf, Amin. Les identités meurtrières. Grasset, 2001.
What is Culture?
What is Culture?
Merriam Webster defines Culture as "the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group, also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time".
What is Identity?
What is Identity?
Merriam Webster defines Identity as "the distinguishing character or personality of an individual".
Not only your culture shapes who you are. Wherever you go, which is not somewhere you go to normally can shape the way you think. You get exposed to new cultures or societies and it may influence or change how you perceive yourself and the world around you.
You may have some good or bad experience in a certain community and even though that experience could have been bad, you still went through it, learned from it and used that to your advantage or disadvantage in how you perceive that community and the rest of the world.
Personally, in my trip in 2016, I saw many different cultures and different lifestyles that finally made me question my own. Some of the culture I've seen were pretty much the opposite of each other. For example, Germans tend to be really punctual, efficient when it comes to time and tend to follow rules. However, you drive a few kilometers South and you're in Italy, which has a completely different style of living. They don't necessarily care about that kind of stuff. They're not as efficient as Germans, in fact, in the middle of the afternoon, they have a "Nap Time", which shows that they value rest more than efficiency. They also don't really follow rules, for example, when driving, it's a total mess. Scooters pass in between cars, cars don't follow the speed limit, there's a lot of honking, and so on. You would never see this in Germany. So, seeing these two clashing societies really opened my eyes. You might identify more with one part of a certain culture than another and that might shape your identity in a different way.
Source: “Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's Most-Trusted Online Dictionary.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/.
This source talks about what culture and identity is. It also explains how both intertwine with one another.
I think that this source explains well the definition of culture and identity and there is a lot of text about those two notions. I also agree that sometimes culture and identity can be mixed up and that culture is something like the "bigger picture" and that identity is something more specific to each person. I also like how they use specific examples and cases of study, for example, the Frankfurt School: Herbert Marcuse. It gives us an enlightened picture of what the text talks about.
Source: Kidd, Warren, and Alison Teagle. Culture and Identity. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Here are some interesting talks about culture made my UNESCO. Some of them could be interesting and some can be more specific toward my subject. I could find some examples that I could use for my research.
Source: “Culture Speaks.” UNESCO, 26 Feb. 2019, en.unesco.org/themes/protecting-our-heritage-and-fostering-creativity/talking-about-culture.
Stover, William James, and Mali A. Mann. “External Elements in the Construction and Demise of Ethnicity and Identity.” International Journal on World Peace, vol. 33, no. 4, Dec. 2016, pp. 69–79. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=119713343&site=eds-live&scope=site.
This source presents 5 different types of Cultural Interaction:
- Cultural Segregation
- Direct Contact
- Diffusion of 2 or more cultures to create a third
- Cultural Domination
- Cultural Genocide
Cultural Segregation
Cultural Segregation
Cultural Segregation is the process that happens when one culture has 0 contact with the other and so they judge or have no information about the other culture.
Diffusion
Diffusion
In this process, two or more cultures collide to create a third. Diffusion does not only involve two cultures that blend together, rather it creates a new one with both cultures. An example of this event would be sub-categories of the USA, like Italian-Americans, African-Americans, etc.
Cultural Genocide
Cultural Genocide
Cultural Genocide is when a certain culture assures cultural domination but goes to the furthest extent to demolish the other culture. This often involves physical violence.
Direct Contact or Cultural Influence
Direct Contact or Cultural Influence
Direct Contact or Cultural Influence happens when one culture sees how another culture works and applies some of that culture's traits to their own. An example of this situation is tourism, because people may visit a country and like how they do certain things there and use it in their life when they're back into their culture.
Cultural Domination
Cultural Domination
Cultural Domination happens when one culture searches to overpower another for political or economical reasons. Colonialism is an example for this.
This source will be helpful for my research, because it directly links to my topic and research and it gives 5 different cultural interactions that may influence how you perceive yourself and what your views and values are.
I found it very interesting to learn about the different types of influence a culture may have on another. I think that some are more positive than others and some are more negative than others, but I don't think some situations are always avoidable, especially as we've seen throughout history. We can only learn from our mistakes and not make the same ones later on.
This is a video of a Youtuber that I really like. He explains in this video how some things in his life are about to change, since he's moving to Paris. Here are some quotes that I found very interesting:
"France is an incredible place, full of the most wonderful people and it is so much more than the stereotypes people automatically think of. And that's something that I really want to share with the world."
"I'm doing this because it occurred to me late last year, that I need a home base, a place that I can keep coming back to. I want to be able to see the same people each week and have that feeling of community. I keep ending up thousands of miles away from my friends. Unfortunately that place is not Portland, which is where I am right now and where I grew up."
"When you are in central Europe, a 2 hour plane flight will take you to a different country, with a different language and a different history and a different culture, I just LOVE that, I LIVE for that."
"I don't know why that excites me so much."
"I feel like I click with European values and the way of life."
All of the first part of this video really represents how I feel about being here in Montreal and I just really wanted to share this on my blog. I feel like when people leave their comfort zone, leave their country for the first time, they get inspired. They use their new knowledge of a country to grow and it inspires them to explore the world even more. The numerous countries a person visits always has an influence on them. Every time you get to learn a new culture or language, your identity changes, because there are some things that you relate to more in that culture than in your own. So, even though you've lived somewhere your whole life and expected to stay there your whole life, your heart may belong somewhere else.
Topic Sentence Ideas
Topic Sentence Ideas
- There are various types of cultural interactions, such as cultural influence, diffusion, and so on.
- Identity is shaped by the culture(s) one associates with.
- The different communities, languages, cultures, people, and so on, all shape who you are and that's what makes every single person unique.
I found this source in the Dawson Library as a PDF and I found it interesting and useful to my subject, because it talks about culture. It gives a more specific definition of what culture is and goes into detail about the whole subject. I will be using this source in my paper, because I'll talk about a few aspects that culture holds. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the different perspectives about this subject and that wants to have a deeper view of culture. I also like the way the author starts the book. He compares the different definitions of culture and explains each and every one of them, to then choose to focus on the ones that are most related to the subjects he talks about further in the book. We get a bit of interesting information from the beginning, it's a good way to start a book.
Source:
Eagleton, Terry. Culture. Yale University Press, 2016. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1231041&site=eds-live&scope=site.
In the text above, which I found in the Dawson College Library in the source listed below, it talks about how culture is important for identity and how identity is formed in adolescents and young adults, since it is around that age that we start to experiment and discover who we truly are as people, what our purpose is. This source will help me in writing my text, since I will be talking about what identity is and about all the ways identity is formed. And since I will be addressing culture and identity, this is a good source to prove that culture is indeed related to identity and that there's not one without the other.
Source:
Mercadal, Trudy. “Identity Formation.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=90558354&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Here is a cute little video that I found that shows all the good sides of Humanity and how culture drives different societies and makes the world a better place. We can also see the different aspects of culture, such as food, religion, language, and so on. I hope if will give everyone hope through the tough times we are going through!
I wanted to share this picture that I took in Cologne, Germany. I find that this picture says a lot about society nowadays. Americanization (Globalization) is happening all over the world, which can have its ups and downs. However, a society cannot survive completely without their own culture. Companies like McDonald's have to modify what they sell to their customers, and that's all thanks to culture. Food is an important part of culture and heritage of all the people around the world. So this Currywurst that they sell at McDonald's is a result of Americanization, yes, but I don't like that the world will be one simple culture, because people don't have the same dishes and tastes if you go to one place or another, it varies all the time. And I don't think this will ever change.
Here is an interesting drawing of a pupil in British Columbia, which is an example of what they study in their new curriculum. The BC government found it very important to include Personal and Cultural Identity as one of their core competencies, which shows the influence it has on our lives. Anything that you do in life is part of either your identity or your culture, or are even both. Where you come from, what you like to do, what you know, the way you think, everything is an influence from culture which then shapes your identity. This then forms your cultural identity, how you behave with and around your own and other cultures. I found that this was a really good example for my blog, because it shows that even children reflect on these things and
Citation: Core Competencies | Building Student Success - BC's New ... curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies.
In this blog, the ITJ Guadalajara student, Toshi Hayama, explains what cultural identity and self-identity are and I really liked his comparison of self-identity with a person's "personal backpack". It can include so many ideas and reasons behind one's behavior. I find it very interesting and it might be useful for my research paper. I hope you enjoy and learn a bit more about identity!
Citation: Hayama, Toshi. “What Is Cultural Identity? Self vs. Cultural Identity.” Toshi Hayama Portfolio, 30 Aug. 2017, toshihayama-portfolio.weebly.com/blog/what-is-cultural-identity-to-you.
Here is a very interesting video that I found about how culture affects your personality. One sentence that was very important to me was "Culture is not determined by borders". I found that sentence really powerful, because it relates to everything I have worked with and researched throughout this whole project. It proves that your culture and personality can be changed and affected in many different ways and by different things, such as your environment, throughout your life and that you don't always have to associate with one culture.
Conclusion
Conclusion
To conclude this whole blog, I would like to say that I really enjoyed learning about how culture influences your identity. It was a great topic to search and find out more about and it really made me think about how this applies to my life. It also made me more aware of why people behave in certain ways and therefore, can understand other cultures better. It still really fascinates me that culture is such an important topic in everyone's life, which makes me want to study it more and pursue it in my future studies.
I wanted to end this project with a self-reflection. For a while, I have known that I have never fully associated with one specific culture, since I've been surrounded by so many, as I explained in the introduction. However, I never knew why this was and to which extent culture did and still does indeed influence my personality. I found it odd that even though I live so far away from Germany, for example, that I still associated more with their culture than with Canadian culture, in which I've been raised for around 16 years. Sometimes, it's just unexpected and that's the beauty of it. Traveling opens up such opportunities and makes you grow as a person. It also makes you discover so much about the world around you, but also about yourself. So, opening myself up to other cultures really made me think about where I want to live, who I want to be, my personality overall as well and it made me the person I am today, without even noticing. All the differences of other cultures, whether it's the food, the language, the politics, the religion, the customs, and so on, always have an impact on your life and sometimes even change your identity or personality, since it comes from the environment you're in. This blog and research really opened up my eyes about this subject and I will always look out for such things, like how I take one specific aspect of a culture and apply or take it to my own. This will continue to change me for the rest of my life and I can't wait to explore more! Associating yourself to more than one culture or identity is never something to be ashamed of, in fact, it should be encouraged, as Amin Maalouf stated. So I encourage you all, dear readers, to do the same and find yourself in other cultures around the world!
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!
Sources
Sources
Bibliography
Bibliography
Core Competencies | Building Student Success - BC's New ... curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies.
“Culture Speaks.” UNESCO, 26 Feb. 2019, en.unesco.org/themes/protecting-our-heritage-and-fostering-creativity/talking-about-culture.
“Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's Most-Trusted Online Dictionary.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/.
Eagleton, Terry. Culture. Yale University Press, 2016. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1231041&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Hayama, Toshi. “What Is Cultural Identity? Self vs. Cultural Identity.” Toshi Hayama Portfolio, 30 Aug. 2017, toshihayama-portfolio.weebly.com/blog/what-is-cultural-identity-to-you.
Kidd, Warren, and Alison Teagle. Culture and Identity. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Maalouf, Amin. Les identités meurtrières. Grasset, 2001.
Mercadal, Trudy. “Identity Formation.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=90558354&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Stover, William James, and Mali A. Mann. “External Elements in the Construction and Demise of Ethnicity and Identity.” International Journal on World Peace, vol. 33, no. 4, Dec. 2016, pp. 69–79. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=119713343&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Youtube Videos
Youtube Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=315s&v=l-Yy6poJ2zs (How Culture Drives Behaviours, Julien S. Bourelle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx-1EthJeIg (How Culture Affects Your Personality, by Practical Psychology)
Bourrelle, Julien S. “Learn a New Culture.” TED, www.ted.com/talks/julien_s_bourrelle_learn_a_new_culture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YE1eAVCZqY (Some Things Are Coming to an End, by Nathaniel Drew)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpA6IBd4fek (Your Culture, Your Identity, by NCCA Philippines)
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