Intercultural Communications Post 2

The reading for week three was about identity and culture. Throughout the reading the book discussed how people did not necessarily like to categorize things under “culture” due to many wrong misinterpretations of who people really are. Instead the readings focused on the idea of  discourse, schemata, face and framework, social identity, and rhetorical devices. Many of the people did not like to associate with the term “culture” because it meant to describe how people behave in a given society. They preferred to use “cultural scripts” which articulated certain norms that people in a given society are familiar with. After reading I felt a little overwhelmed with all the diverse ways in which people had categorized a person’s identity and the idea of culture. There was so much thought put into the “roles” of people in different situations. Everyone does act differently in certain situations and sees things in ways other people don’t. I liked the example of how one would act at family dinner and act at a formal dinner. Since we understand what is expected of us at each of these and what is appropriate we act in different ways. For instance, in my family when we eat dinner together we wear comfy clothes, drink out of plastic cups, make jokes, laugh obnoxiously loud, and even put our elbows on the table. However, at a formal dinner these actions would be viewed as inappropriate. One would wear formal attire, speak and laugh at an appropriate level of loudness, and the conversation would not be as relaxed. This example provides evidence that sometimes people act the way in which  society wants and says is appropriate. This is normally what others see because it is at a public place. If someone were to be invited to a family dinner who only had seen this person act at a formal dinner, they would most likely be taken back at the actions in which they partake in with their family. Although we all act differently in diverse social settings and know that we ourselves act differently, it confuses me as to why when other people act differently it comes as a shock. I know I am guilty of it at times. However, because we are so used to basing our judgements off of society’s views and what we have learned from text books about others, we fail to see people as their own individuals. The connection I can make with this in my teaching is not categorizing my students and making judgements off of things that I have heard. I will get to know them on a different level other than just how they are supposed to act in a school setting or if they feel they need to act a certain way based on their “culture” due to them thinking they have to because that’s what society says. In order to do this I want to make my classroom a comfortable setting where everyone can feel welcomed and not have to worry about acting a certain way. I feel by doing this I will be able to build good strong relationships with my students and I will have the ability to know them as individuals. . How can you have your own identity if you are already given an “identity” based on your “culture”?