my culture then and now essay

Cultural Identity Essay

27 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author:  Elizabeth Brown

No matter where you study, composing essays of any type and complexity is a critical component in any studying program. Most likely, you have already been assigned the task to write a cultural identity essay, which is an essay that has to do a lot with your personality and cultural background. In essence, writing a cultural identity essay is fundamental for providing the reader with an understanding of who you are and which outlook you have. This may include the topics of religion, traditions, ethnicity, race, and so on. So, what shall you do to compose a winning cultural identity essay?

Cultural Identity Paper: Definitions, Goals & Topics 

Before starting off with a cultural identity essay, it is fundamental to uncover what is particular about this type of paper. First and foremost, it will be rather logical to begin with giving a general and straightforward definition of a cultural identity essay. In essence, cultural identity essay implies outlining the role of the culture in defining your outlook, shaping your personality, points of view regarding a multitude of matters, and forming your qualities and beliefs. Given a simpler definition, a cultural identity essay requires you to write about how culture has influenced your personality and yourself in general. So in this kind of essay you as a narrator need to give an understanding of who you are, which strengths you have, and what your solid life position is.

Yet, the goal of a cultural identity essay is not strictly limited to describing who you are and merely outlining your biography. Instead, this type of essay pursues specific objectives, achieving which is a perfect indicator of how high-quality your essay is. Initially, the primary goal implies outlining your cultural focus and why it makes you peculiar. For instance, if you are a french adolescent living in Canada, you may describe what is so special about it: traditions of the community, beliefs, opinions, approaches. Basically, you may talk about the principles of the society as well as its beliefs that made you become the person you are today.

So far, cultural identity is a rather broad topic, so you will likely have a multitude of fascinating ideas for your paper. For instance, some of the most attention-grabbing topics for a personal cultural identity essay are:

• Memorable traditions of your community
• A cultural event that has influenced your personality 
• Influential people in your community
• Locations and places that tell a lot about your culture and identity

Cultural Identity Essay Structure

As you might have already guessed, composing an essay on cultural identity might turn out to be fascinating but somewhat challenging. Even though the spectrum of topics is rather broad, the question of how to create the most appropriate and appealing structure remains open.

Like any other kind of an academic essay, a cultural identity essay must compose of three parts: introduction, body, and concluding remarks. Let’s take a more detailed look at each of the components:

Introduction 

Starting to write an essay is most likely one of the most time-consuming and mind-challenging procedures. Therefore, you can postpone writing your introduction and approach it right after you finish body paragraphs. Nevertheless, you should think of a suitable topic as well as come up with an explicit thesis. At the beginning of the introduction section, give some hints regarding the matter you are going to discuss. You have to mention your thesis statement after you have briefly guided the reader through the topic. You can also think of indicating some vital information about yourself, which is, of course, relevant to the topic you selected.

Your main body should reveal your ideas and arguments. Most likely, it will consist of 3-5 paragraphs that are more or less equal in size. What you have to keep in mind to compose a sound ‘my cultural identity essay’ is the argumentation. In particular, always remember to reveal an argument and back it up with evidence in each body paragraph. And, of course, try to stick to the topic and make sure that you answer the overall question that you stated in your topic. Besides, always keep your thesis statement in mind: make sure that none of its components is left without your attention and argumentation.

Conclusion 

Finally, after you are all finished with body paragraphs and introduction, briefly summarize all the points in your final remarks section. Paraphrase what you have already revealed in the main body, and make sure you logically lead the reader to the overall argument. Indicate your cultural identity once again and draw a bottom line regarding how your culture has influenced your personality.

Best Tips For Writing Cultural Identity Essay

Writing a ‘cultural identity essay about myself’ might be somewhat challenging at first. However, you will no longer struggle if you take a couple of plain tips into consideration. Following the tips below will give you some sound and reasonable cultural identity essay ideas as well as make the writing process much more pleasant:

• Start off by creating an outline. The reason why most students struggle with creating a cultural identity essay lies behind a weak structure. The best way to organize your ideas and let them flow logically is to come up with a helpful outline. Having a reference to build on is incredibly useful, and it allows your essay to look polished.
• Remember to write about yourself. The task of a cultural identity essay implies not focusing on your culture per se, but to talk about how it shaped your personality. So, switch your focus to describing who you are and what your attitudes and positions are. 
• Think of the most fundamental cultural aspects. Needless to say, you first need to come up with a couple of ideas to be based upon in your paper. So, brainstorm all the possible ideas and try to decide which of them deserve the most attention. In essence, try to determine which of the aspects affected your personality the most.
• Edit and proofread before submitting your paper. Of course, the content and the coherence of your essay’s structure play a crucial role. But the grammatical correctness matters a lot too. Even if you are a native speaker, you may still make accidental errors in the text. To avoid the situation when unintentional mistakes spoil the impression from your essay, always double check your cultural identity essay. 

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Essays about Culture and Identity: 9 Examples And Prompts

Writing essays about culture and identity will help you explore your understanding of it. Here are examples that will give you inspiration for your next essay.

Culture can refer to customs, traditions, beliefs, lifestyles, laws, artistic expressions, and other elements that cultivate the collective identity. Different cultures are established across nations, regions, communities, and social groups. They are passed on from generation to generation while others evolve or are abolished to give way to modern beliefs and systems.

While our cultural identity begins at home, it changes as we involve ourselves with other groups (friends, educational institutions, social media communities, political groups, etc.) Culture is a very relatable subject as every person is part of a culture or at least can identify with one. Because it spans broad coverage, there are several interesting cultural subjects to write about.

Our culture and identity are dynamic. This is why you may find it challenging to write about it. To spark your inspiration, check out our picks of the best culture essays. 

1. Sweetness and Light by Matthew Arnolds

2. how auto-tune revolutionized the sound of popular music by simon reynolds, 3. how immigration changes language by john mcwhorter, 4. the comfort zone: growing up with charlie brown by jonathan franzen, 5. culture and identity definition by sandra graham, 6. how culture and surroundings influence identity by jeanette lucas, 7. how the food we eat reflects our culture and identity by sophia stephens, 8. identity and culture: my identity, culture, and identity by april casas, 9. how america hinders the cultural identity of their own citizens by seth luna, 1. answer the question, “who am i”, 2. causes of culture shock, 3. your thoughts on dystopia and utopia, 4. gender inequality from a global perspective, 5. the most interesting things you learned from other cultures, 6. the relationship between cultural identity and clothes, 7. describe your culture, 8. what is the importance of honoring your roots , 9. how can a person adapt to a new culture, 10. what artistic works best express your country’s culture, 11. how has social media influenced human interaction, 12. how do you protect the cultures of indigenous peoples, 13. are k-pop and k-drama sensations effectively promoting korea’s culture , 14. what is the importance of cultural diversity.

“… [A]nd when every man may say what he likes, our aspirations ought to be satisfied. But the aspirations of culture, which is the study of perfection, are not satisfied, unless what men say, when they may say what they like, is worth saying,—has good in it, and more good than bad.”

Arnolds compels a re-examination of values at a time when England is leading global industrialization and beginning to believe that greatness is founded on material progress. 

The author elaborates why culture, the strive for a standard of perfection, is not merely driven by scientific passions and, more so, by materialistic affluence. As he esteems religion as “that voice of the deepest human experience” to harmonize men in establishing that ideal society, Arnolds stresses that culture is the effort to “make reason and the will of God prevail” while humanizing gained knowledge to be society’s source of “sweetness and light.”

“Few innovations in sound production have been simultaneously so reviled and so revolutionary. Epoch-defining or epoch-defacing, Auto-Tune is indisputably the sound of the 21st century so far.”

Reynolds shows how Auto-Tune has shaped a pop music genre that has cut across cultures. The article maps out the music landscape Auto-Tune created and examines its impact on the culture of song productions and the modern taste for music. While the author debunks accusations that Auto-Tune destroyed the “natural” process of creating music, he also points out that the technology earned its reverence with big thanks to society’s current custom of using technology to hide blemishes and other imperfections.

Looking for more? Check out these essays about culture shock .

“… [T]he heavy immigration that countries like Italy are experiencing will almost certainly birth new kinds of Italian that are rich with slang, somewhat less elaborate than the standard, and… widely considered signs of linguistic deterioration, heralding a future where the “original” standard language no longer exists.”

American linguist McWhorter pacifies fears over the death of “standard” languages amid the wave of immigration to Europe. On the contrary, language is a vital expression of a culture, and for some, preserving is tantamount to upholding a cultural standard. 

However, instead of seeing the rise of new “multiethnolects” such as the Black English in America and Kiezdeutsch in Germany as threats to language and culture, McWhorter sees them as a new way to communicate and better understand the social groups that forayed these new languages.

“I wonder why “cartoonish” remains such a pejorative. It took me half my life to achieve seeing my parents as cartoons. And to become more perfectly a cartoon myself: what a victory that would be.”

This essay begins with a huge fight between Franzen’s brother and father to show how the cultural generation gap sweeping the 60s has hit closer to home. This generation gap, where young adults were rejecting the elders’ old ways in pursuit of a new and better culture, will also be the reason why his family ends up drifting apart. Throughout the essay, Franzen treads this difficult phase in his youth while narrating fondly how Peanuts, a pop culture icon at the time, was his source of escape. 

“…Culture is… your background… and Identity is formed where you belong to… Leopold Sedar Senghor and Shirley Geok-Lin Lim both talks about how culture and identity can impact… society…”

In this essay, Graham uses “To New York” by Senghor and “Learning To Love America” by Lim as two pieces of literature that effectively describe the role of culture and identity to traveling individuals. 

The author refers to Sengho’s reminder that people can adapt but must not forget their culture even if they go to a different place or country. On the other hand, Lim discusses immigrants’ struggle to have double identities.

“Culture is something that surrounds all of us and progress to shape our lives every day… Identity is illustrated as the state of mind in which someone or something distinguishes their own character traits that lead to determining who they really are, what they represent.”

Lucas is keen on giving examples of how his culture and surroundings influence an individual’s identity. She refers to Kothari’s “If you are what you eat, then what am I?” which discusses Kothari’s search for her identity depending on what food she eats. Food defines a person’s culture and identity, so Kothari believes that eating food from different countries will change his identity.

Lucas also refers to “Down These Mean Streets” by Piri Thomas, which argues how different cultural and environmental factors affect us. Because of what we encounter, there is a possibility that we will become someone who we are not. 

“What we grow is who we are. What we buy is who we are. What we eat is who we are.”

Stephens’ essay teaches its readers that the food we grow and eat defines us as a person. She explains that growing a crop and harvesting it takes a lot of effort, dedication, and patience, which mirrors our identity. 

Another metaphor she used is planting rice: it takes skills and knowledge to make it grow. Cooking rice is more accessible than cultivating it – you can quickly cook rice by boiling it in water. This reflects people rich in culture and tradition but who lives simpler life. 

“Every single one has their own unique identity and culture. Culture plays a big role in shaping your identity. Culture is what made me the person I am today and determines who or what I choose to associate myself with.”

Casas starts her piece by questioning who she is. In trying to learn and define who she is, she writes down and describes herself and her personality throughout the essay. Finally, she concludes that her culture is a big part of her identity, and she must understand it to understand herself.

“When it comes to these stereotypes we place on each other, a lot of the time, we succumb to the stereotypes given to us. And our cultural identity is shaped by these expectations and labels others give us. That is why negative stereotypes sometimes become true for a whole group or community.”

In this essay, Luna talks about how negative stereotyping in the United States led to moral distortion. For example, Americans are assumed to be ignorant of other countries’ cultures, making it difficult to understand other people’s cultures and lifestyles. 

She believes that stereotyping can significantly affect an individual or group’s identity. She suggests Americans should improve their intellectual competence by being sensitive to other people’s cultures.

14 Prompts on Essays about Culture and Identity

You can discuss many things on the subject of culture and identity. To give you a starting point, here are some prompts to help you write an exciting essay about culture. 

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips and our round-up of the best essay checkers .

Understanding your personality is vital since continuous interaction with others can affect your personality. Write about your culture and identity; what is your personality? How do you define yourself? Everyone is unique, so by writing an essay about who you are, you’ll be able to understand why you act a certain way and connect with readers who have the same values. 

Here’s a guide on writing a descriptive essay to effectively relay your experience to your readers.

Sometimes, people need to get out of their comfort zone and interact with other individuals with different cultures, beliefs, or traditions. This is to broaden one’s perspective about the world. Aside from discussing what you’ve learned in that journey, you can also focus on the bits that shocked you. 

You can talk about a tradition or value that you found so bizarre because it differs from your culture. Then add how you processed it and finally adapted to it.

Dystopia and Utopia are both imagined worlds. Dystopia is a world where people live in the worst or most unfavorable conditions, while Utopia is the opposite. 

You can write an essay about what you think a Dystopian or Utopian world may look like, how these societies will affect their citizens, etc. Then, consider what personality citizens of each world may have to depend on the two worlds’ cultures.

Today, more and more people are fighting for others to accept or at least respect the LGBTQ+ community. However, countries, territories, and religions still question their rights.

In your essay, you can talk about why these institutions react the way they do and how culture dictates someone’s identity in the wrong way. Before creating your own, feel free to read other essays and articles to learn more about the global gender inequality issue. 

The world has diverse cultures, traditions, and values. When you travel to a new place, learning and writing about your firsthand experiences with unique cultures and rituals will always be an interesting read.

In this prompt, you’ll research other cultures and how they shaped their group’s identity. Then, write about the most exciting aspects you’ve learned, why you found them fascinating, and how they differ from your culture.

Those proud of their culture will wear clothes inspired by them. Some wear the same clothes even if they aren’t from the same culture. The debate over cultural appropriation and culture appreciation is still a hot topic. 

In this essay, you may start with the traditions of your community or observances your family celebrates and gathers for. Then, elaborate on their origins and describe how your community or family is preserving these practices. 

Learning about your roots, ancestors, and family cultures can help strengthen your understanding of your identity and foster respect for other cultures. Explore this topic and offer examples of what others have learned. Has the journey always been a positive experience? Delve into this question for an engaging and interesting essay.

When a person moves country, it can be challenging to adapt to a new culture. If there are new people at work or school, you can interview them and ask how they are coping with their new environment. How different is this from what they have been used to, and what unique traditions do they find interesting?

Focus on an art piece that is a source of pride and identity to your country’s culture, much like the Tinikling of the Philippines or the Matryoshka dolls of Russia. Explore its origins and evolution up to its current manifestation and highlight efforts that are striving to protect and promote these artistic works.

The older generation did not have computers in their teen years. Ask about how they dated in their younger years and how they made friends. Contrast how the younger generation is building their social networks today. Write what culture of socialization works better for you and explain why.

Take in-depth navigation of existing policies that protect indigenous peoples. Are they sufficient to serve these communities needs, and are they being implemented effectively? There is also the challenge of balancing the protection of these traditions against the need to protect the environment, as some indigenous practices add to the carbon footprint. How is your government dealing with this challenge?

A large population is now riding the Hallyu or the Korean pop culture, with many falling in love with the artists and Korea’s food, language, and traditional events. Research how certain Korean films, TV series, or music have effectively attracted fans to experience Korea’s culture. Write about what countries can learn from Korea in promoting their own cultures.

Environments that embrace cultural diversity are productive and innovative. To start your essay, assess how diverse your workplace or school is. Then, write your personal experiences where working with co-workers or classmates from different cultures led to new and innovative ideas and projects. Combine this with the personal experiences of your boss or the principal to see how your environment benefits from hosting a melting pot of cultures.

If you aim for your article to effectively change readers’ perspectives and align with your opinion, read our guide to achieving persuasive writing . 

Aisling is an Irish journalist and content creator with a BA in Journalism & New Media. She has bylines in OK! Magazine, Metro, The Inquistr, and the Irish Examiner. She loves to read horror and YA. Find Aisling on LinkedIn .

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How to Write an Essay about Your Culture

Do you need to write an essay about your culture but don’t know where to start? You’ve come to the right place! I’m Constance, and I’ll show you how to write an essay about your culture. I’ll guide you step by step, and we’ll write a sample essay together. Let’s dive in. 

Writing an essay about your culture includes 5 steps:

Step 1. Plan how many words you want in each paragraph.

When you know the exact number of words you need for an essay, planning the word count for each paragraph will be much easier. 

For example, a 300-word essay typically consists of five paragraphs and three key elements:

• The introductory paragraph.
• Three body paragraphs.
• The conclusion, or the concluding paragraph.

Here’s a simple way to distribute 300 words across the five paragraphs in your essay:

You’ll get 300 when you add up these numbers. 

Step 2. Decide on what your main and supporting points will be.

First, you must take a stand, meaning you must decide on your main point. What do you really want to say about your culture? Whatever you want to say, that becomes your thesis. 

For example, “My culture is very rich.” That is enough to get started. You’ll get a better idea of how to expand or tweak your thesis after the next step.

Next, divide your topic using the Power of Three to prove the point that your culture is rich using three supporting ideas.

The Power of Three effectively divides an essay’s main idea into its supporting points. It means your main idea is true because of the three reasons you will provide in the body. So, it is a three-part structure that helps produce your body paragraphs .

Let’s try it for an essay about Filipino culture!

For example, here are three supporting ideas explaining the richness of Filipino culture:

• The Philippines has incredible food .
• Traditional Filipino clothing reflects the country’s heritage.
• Family values in the Philippines are essential.

Great! Now we have everything we need to write an essay about Filipino culture. We’re all set for the next step!

Step 3. Write your introductory paragraph.

Here are the key components of an introductory paragraph you need to remember in writing your essay:

Our first sentence is the introduction, which should pull our reader into the world we want to portray in our essay.

And the rest of the introductory paragraph is our thesis statement. It includes our main idea and three supporting points.

Example of an introductory paragraph about culture

“Having been colonized for centuries, the Philippines boasts a vast heritage. It has a rich culture characterized by food, clothing, and family values. Filipino culture has delicious food inherited from diverse parts of the world and periods of conquest. Traditional Filipino clothing reflects the country’s history, as well. And Filipinos prize their family values probably above all else.”

Look at how the introductory paragraph goes from a general statement to specific ideas that support our main idea.

Our introductory sentence is a general statement that serves as the opening in our essay. It briefly sets the essay’s context. Next comes the thesis statement — our main idea. Finally, we have three supporting ideas for our thesis.

Step 4. Write your essay’s body paragraphs.

Again, a 300-word essay typically has three body paragraphs containing your three supporting ideas. Here’s how to structure a body paragraph:

Looking back at our word count plan, we know that our body paragraphs should have roughly 70 words each. Remember your word plan as you write.

Body Paragraph 1

“The Philippines boasts a diverse food culture. It reflects indigenous flavors and foreign influences, such as American, Spanish, Indian, and Chinese. Whether it’s a typical or special day, Filipinos love eating these various dishes with rice, a staple. For example, rice goes well with curry, noodles, and adobo. It is also common to see various foods like pizza, pancit, lumpia, paella, (Filipino-style) sweet spaghetti, cakes, and ice cream at parties.”

As you can see, the first sentence in this body paragraph is a topic sentence . It gives context to the paragraph and briefly summarizes it.

The second sentence explains why the Philippine food culture is considered diverse. 

The remaining sentences illustrate your main point (topic sentence) by providing examples, starting with rice in sentence 3.

Body Paragraph 2

“Traditional Filipino clothing reflects Philippine cultural heritage. Although Filipinos now conform to current fashion trends in their everyday lives, the traditional clothing style is often used during celebrations. The traditional fashion sense exhibits influences from indigenous tribes, Chinese immigration waves, the Spaniards, and Americans, portraying the chronology of Philippine historical events. For example, the Philippines’ national costume, the baro’t saya, is an elegant blend of Spanish and Filipino clothing styles. Even some modernized forms of clothing also display other global influences.”

Just like Body Paragraph 1, this paragraph follows the same structure outlined in the diagram. It proceeds from a general statement to more specific points :

• The topic sentence.
• An explanation.

Body Paragraph 3

“Family values are vital in the Philippines. The daily lives of most Filipinos revolve around close and extended family, making them known for their family-oriented lifestyle even when they’re overseas. It’s common for children to live with their parents after reaching legal age; some even stay after getting married or obtaining a job. Filipinos also cherish their extended families (aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins) and hanging out or celebrating significant events together.”

Once again, this paragraph follows the body paragraph structure. Now, we’re all set for the final step — the conclusion.

Step 5. Write the conclusion.

The easiest way to write a concluding paragraph for your essay on your culture is to restate your main idea and its supporting points using different words. You can even paraphrase your introduction — a time-proven method!

Let’s write the conclusion for our essay.

“Because of its history, the Philippines has a rich, diverse culture rooted in a vast heritage. Filipino cuisine is a blend of indigenous and foreign flavors. The nation’s history is reflected in its traditional clothing. And family values display a distinct Filipino trait.”

Note that this conclusion uses different words to restate the points we’ve already made, including those in the body paragraphs. 

Hope this was helpful. Now go ahead and write an essay about your culture!

Tutor Phil is an e-learning professional who helps adult learners finish their degrees by teaching them academic writing skills.

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Why I Am Proud of My Culture: Celebrating Identity

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Essay on My Culture

Students are often asked to write an essay on My Culture in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on My Culture

Introduction.

My culture is an integral part of who I am. It’s like a colorful tapestry, woven with traditions, customs, and values that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Family Traditions

Family traditions are a significant part of my culture. They include celebrating festivals, preparing and sharing traditional meals, and storytelling sessions that keep our heritage alive.

Language and Values

The language we speak at home is another cultural aspect. It connects me to my roots. Additionally, values like respect for elders, kindness, and honesty are cultural teachings I hold dear.

In conclusion, my culture shapes my identity, guiding my actions and thoughts. It’s a treasure I cherish and will continue to uphold.

Also check:

• Speech on My Culture

250 Words Essay on My Culture

Culture is an intricate tapestry, woven with threads of traditions, values, and experiences. It shapes our identity, influencing our beliefs and behaviors. My culture, a blend of South Asian heritage and modern Western influences, plays a significant role in defining who I am.

Traditional Roots

My culture is steeped in ancient traditions, each carrying profound meanings. From the vibrant festivals like Diwali, symbolizing the victory of light over darkness, to the daily rituals such as meditation, promoting inner peace, these customs provide a sense of belonging and continuity. They serve as a bridge, connecting me to my ancestors and their wisdom.

Western Influences

Growing up in a multicultural society, my culture has also been shaped by Western influences. The emphasis on individualism and freedom of expression has encouraged me to question, explore, and form my own beliefs. This fusion of cultures has led to a unique blend of values – respect for diversity, emphasis on education, and the pursuit of personal growth.

Impact on Personal Identity

My culture, a blend of tradition and modernity, has shaped my worldview and personal identity. It has taught me to appreciate diversity, strive for knowledge, and maintain balance in life. It has also instilled a sense of responsibility to uphold these values and pass them on to future generations.

Culture is not static; it evolves, influenced by time, place, and people. My culture is a testament to this dynamic nature – a harmonious blend of old and new, East and West. It is an integral part of my identity, shaping my thoughts, actions, and aspirations.

500 Words Essay on My Culture

Culture is the lifeblood of a vibrant society, expressed in the myriad ways we tell our stories, celebrate, remember the past, entertain ourselves, and imagine the future. Our creative expression helps define who we are, and helps us see the world through the eyes of others. As such, I take immense pride in my culture, a rich tapestry of traditions, customs, and values that shape my identity and worldview.

Defining My Culture

My culture is a beautiful amalgamation of shared beliefs, practices, and traditions that have been passed down through generations. It is a social construct, born out of the need for a collective identity, yet it is also deeply personal, shaping my individuality. It is a complex interplay of history, geography, religion, language, and art.

Language and Communication

Language, an essential component of my culture, is more than just a tool for communication. It encapsulates the essence of my cultural heritage, carrying with it the stories, wisdom, and ethos of my ancestors. Each idiom, each proverb, each dialect is a window into the collective experiences and values of my community.

Traditions and Rituals

The traditions and rituals of my culture are a testament to its rich history and diversity. They are symbolic, carrying profound meanings and lessons about life, community, and spirituality. These traditions, whether they are festive celebrations or daily rituals, connect me to my roots, providing a sense of continuity and belonging.

Values and Norms

At the heart of my culture lie the values and norms that guide my behavior and interactions with others. They instill in me a sense of responsibility, respect, and empathy, molding my character and influencing my worldview. These values, embedded in the fabric of my culture, serve as a moral compass, guiding me through life’s challenges and dilemmas.

Art and Expression

Art, in its many forms, is a powerful expression of my culture. It is a mirror reflecting society, a canvas depicting our dreams, fears, joys, and sorrows. Be it music, literature, dance, or visual arts, each piece is a thread in the intricate tapestry of my culture, adding depth, color, and texture to the narrative.

In conclusion, my culture is an intricate mosaic of shared beliefs, traditions, values, and artistic expressions. It shapes my identity, influences my worldview, and connects me to a community and history larger than myself. It is a source of pride and a beacon of diversity, reminding me of the richness of human experience. As I navigate my way through life, I carry with me the invaluable legacy of my culture, a testament to the resilience and creativity of my ancestors.

While cultures may vary enormously across the globe, they all share one thing in common: they are the lifeblood of human societies. They provide us with a sense of belonging and identity, and help us understand our place in the world. By cherishing and preserving our individual cultures, we contribute to the beautiful diversity of the human race.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on My Class Room
• Essay on My Class
• Essay on My Cat

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

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August 13, 2019

How to rediscover your roots and own your cultural identity.

I speak some broken-ass Hindi. Try as I might, I was never taught the language so I don’t know how to read, write, or speak much better than my six year old. It’s no wonder the day I landed in India to launch a new business, I made a total fool of myself.

I got to my guest house — which was an absolute mansion — and one of the servants brings my luggage to the room. Airport customs zip-tied the suitcase zippers together so I needed a pair of scissors to cut them open.

Waiting for instructions or a tip, I couldn’t tell which, the servant stands there at my service. I speak confidently, “Hamare liye do kachche le kar aao” which means “Please bring me two knives”. (I didn’t know the word for scissors so I said two knives instead.) 

Dude holds a straight face but I can tell I messed up. He looks at me and says, “Sir?”

And I am like, “do kachche (two knives) please.” He leaves the room and returns with a pair of scissors and cuts the zip-tie. I’m a genius! But then, he lays my suitcase down flat, opens the zipper, and starts to remove my clothes. This is some next-level service, dude’s taking out my clothes for me.  

Then it happens…

He hands me two pairs of underwear.

Turns out, kachche means underwear, which I had confused for the similar sounding kaynchi.

“Go Back To Where You Came From”

I know I’m not the only first-gen immigrant to mess something up in their parents’ mother tongue. It’s no wonder why so many of us were spoken to in our parents’ mother tongue but we responded in English. Many Americans pressure immigrants to assimilate, especially in a time when our president tells people of color to “go back to where you come from.” 

If you learn only one thing from me, it is this: When ignorant people tell you to go back to where you come from, you’re going to want to go against them to prove you’re just as American as they. Don’t make the mistake of disconnecting with your roots to prove the point that you don’t need to go back. You don’t need to move anywhere but you can stay connected to your roots.

I’ve struggled with cultural identity too, but I’ve also figured it out. That’s why I’ve written this, to help you reconnect and own your culture. 

How to Rediscover Your Culture

Eat your culture’s food .

Eat at restaurants from your culture in two different ways: Take your homies once, then go solo. 

When you roll with your friends, you’ll experience the food through an American lens. You can share your knowledge and in conversation see you already know more about your culture than you think. When we teach, we learn.

If you can’t answer your friends’ questions or feel embarrassed, then go solo. Find a joint where the servers are of the same culture and ask them questions about the food like:

• What part of the country does their menu pull inspiration from?
• What’s a meal that you love to eat but isn’t served in this restaurant? 
• If you could add something to the menu, what would it be? 

You can safely ask the staff questions about your culture and fill in the gaps without feeling embarrassed.

Read Authors Who Relate To You

You’ll find a growing list of authors who have brilliantly told stories that straddle your culture’s world and life in America. The first time I picked up Salman Rushdie’s book of short stories called “ East West ”, I was hooked. I’ve read every book he’s published since then and find that my life is richer as a result. Discovering that an Indian could write so eloquently about life in India and the U.S. opened me up to search for other authors who could do the same. For me, that’s been books like Arundathi Roy’s “ God of Small Things ” and Jumpa Lahiri’s “ Interpreter of Maladies ” and “ The Namesake” . Just Google “[ethnicity] American authors” and see what you find. There are also brilliant business books like Navi Radjou’s “ Juggad Innovation ”. 

Google Your Culture

Do some research on where your culture shows up in America. You’ll feel proud when you realize how many words, foods, and concepts come from your country that are so integrated you didn’t know it originally came from your culture. It’s important to see what your culture created brings value to Americans (even if there is a Westernized spin):

• What did [ethnicity] invent?
• What English words are of [ethnicity] origin?
• List of famous Americans of [ethnicity] origin

Travel to Your Parents’ Home Country

Plan a trip where you can blend tourism and meet your family (bonus if your trip includes a family wedding!). If you do just a tourist version of your country, you won’t reconnect with people who will shower you with love. 

Through pictures and stories, your family will show you how beautiful and culturally rich you are beyond your American experience. 

For us immigrants and children of immigrants, we aren’t able to easily live and celebrate our culture in the States. But when we visit our home country, we can see, hear, taste, and most importantly feel it. 

Bring Back a Cultural Ritual

During one trip to India, I saw my uncle go into his jewelry store, touch the ground, then put his hand to his head and heart. The symbolic ritual of blessing his store is a moment of humility and gratitude. It struck me: “Why haven’t I blessed my own workspace?” Now, every morning I perform the same ritual as my uncle and ask for blessings as I begin the day’s work.

Try on a New Sense of Identity

Try on a piece of traditional clothing on your trip. It doesn’t need to be expensive or fancy. You can usually find a cheap shirt from a streetside vendor and even if it doesn’t make it back home, the point is that by trying on a piece of clothing, you are, in a sense, trying on a new identity. 

I remember the first time I wore a blazer and how it completely transformed my confidence. I felt like a total poser at first but when my colleagues complimented me and even treated me with a bit more authority, I realized I it was all in my head. It’s up to you to carry yourself with confidence.

It’s the same for you when you wear traditional clothing. It’s an experiment where you can safely try on your culture without people judging your appearance. You may not vibe with the outfit, but that’s OK. What’s important is to disrupt and come to terms with our own cultural stigmas.

Learn How Your Culture Practices Self-Study

When you travel, you’ll have the opportunity to visit beautiful places of worship. Most people see the edifice, the art, the grandeur, but miss the subtle points. How are the people in those buildings working on themselves? How are they working on themselves when they’re not in a religious structure? What has your culture done for thousands of years to improve not their material status, but their inner lives?

For me, it was meditation, a practice that never stuck despite years of trying, until I went to India and properly learned the foundations to make it stick. When you start to search for self-development answers rooted in your culture, you may find rituals and tools that resonate and jumpstart your own inner growth. 

How to Own Your Cultural Identity

Practice cultural rituals for yourself .

Everything you do needs to be for the benefit of yourself and nobody else. Thus, all your rituals should be for your own inner journey, and when you’re grounded and comfortable, there’s no sense of embarrassment or judgment. 

If you do feel embarrassed or judged, then the only cure is to work on your inner-self so you stop getting hot and bothered by what other people think. 

Listen to Your Natural Selection

Though we’ve only discussed your parents’ culture, there are multiple cultures and subcultures you’ll feel called to. Adopt whatever feels natural. There are no rules to who you can be and what you identify with.

As a kid, I felt naturally called to the hip-hop community because it didn’t judge my background. In adulthood, I naturally selected the business and philanthropic communities. Listening to your nature, your soul, will help select things that you vibe with the most.

Know That Cultural Labels Are Fake

Labels have everything to do with the person using the label, and nothing to do with the person being labeled. Unless you’re an Indian fuckboy… oh wait ??‍♂️

Problems occur when our egos start to identify with the labels. When you realize you are not your ego, then all the labels are stripped off and you’re left with your true self.

Own Your Roots to Raise Your Vibe

Reconnecting with your roots is ultimately for your own personal growth and to raise your vibe. There’s a richness and vibrancy that comes from that connection and being able to own it while living in the U.S. By embracing our culture we can open our hearts to positive energy that will strengthen our cultural identity nobody can shake us from.  

I’d love to hear your stories of living in two worlds. Tell me in the comments the challenges you’ve had, any ridiculous mistakes you’ve made like ordering underwear, or what you’ve done to own your culture. I read every comment and will do my best to reply to each of you. 

Nice one ??… whatever you feel about India after Mairage with Natasha di you totally write it one by one ……1.first time travelling to India and your house jocks 2.your Mom language Hindi ? best one crackey language by your end ….with the servents is the best one…….deep detalling about feeling food, culture is nice one ….Yoga ,madetation all are good to active your self……I like it Jeju ?. No nagitive comments on this book?

Thanks for reading, Shobhit, and for not making fun of my tutti-futti Hindi 😉

It’s so nicely written. It is so appreciative that you have jotted the exact view or I can say your experience to motivate other people who have moved from here. I specially like Listen to your natural selection. We should always take what we specially like and what is correct. This is god gifted to you. All the best . Waiting for more reading from your side.

Andy, Literally fall in love with your writing after reading this. I am a first gen American, have my kids growing in this great country, I am working my ass off to give my kids a better life and at the same time I try my best to stay connected with my roots. I am going to launch a small business that has the theme : Going back to the roots. Will you write few word of wishes and blessings in my site’s page? Kind Regards, M.Haque

Manirul, I’m so happy this article touched you so deeply. I’d be happy to write a few words for your website. Just send me a message through social media or my contact form. Sending lots of blessings your way.

Just came across this article while discussing with art creatives the importance of yes while inclusive art is important ….. celebrating and acknowledging our differences is essential for any inclusive practices to be built on.

Brilliant read with practical and helpful suggestions.

Best wishes, Monica

What a great read! Five years ago I discovered that my grandmother was actually Russian, and I felt euphoric. I had felt drawn to Russia for years, but always felt that I wasn’t “allowed” to identify with it. Since then, I’ve been connecting with that part of myself.

I did make a very embarrassing mistake though, that haunts me even now. I had a Russian teacher and wanted to practice with her. I was very nervous, so when she asked for my name I responded with “I am doing well, thanks.” Then I started shaking and ran out the door! I e-mailed her later to apologize, and she just told me to keep practicing. I still feel so silly because of that! But nevertheless this has been an amazing journey of self-discovery.

reading this and using it in my essay about culture identity !

I would like you to get back to me on these issue about identity and cellphones Apple cell phones in fact thank yoy

I so enjoyed reading this! I discovered my ethnicities thru DNA. Adopted, I was told stories about my heritage to stop me from asking questions. I went thru a very severe identity crisis as a teen. At age 60, ALL I FELT, KNEW IN MY SOUL, WAS VERIFIED. Português, Indigenous, and African. (I wrote a book about my adoption journey.) I learned Português, still learning. It isn’t an easy language. LOL I went to Portugal. It was a rebirth. It was a connection I could only try to fully describe. The conflicting emotions were apparent when I went to the Discoveries Monument and felt the great conflict of pride and horror. Pride for the explorations, horror for what those discoveries cost the other half of my ancestry. Visited the first slave market, saw the auction block on the cliffs of Cape St Vincent. It was difficult to reckon with those roller coaster emotions. I heard a whisper if you will, telling me to use this inner conflict to remember to always be kind, good and to help people going forward. I cannot change the past. My Ancestors prevailed and used their faith, strength, family honor, wisdom passed down, and I can call on those now, as well. So. That’s what I discovered on the first of many trips to my personal heritage sights. My second book will include that part of ‘Claudiya’s journey’. Thank you for this great article! May you continue with love, good food, music, and much time with the elders so you can absorb all the history possible to hand down to your next 7 generations.

Australian in the US. Very helpful tips. Except the restaurant idea. But, after urging from my son, I’m seeking old school recipes. Thank you!!

All my life I’ve always felt very lost when it comes to my cultural identity. I’m half Mexican, with my father having immigrant parents. My dad looks very stereotypically Hispanic, and I do not at all. All my life I’ve always gotten the typical “white girl” jokes, and I’d just laugh along. But whenever I try to say anything about how I’m not 100% white, I normally get a sarcastic “omg it must be so hard being a Latina girly” (a direct quote by the way). So at this point, because I really don’t look Mexican at all, I’ve kinda just left that half of me behind.

My family emigrated from the Philippines to the U.S. when I was 8 years old and that was 37 years ago. Several months ago, I finally had the opportunity to go back and visit my relatives, and my childhood home. The experience was indescribable as all of my cultural shame and my hidden accent slowly became unimportant. In the three weeks I spent visiting places and talking to the Filipinos I realized how much time I had wasted feeling ashamed of my heritage. It didn’t matter that America was a giant melting pot because that only made sense in textbooks. It started with my dad who demanded we assimilate so we go unnoticed. This was important to him after our visas expired because he had no intention of ever going back to the islands. So we blended as much as possible. There were things we couldn’t control of course, like the color of our skin, our flat noses, and slanted eyes. But we did fairly well with masking our accents! Today and every day this year I’ve made a conscious effort to reverse the assimilation process. I try to speak more of my dialect, albeit broken. However, when in English mode–I will still hide any traces of my accent. Thanks for this article! Aleli (ah-lay-lee)

I am black and Hispanic. My mothers mother’s family are from the West Indies and my mother’s father is from Puerto Rico. Well they’re all basically from Puerto Rico. My grandparents fell in love in Puerto Rico and basically ran away to New York City. So my mom grew up and she’s got a thick new Yorker accent and she had 12 kids! I am the oldest and was born in Pa. Me and a few of my sisters were lost to the system and were adopted by a black American family. I felt and I know my mom sometimes feels it too, disconnected from my roots. I reconnected with my birth mom 5 years ago and she speaks Spanish and connects with her culture through language and cooking. As a woman with children now and my sons father being Puerto rican, I look at my little mixed babies and have this longing to connect with my people and my culture. So I am trying to learn how to speak Spanish. I think it is the best way for me connect. I also learn how to say and make different foods from my culture. And the closer I get, I feel like my whole lineage is just calling me back home to myself. Singing in Spanish. Dancing in Spanish lol, diving into spiritual practices. I feel connected and closer to my family and my roots. I know who I am. I don’t really feel connected to the Hispanic community in my city but I’ve just moved here and once I can speak with them I know I’ll be proud and I know my grandparents really proud and my mamas proud so ill feel differently! So yeah. Thank you for this article. Just makes me realize I’m not alone.

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a story about ditching the struggle and living in flow

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Narrative Essay about Culture and How It Has Shaped Me

Culture is a word that can mean a lot of different things to many different people. It can mean a way of life or belief, from attitudes and values, to how you choose to celebrate different holidays, even to the kind of food that you eat. To me, culture is a place or group of people where the attitudes, values, and expectations are shared amongst all that either were born into or shared the same attitudes, values and expectations.  It is a word that carries a lot of weight and everybody has been a part of some culture that has shaped them, myself included. I have had a multitude of cultures to thank for shaping me into who I am today. The most influential cultures I have been a part of and had the biggest impact on me are the cultures of my family, school and the many activities I was a part of, and my home away from home, Camp Abe Lincoln.

In my home with my family, the culture was one of success, family, and supportiveness. In my home it was always expected to put your best foot forward in all that you do whether that be the smallest activity like cleaning your room, or how you perform on a test. My father always told me to take pride in my work and that if I cannot stand confidently by my work that I had done, that it was not enough. It wasn’t the pursuit of perfection, but rather of reaching as far as you can and doing as well as you possibly could. If that was done, the outcome was always enough for my family. My mother was always my biggest cheerleader as well, which I believe the rest of the family picked up from her as well, adding a new layer of supportiveness into what anybody was doing into my family’s culture. My family is also extremely competitive, even from when I was young. Whether it was a video game against my father, or a game of tag against my siblings we all wanted to win no matter what. This competitiveness is definitely part of my family’s culture that was passed down to me. I believe that a lot of this comes from my heritage of being German, as my grandfather is one hundred percent German and brought that attitude with him when he came to America. An important part of German culture is how we celebrate holidays. Getting the whole family together and celebrating with as much food and positive energy as possible. We would always take trips to places where my whole family could meet up so that way we could celebrate christmas, thanksgiving, and birthdays together. Christmas was always special in my family, we would get all of my mothers family together and enjoy some German food and songs to celebrate the holidays. The feelings I would get from seeing cousins, aunts, and uncles from these gatherings taught me the importance of making sure to keep in touch and see your family, no matter the distance. The importance of success, family and supportiveness are just a few examples of what I have picked up from one of the cultures I have been a part of. The next culture I was introduced to would show me many new meanings I long thought I had already figured out.

Another culture that helped shape me into who I am today is the culture of the schools that I went to as well as the clubs and activities I was involved in. I know it’s not a very typical place to consider a culture but hear me out. I had played sports for my whole life and the culture around school sports was very similar to the one that I had experienced in my home which is why I was drawn to them. However, I grew tired of the culture around football at my school and looked for other outlets to be a part of something and I eventually ended up in band. Immediately I could tell things were different than what I was accustomed to. In football, I never felt as if I were part of a group, but an individual expected to put in the work on my own to put my best foot forward for the game. There it was as if everybody was a part of a big family and welcomed me in my freshman year with open arms and warm smiles. They had no care for how good you were at playing your instrument or if you put in extra work, they were nice and welcoming regardless of all that. The culture was one of mutual respect and kindness to all. They were always supportive and accepting of whoever you were regardless of gender, sexuality, race or any other factors similar to those. I consider myself very lucky to have been a part of a culture like that as it changed the way I felt not only about myself, but all others around me as well, teaching me to accept others with a smile and zero judgement for almost anything. They also defined success in a very different light than what I had been accustomed to. In the music world, the pursuit of goals is not always defined by success , but rather growth from where you started to where you finished. That way of defining success led me to try many new things that I never thought I would, such as singing in shows, dancing, and tons of other options that I would have otherwise, and previously had, dismissed without a second thought.  It also introduced me to how it’s ok to be yourself and put the best version of yourself forward as it is your most authentic self. This alone has led numerous people, myself included, to lead a happier, more fulfilling life of being who you were rather than who somebody expected you to be. Not to mention the creativity, the culture around music is different than anything I have ever experienced. Creativity, confidence, and giving everything you have is the key when it comes to everything that you would do, whether that's singing, dancing, acting, playing your instrument, or even the way that you are talking to your peers. This was a new and refreshing culture to be a part of, however there is one more that I can say had an equally big impact on me, if not bigger.

The last, and quite possibly most important culture to me, is the one that I experienced at a summer camp by the name Camp Abe Lincoln. Camp Abe Lincoln is a YMCA run camp that is open year round that I would attend every single summer of my life until I eventually became a staff there as well. The culture of that camp is fairly simple. They prided themselves on four core values that, if you had and showed, would make you a more complete and better human. These four values are caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. As a camper in this camp it taught me many things from every age. When I was young and in elementary school I was a shy kid who was scared of his own shadow, but when I went to that camp every person I encountered was so kind and caring it made me feel safe and at home. That alone is something I picked up from that culture from a young age. It taught me to also never judge someone from how they dress, where they came from, or what they were interested in. Just because somebody was not the exact same as you doesn’t mean you couldn’t be friends with others. Being in an environment where I was to be with five to ten kids from every walk of life for a whole week taught me all those values. Not to mention this is the place where I was taught how to believe in myself and that if you push past your limits you will be amazed at what the outcome is. We had this 50 foot tall wooden tower that I was scared to death of. For a long time I never even considered getting close to that monster, but my peers and my counselors expressed belief in me and because of that, I got on that tower. Never got to the top but I was amazed that I even made it onto it in the first place. Putting your belief in others and pushing people to reach their max potential is something that I have felt and that I continue to practice in my daily life.  As I got older, I realized that the values I learned there when I was a child still apply to all that you do. I have always made an effort to put my faith in others to help them reach their potential in whatever they do, treat them with as much kindness and respect as possible, no matter the age. Whether you were the youngest person on site, or somebody who had been there for years it was no different. As I began to work there, I could see the change in how people would react from the beginning of the week to the end from those values. It was very rewarding to have put my faith and best foot forward for others and to see the positive growth and change from  anybody, whether it be a fellow counselor or any number of children that would be under my guidance for the week. The feeling of helping others in such an impactful way is something that was supported and encouraged by their own culture and it is something I carry with me every day I wake up. The culture was always to have anybody who showed up there leave as a better version of themselves and I cannot think of a more impactful or meaningful culture than that.

Overall, I truly believe that everybody is shaped by some culture that they become a part of. Cultures have such a unique effect to teach you new attitudes and beliefs just by being a part of them. In my case it was my family, school and the activities I took part in, and my second home at Camp Abe Lincoln. I am aware that my opinion on culture may be different than everybody else’s but culture is a word that carries a lot of weight. It means a lot of different things to many people, and the cultures I have been a part of certainly meant a lot to me.

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My Cultural Identity Essay: A Guide to Writing about Who You are

October 12, 2015

A cultural identity essay is a paper that you write exploring and explaining how your place of upbringing, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, and family dynamics among other factors created your identity as a person. Even facts such as what activities you took part in as a child can be part of your cultural identity. Your culture identity is ultimately the group of people that you feel that you identify with. The thought process behind this is known as cultural identity theory. To get a better idea of this, take a look at this single paragraph blurb of information that you might see in a culture identity essay. After reading, you can easily  write my paper  and feel comfortable getting grades as high as you can imagine.

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I was born in rural Missouri, but my family moved to St. Louis before I was a year old. My mother is 100 percent Irish and comes from a family that identifies very strongly with Irish culture. My father is Middle Eastern, but was adopted by an English family who moved to the United States when he was 5. We lived in a pretty big house in a subdivision. My parents had two more kids after me, they were both boys as well. My father wasn't religious, but my mom was a practicing Catholic. She went to mass every week. My brothers and I both had first communion and were confirmed, but stopped going to church as teenagers. We weren't really encouraged to play sports because our parents thought we should focus on our studies. They really emphasized math and science. I did well in these classes, but I didn't enjoy them. In high school, I became active in music and theater. Most of my friends were also into that as well. I earned a scholarship to study engineering on the East Coast, but I dropped out as a sophomore. I returned home to study music, needless to say my parents were disappointed. My brothers both pursued careers in technical fields. One is a mechanical engineer and the other is a software engineer. I am close with my family, but we do not have much in common. My circle of friends is fairly varied when it comes to race, ethnicity, religion, and economic background, but it consists almost entirely of people who are artists, musicians, writers, or people involved in those industries.

Keep in mind that your essay samples may look nothing like this. In our example, the writers choice of career, talents, and interests influenced his cultural identity more than his religious, ethnic background, or family values did. This may not be the case for you. Remember that when you are writing your paper there are no wrong answers. You just have to ask yourself insightful questions and keep the theory of cultural identity in mind as you write. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• How did the foods I ate as a child influence my identity
• Did I look different from the kids I went to school with? How did that impact me?
• Did birth order influence who I am as an adult?
• Does my life today match the life I was raised in?

While being committed to a number of charitable causes, like volunteering at special events or giving free art lessons to children, Marie doesn’t forget her vocation – writing. She can write about almost anything but has focused on time management, motivation, academic and business writing.

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October 12 2015

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Then and Now: Global History and Culture

Welcome to our podcast. Current episodes feature lectures from my global culture and history course at the University of Minnesota. The podcast title ( Then and Now )  reflects the relationship between today's events with the history forces from the past.

When the podcast began in 2006, it was a project with students in my global history course. We worked together to: (a) review of history topics in the course' (b) special music episodes connecting a country's culture with its artistic production through music; (c) special interview episodes with voices of students and community members as they were part of historical events; (d) 'podcast rebroadcasts' that other history podcasters gave permission to rebroadcast one of their episodes; and (e) music videos that featured important slides from the unit PP presentation. Every episode featureded some of the best independent music artists from a website that makes available podcast-approved songs. Share comments about the podcast with the course instructor, David Arendale, [email protected]   I am an associate professor  at UMN.  Visit my personal website for other history-related content and other information, http://arendale.org   

The following links allow you to subscribe: Apple Podcast , Amazon Music/Audible , Castbox.fm , Deezer , Facebook , Gaana, Google Podcast , iHeartRadio , Player.fm , Radio Public , Samsung Listen, Stitcher , TuneIn , Twitter , Vurbl , and YouTube . Automatically available through these podcast apps : AntennaPod, BeyondPod, Blubrry, Castamatic, Castaway 2, Castbox, Castro, iCatcher, Downcast, DoubleTwist, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podcast Republic, Podcatcher, RSSRadio, and more.

Please post comments to the individual episodes, post to the iTunes podcast review and rating section, and email to me, [email protected] You can also check out David's other four podcasts and social media channels at www.davidmedia.org   Thanks for listening. 

(Bonus) Post-Cold War Era - Wikipedia

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(Bonus) The  post –Cold War era  is a period of history that follows the end of the  Cold War , which represents history after the  dissolution of the Soviet Union  in December 1991. This period saw many former  Soviet republics  become  sovereign  nations, as well as the introduction of  market economies  in  eastern Europe . This...

(Bonus) The Strategic Defense Initiative - Wikipedia

(Bonus) The  Strategic Defense Initiative  ( SDI ), nicknamed the " Star Wars  program ", was a proposed  missile defense  system intended to protect the United States from attack by  ballistic   strategic nuclear weapons  ( intercontinental ballistic missiles  and  submarine-launched ballistic missiles ). The concept was announced on...

(Bonus) The Day After movie - Wikipedia

(Bonus) The Day After  is an American  television film  that first aired on November 20, 1983 on the  ABC  television network. The film postulates a fictional war between the  NATO forces  and the  Warsaw Pact  over  Germany  that rapidly escalates into a full-scale  nuclear exchange  between the  United States  and the  Soviet Union ....

The Cold War: End of the Conflict, 6 of 6

S16-E01 Topics: Strategic Defense Initiative, The Day After movie, Eastern Europe Collapse, Post Cold War Era.

The following links allow you to subscribe: iTunes and Apple Podcast , Amazon Music/Audible , Castbox.fm , Deezer , Facebook , Gaana, Google Podcast , iHeartRadio , Player.fm , Radio Public , Samsung...

(Bonus) The Balfour Declaration - Wikipedia

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(Bonus) The  Balfour Declaration  was a public statement issued by the  British Government  in 1917 during the  First World War  announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in  Palestine , then an  Ottoman  region with a small minority  Jewish  population. The declaration was contained in...

About the Podcast

"Then and Now" connects events from the past with today's news headlines. Current episodes are history topics from my global culture and history course. In 2006, the podcast started with students in my introductory global history and culture course at the Univ of Minn. Previous episodes reviewed history topics, special music episodes connecting a country's culture with its music, interviews with voices of students and community members as they were part of historical events, and other topics. Episodes featured independent music artists. Share comments about the podcast with David Arendale, [email protected]

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It’s Never Too Late To Get In Touch With Your Cultural Background

Rediscovering Your Cultural Identity Is Possible

Like many other children of immigrants growing up in a white-centric community, I tried to hide my identity most of my formative years. Whenever my mom would pick me up from school and call out, “Fang Fang!” (my Chinese name), I’d shush her. “Speak Ennnnnglish , Mom,” I’d whisper. I remember kids asking me why my eyes look the way they do. I remember getting off the school bus and running home in tears, telling my parents that kids were teasing for being different.

“Why do I have to be Chinese?” I’d ask.

“It’s who you are,” my dad would say. “Be proud of your heritage. Be proud of being Chinese.”

“ It was easier to blend in, adopt a palatable Midwestern identity, and just completely ignore your cultural background. ”

Easy for him to say, I thought. He doesn’t have to deal with elementary school bullies. For a young girl in suburban Ohio, being proud of your heritage was no easy feat. It was easier to blend in, adopt a palatable Midwestern identity, and just completely ignore your cultural background. That’s how I spent many of my younger years, at least—and now, in my late twenties, I’m regretting it.

I don’t think I’m alone in this. Many of my Asian friends (and friends from other ethnic backgrounds) experienced similar childhood bullying. Blending in felt like a means of survival in those daunting years. Like me, many eventually moved to coastal cities where there is more diversity, and now feel more accepted for who they are (and accept themselves for who they are). Everywhere I go in LA, I see others—old and young—who look like me.

But when I’m around native Mandarin Chinese speakers in Chinatown or the San Gabriel Valley (China City, as some call it), I suddenly feel like I stand out yet again. This time, for not being able to speak my native tongue fluently and for being out of touch with my very rich cultural background. As I listen to the vibrant Chinese conversations around me, I worry it’s too late. I worry I’m too whitewashed and there’s no way I can walk the line between my Midwestern upbringing and Chinese identity.

“ I will always be Chinese-American, and it’s never too late to explore my identity. ”

I also realize, the older I get, that these worries—while valid—don’t have to play out to be true. I will always be Chinese-American, and it’s never too late to explore my identity. Now that I have an appreciation for my culture, I can take the time to explore different facets of it, from food to traditions. Sometimes that’s easy. I will never pass up dim sum, Chinese baked goods, or bubble tea. I’m always down to try new Chinese fare.

Then, there are other more difficult aspects I am trying to understand, like the turbulent politics and history my parents lived through, under Mao Zedong’s reign, that shaped them. It’s something I’ve researched a lot and have begun discussing with my parents in more recent years.

When I traveled to China more than a decade ago with my family, I was fifteen and all about the shopping, fashion, food, and photo ops. I am now planning another trip to China (finally!) during which I’ll explore historical landmarks, visit my parents’ hometowns, really take in aspects of Chinese culture, attempt to relearn the language (I was fluent as a child but lost it over time), and reconnect with my family overseas. I’ve enlisted my cousin in New York City—my only extended family member that lives in the states—to visit with me and be my tour guide. He’s happy to do it, and says his friends will think I’m “cool” for being American. We’ll see about that.

Reconnecting with my culture is very important to me. As my parents get older and I live across the country from them, I am desperate to feel this connection with them. They did a bold thing in moving to the U.S., and there is a huge part of their lives before that I’ll never fully understand (and didn’t want to understand as a child). I hope to have a better grasp on my culture as I go through the years, and I hope to use that knowledge as a way to bond with my parents and relatives overseas.

“ There were many times when I felt alone growing up. I realize now, I am far from alone. ”

I also hope to use what I learn as a way to feel more connected to myself. I want to get in touch with my identity, as a first generation Chinese-American. There were many times when I felt alone growing up. I realize now, I am far from alone.

I’ve made wonderful Asian-American friends with whom I feel solidarity and a special connection. Plus, all it takes is a quick Internet search to see videos and read accounts of other Chinese-Americans sharing their experiences. I hope this helps me find greater community both in LA and eventually in China.

It’s easy to blame yourself for not putting in the work to discover your cultural roots. For a long time, I was upset at myself for rejecting Chinese culture, but the thing is—it’s really never too late. With the world becoming more interconnected than ever, there are endless resources and communities online—and in the real world—that can bring your closer to yourself, and to others like you.

RELATED READING

Belinda Cai is a multimedia journalist who frequently writes about lifestyle, social and environmental justice, and identity and culture. She has a master’s in journalism and communications from the University of Southern California, and hails from Cincinnati, Ohio. When she’s not writing, she’s Wikipedia-spiraling, staying active, enjoying nature, and thrifting. Check out her website and Instagram .

YaleGlobal Online

Lessons from history: globalization then and now.

PRINCETON: Many people wish that globalization would simply stop. After September 11, some critics of globalization, such as the British philosopher, John Gray, thought that the process they detested so much had indeed come to an apocalyptic end. This view fails to specify what has replaced globalization; it is also wrong. The world is still very interdependent, though that interdependence makes for a great vulnerability.

Since September 11, the debate about globalization has changed in two significant ways. The first is a direct product of the terrorist attack. Every part of the package that had previously produced such unprecedented economic growth in many countries - the increased flow of people, goods, and capital - now seemed to contain obvious threats to security. Students and visitors from poor and especially from Islamic countries might be "sleeper" terrorists; or they might become radicalized through their experience of western liberalism, permissiveness, or the arbitrariness of the market economy. It soon became apparent that customs agencies scarcely controlled the shipment of goods any longer, and that explosives, or even ABC (atomic, biological, chemical) weapons might easily be smuggled. The free flow of capital, and complex bank transactions, might be used to launder money and to supply funding for terrorist operations.

It is natural and legitimate to suggest that all these areas should be subject to more intense controls. But every sort of control also offers a possibility for abuse by people who want controls for other reasons: because skilled immigrant workers provide "unfair" competition, because too many goods are imported from cheap labor countries; or because capital movements are believed to be destabilizing, producing severe and contagious financial crises. A new debate about the security challenge offered the chance to present older demands for the protection of particular interests in a much more dramatic and compelling way. Protectionists of all sorts suddenly had a good story.

The demand for more controls - almost always dressed up as a concern for national security - was characteristic of past eras in which globalization broke down. The most chilling experience of the intensification of controls during the last century was in the Great Depression. Many of the policies implemented in the 1920s and 1930s (immigration restriction; or trade control) were not fundamentally novel, but they could be dressed up in a new way as answers to the security issues raised by the First World War. They were more extreme versions of ideas developed in the nineteenth century as protective shields from the fierce winds of international competition. As the world economy looked more disorderly and threatening in the aftermath of the First World War, such solutions appeared even more attractive. What had before 1914 been safety nets against excessive globalization became after the World War gigantic snares which now strangled the world economy. Capital controls were introduced to combat speculative exchange movements, quotas to supplement tariffs in restricting unwelcome trade.

People who might move capital (because they thought that regimes were unstable) were now depicted as national traitors. In Central Europe, against a background of ferocious anti-Semitism, capital control legislation was used in particular to penalize Jews. In a recent analogy, during the Asian crisis of 1997-8, in many ethnically diverse states, such as Indonesia or Malaysia, it was claimed that the Chinese population saw itself as belonging to a greater China, and was particularly liable to move funds, and hence was a security risk. Today, with increased uncertainty and a high likelihood of war in the Middle East or the Gulf, it is easy to think that Arab or Islamic transactions will be looked at as subversive of security.

Terror has helped to create a new mood of suspicion, of polarization, and of a search for enemies - and that indeed was one of its purposes. In this way it has inevitably enhanced the vulnerability of the world to new economic shocks.

The second new development looks as if it is independent of the terror issue, although it too revolves around the discussion of America's role in the world. Paul Krugman quickly concluded that the impact of Enron would be more dramatic than the damage done by September 11. The combination of worldwide stock price declines with the revelation of some major cases of accounting fraud in the United States has produced a moral crisis of capitalism. Particularly outside the United States, countries, politicians and business leaders who previously listened to Americans proclaiming the superiority of the American way of life, now have a quite acute Schadenfreude. Enron was the banana skin on which American capitalism slipped. Prominent European business executives, like Jean-Marie Messier, Ron Sommer, and Thomas Middelhoff, are blamed and sacked for being too Americanized. In many countries, a fierce debate started about the pay and compensation of senior business figures.

Again, there are historical parallels for such a response. In previous periods, as today, greater market integration, and increased long distance trade, created new opportunities and new riches. But in the past, many people felt that there was something illegitimate about the great gains and the resulting large inequalities. The Renaissance and the great age of European explorations was also a period of great poverty (because of the population growth rather than because of the dynamism of the economy). Moralists such as the fiery Florentine friar Savonarola or the dyspeptic German Martin Luther fulminated against luxury and long distance trade. Luther believed that "foreign trade, which brings from Calcutta and India and such places wares like costly silks, articles of gold, and spices - which minister only to ostentation but serve no useful purpose, and which drain away the money of land and people - would not be permitted if we had proper government and princes." In the late nineteenth century, Karl Marx and Richard Wagner and many others excoriated the ills of luxurious and sinful capitalism. The expansion of trade had often been associated with new opportunities for greed, corruption, and self-enrichment; and many commentators rapidly reached the conclusion that this was all there was to the new developments.

Most of the protesters then thought in terms of some simple moral alternative, theological or quasi-theological. In the mid-twentieth century, there were apparently simple and appealing alternative models - offered by leaders who saw it as their mission to formulate a new philosophy for the state, Mussolini, Hitler, or Stalin.

Today's globalization, apparently driven by financial flows and financial institutions, offers many examples analogous to the scandals of the past. Enron looks as if it will be the starting point of a new debate; but it is quite unclear what will be the outcome of that debate. An immediate response is to call for more regulation, but regulation is always designed to do something. What should the goals of a new regulation be?

In the twentieth century, the regulatory traditions reflected one of two opposed social philosophies: one conservative, designed to stop new developments that might be disequilibrating or disturbing; and the other social democratic, designed to provide compensation for the victims of change and innovation. But today these old political movements of the twentieth century are largely exhausted. Classic conservatism is dead because the world is changing too rapidly for conservatism as stasis to be coherent or appealing any more. Classic socialism has also largely disappeared politically, because the rapidity of change and the mobility of factors of production across national frontiers erodes traditional labor positions in exactly the same way. The bankruptcy of these two very respectable but now quite out-moded positions leaves the path open for a new populism, based on an anti-globalization groundswell, that is inward-looking and likes the idea of the revival of the nation as a protective bulwark against foreign goods and foreign migrants and foreign ownership. The populist reformulations are fundamentally at odds with the universal values which still form a core of western political traditions.

The alternatives that at the moment command more electoral sympathy are anti-corruption (in practice anti-incumbent) movements, and consumer-interest advocacy. Politics in advanced industrial countries have become in the post-Cold War, new globalization era, increasingly centered around this twin set of issues, which do not raise either classical redistributional themes, nor fundamentally challenge the process and progress of globalization. All of these developments had become quite apparent before the stock market collapses and the corporate scandals.

Sometimes it is claimed that this transition is due simply to the end of the Cold War, which in providing convenient external enemies held politics frozen in place. This thesis is true to the extent that no other compelling and over-arching issue replaced the Cold War. Then more or less simultaneously, the Italian Christian Democrats disintegrated, the British Conservative Party suffered from a succession of "sleaze" cases, France's political parties competed in trading revelations and allegations about François Mitterrand's corruption on the one hand and the affairs of Jacques Chirac's Gaullists on the other, the funding practices of Helmut Kohl's "system" were exposed, and President Bill Clinton moved from one fund-raising and campaign finance scandal to another. Enron and Halliburton appear to offer another type of link between business and political corruption.

Exposure of corruption as the major form of domestic politics in every industrial country has brought a politics of negativity. A more positive modern political direction is concerned with the protection of consumer interests: the restriction of tobacco advertising, automobile safety, and - for Europe - most importantly, food safety in the face of a succession of scares about disease and infection.

Almost always these new political issues are attached to the globalization debate. It is the products from far away that pose a threat. For a long time, before the eruption of the BSE and then the foot and mouth disease problems, the European food safety obsession focused on the alleged (and undemonstrated) perils of U.S. hormonally fed beef, and then on the possible dangers of genetic engineering. Then BSE and foot and mouth seemed new cases of the perils of trade in foodstuffs that went across national borders. Continental Europe saw them as cases of British lack of hygiene and recklessness, while Britain blamed foot and mouth on waste products imported from China.

Disgust at traditional politics, revulsion against the immorality of the market, and the search for home grown answers to the moral crisis: these were and are the characteristics of the downward phase of the cycles of integration and disintegration which the world has repeatedly seen. But at the moment there is no simple and coherent ideological solution to the challenge posed by globalization, unless it is the very radical one of some versions of Islamic fundamentalism.

Harold James is a professor of history at Princeton University.

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Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Childhood — Childhood Experiences: The Differences of Then and Now

Childhood then Vs Now: Differences and Similarities

• Categories: Childhood Childhood Development Childhood Experience

About this sample

Words: 1304 |

Published: Apr 8, 2022

Words: 1304 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Works Cited

• Boyd, D. (2014). It's complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press.
• Cashmore, E. (2013). Childhood as spectacle: Relays of cultural meaning and the construction of children's identities. In T. Skelton, B. Valentine, & S. Chambers (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Cultural Geography (pp. 382-394). Routledge.
• Gardner, H. (2011). The unschooled mind: How children think and how schools should teach. Basic Books.
• Gee, J. P. (2012). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses (4th ed.). Routledge.
• Ito, M., Baumer, S., Bittanti, M., Boyd, D., Cody, R., Herr-Stephenson, B., ... & Tripp, L. (2010). Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out: Kids living and learning with new media. MIT Press.
• Livingstone, S. (2018). Children and young people in a changing media environment. In The Routledge Handbook of Children, Adolescents and Media (pp. 1-16). Routledge.
• McFarland, D. A., & Pals, H. M. (2005). Motivation and social movements : The role of proximity and distance in framing the mobilization of 1968. American Sociological Review, 70(1), 65-85.
• Turkle, S. (2015). Reclaiming conversation: The power of talk in a digital age. Penguin Books.
• Twenge, J. M. (2017). iGen: Why today's super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy--and completely unprepared for adulthood--and what that means for the rest of us. Atria Books.
• White, M. (2013). The rise of the children's culture wars: Why 1990s youth and young adult fiction matters to the modern world. Scarecrow Press.

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