CURTIN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDIA, CREATIVE ARTS AND SOCIAL INQUIRY COMS1003 Culture to Cultures ASSIGNMENT 3 CRITACAL REFLECTION COVER PAGE AND QUESTIONS (ALL SECTIONS MUST BE COMPLETED) STUDENT NAME: MOLLY MICHAEL STUDENT ID: 19453318 SUBMISSION DATE: 13/11/2020 If submitting after the due date, do you have a CAP or been granted an extension? Yes / No WORD COUNT: 1200 (Use this as a guide: Total word count of document minus template word count 598) TUTORIAL DAY AND TIME: Online TUTORS’ NAMES: Andrea Dodo-Balu, Barb Bynder Cultural protocols – Have you followed Cultural Protocols? It is important for students to follow Culture Protocols in all submitted assignments. Information is available in the assignment area on Blackboard. DECLARATION: I declare that I have retained a copy of this assignment. I have read and understood Curtin University policies on Plagiarism and Copyright and declare that this assignment complies with these policies. I declare that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted previously in any form for assessment. Electronic signature: Molly Jo Michael Date: 12/11/20 1 Contents Acknowledgement to country .......................................................................................... 3 1. Reflect on your engagement with Cultural Protocols: ................................................. 4 2a. Critical reflection involves thinking about how assumptions can be challenge. Identify 2 assumptions you had at the start of semester about race, culture and identity. Reflect on how the different aspects of learning (eg: tutorial/online discussions, readings, lectures, assignments, your own research, the concepts/theories) from Culture to Cultures can be used to explain or challenge these assumptions ...................................................................................................................... 5 2b. How will this knowledge affect your future interactions with culturally and linguistically diverse people?............................................................................................ 6 3. In the unit we have explored a range of theories, concepts, ideas and issues around identity. Reflect on how learning about these has affected the way you see your own identity.............................................................................................................................. 6 4. What is your understanding of critical cosmopolitanism? Critically reflect on how the concept of critical cosmopolitanism would impact your future professional or personal life. .................................................................................................................................... 6 References ........................................................................................................................ 8 2 Acknowledgement to country I wish to begin my assessment with an acknowledgement to the custodians and traditional owners of the land where I am able to work, study and live - the Whadjuk and also the Minang people of the Noongar nation. I would like to pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging; and the contribution they make to the life of this land. 3 Thank you for being a part of the unit this semester, we have really valued you input and engagement! These questions ask you to reflect on your experience and learning in Culture to Cultures to reach a higher level of understanding and engage in a process of continuous learning. Reflective writing requires critical thinking skills, and that you not accept what you read, think, believe, or experience at face value. It is about learning from our experience and developing our understanding. It should integrate theory and practice, and identifies learning outcomes of your reading/experience. Reflective writing is a personal response and a way of thinking to explore your learning. It is a subjective assessment, so we encourage you to use the first person (personal pronouns) in your writing. This assessment is not asking you to summarise unit content, it’s meant to be personal – about your experiences and thinking. When we mark this assignment, it’s not to judge anything you’ve written, but to see how you evaluate your learning and thinking. Reflective practice is an important part of personal and professional development and we hope you will take it with you beyond this unit. Please type your responses to the questions underneath each one. 1. Reflect on your engagement with Cultural Protocols: What is your understanding of the significance of Indigenous Cultural Protocols? Why should we acknowledge and follow these protocols? The significance of Indigenous Cultural Protocols was highlighted to me when I was listening to a podcast on reconciliation in the additional resources for this unit. Ingrid Cumming, a guest speaker, explained how there are “no words to describe the feeling you get as a Noongar person when you walk into the building and the first thing you see is some kind of Noongar language – and it’s that respect. Someone has taken the time to acknowledge and respect your language and your culture” (Curtin, 2020). This has stuck with me and I think always will, it led me to think that although I don’t have much power to make huge steps in the process of reconciliation – I do have the power to show I acknowledge, respect and am willing to learn about Indigenous culture through abiding Cultural Protocols. Even if engaging with Cultural Protocols makes just one person feel how Ingrid described, then I believe that they are of utmost significance. We should acknowledge and follow Cultural Protocols; such as Welcome to Country, Acknowledgement of Country, appropriate terminology, proper capitalisation and sensitivity warnings; because they are “an important step towards understanding, respecting and representing Indigenous world-views, encouraging culturally appropriate working practices and valuing the cultural diversity that enriches, motivates and drives Australia forward” (Oxfam, 2015). Cultural Protocols also have the potential to address our nations dark history that is so often avoided and to elevate Indigenous voices and perspectives. 4 I’ve found that the engagement with Cultural Protocols throughout this unit has led to a newfound appreciation for them. A few weeks ago, I was at a concert and the band gave an Acknowledgement of Country before starting their set, which I have never witnessed before at a concert or festival - or really anything outside of high school and university. Again, I was reminded of the feeling that Ingrid struggled to describe and I thought of how many people in the crowd would have been feeling something similar. Although it is a happy memory, thinking back on it I am also filled with frustration – why do so many Australians fail to follow Indigenous Cultural Protocols? Considering how easy and effective an Acknowledgement of Country is (and how heartfelt they sometimes can be) why have I witnessed so few? 2a. Critical reflection involves thinking about how assumptions can be challenged. Identify 2 assumptions you had at the start of semester about race, culture and identity. Reflect on how the different aspects of learning (eg: tutorial/online discussions, readings, lectures, assignments, your own research, the concepts/theories) from Culture to Cultures can be used to explain or challenge these assumptions. One assumption I had prior to this semester was that culture primarily coincided with countries, that your nationality was a primary ‘source’ of culture – I was thinking in terms like ‘Japanese’ culture, the ‘Australian’ way, etc. This assumption was debunked early on in the semester reading an article with a title that explains it all – “The Biggest Culture Gaps Are Within Countries, Not Between Them” (Kirkman, Taras and Steel). This research found that out of 18 culture ‘containers’, country was 3 rd worst, and profession was actually the best. All of a sudden, the whole complex concept of culture made a lot more sense. Sadly, I had never given a lot of aspects in this unit much thought, and if I had given some consideration to this assumption it wouldn’t have made much sense – having lived in multiple countries, I had always noticed more similarities in people between countries rather than within them. Another damaging assumption I had was that I thought race was biological - not cultural. I learned this reading the article “Classifying Humans into Races the Biggest Mistake in History of Science” (Curnoe, 2016), which underscored that beliefs like these were shaped by bias. This discovery further concreted my views as non-essentialist, as Curnoe explains how “decades of genetic evidence (shows) that human variation can't be pigeonholed into categories called races.” It’s become apparent to me now that both of these assumptions were due to the fact that essentialist views are a societal norm, which has been shaped by the media. After having to relearn so many assumptions, I can now truly recognize the power of mainstream media in representing things such as race; and the need to find different perspectives and realities to create authentic, unbiased, unprejudiced ideas about the world and its cultures. I have learnt that deconstruction is an essential skill to analyse representations, especially when prejudice is involved (Holliday, Kullman and Hyde, 2016, p. 3). 5 2b. How will this knowledge affect your future interactions with culturally and linguistically diverse people? With this knowledge I have shifted towards viewing culture in a non-essentialist way, which lets me see culture as a complex, living, boundaryless social force that flows, develops and can interlace with other cultures. Taking a non-essentialist perspective of culture is ultimately a great deal less harmful than the essentialist alternative, which endorses acts such as stereotyping which Holliday, Kullman and Hyde (2016, p. 209) describe as the “giving up of investigation”. I no longer think someone will act based upon their nationality and take further steps to explore who someone is before subjecting them to prescriptive stereotypes. 3. In the unit we have explored a range of theories, concepts, ideas and issues around identity. Reflect on how learning about these has affected the way you see your own identity. Learning so much about how identity is influenced and created throughout this unit has spurred me to question my identity and look inward on multiple occasions. I now understand there are many types of identity, including personal, social, cultural, racial, ethnic, class, gender, age, sexual, religious, national, regional, professional, virtual” (Lombard, 2020). Culture is something we can utilise to help create our identities, but it will never define it. After struggling to identify with aspects of Australian culture, and all round being confused about what Australian culture was and how it affects one’s identity – I have been able to come to a conclusion where I realise what Australian culture is, and how I let it influence who I am. This conclusion has been aided by taking on a non-essentialist view, and finding that all cultures I have utilized throughout my life have helped to construct my identity, but it is my experiences and how I see the world that has influenced who I am than my culture. I have also been prompted to check and recheck my biases and privilege a number of times. I recognise that “identity is not merely constructed, but depends upon some other, opens up the theoretical space for marginal and oppressed groups to challenge and renegotiate the identities that have been forced upon them in the process of domination” (Edgar & Sedgwick, 2007, p. 190). 4. What is your understanding of critical cosmopolitanism? Critically reflect on how the concept of critical cosmopolitanism would impact your future professional or personal life. “Simply put, cosmopolitanism, when conceived of as intercultural communication, can introduce another layer of identity, that of 6 critical global citizenship, to all our other cultural identities and affiliations” – Holliday, Kullman and Hyde, 2016, p.100 My understanding of cosmopolitanism is that it is a person’s “willingness to engage with the Other” (Moltz, 2011, p35-36), the Other being a person different to oneself – a minority. I think the critical aspect comes into play when we think about who can do this more easily than others, and when culture is seen as socially constructed - affected by ideologies, politics and the media. I think this will affect my future professional life only a little, as I am quite privileged to live in a multicultural country with an Australian passport that allows me to fly to a majority of countries around the world. COVID-19 will also affect the how we see critical cosmopolitanism in play, as we have already seen a rise in technological integration. 7 o References Australia Council for the Arts. (2007). Protocols for producing Indigenous Australian media arts: Media Arts (2nd ed). Australia Council for the Arts. https://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/symphony/extension/richtext_redactor/getfile/?name=b ed1086ea0f531a7fa0ce11804002e5d.pdf Curnoe, D. (2016, December 23). Classifying humans into races the biggest mistake in history of science. ABC https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-23/the-biggest-mistake-in-the-history-ofscience/8142992 Curtin (Host). (2020, Monday 20). Reconciliation (40) [Audio podcast episode]. In The Future Of. Curtin. https://news.curtin.edu.au/podcasts/reconciliation/ Edgar, A., & Sedgwick, P. (2007). Cultural theory: The key concepts. London & New York: Routledge. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/reader.action?docID=325074 Holliday, A., Kullman, J., Hyde, Martin (2016). Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book for Students (3rd ed.). Taylor & Francis Group. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=4745744 Kirkman, B; Taras, V and Steel, P. (2016, May 18). Research: The Biggest Culture Gaps Are Within Countries, Not Between Them. Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2016/05/research-thebiggest-culture-gaps-are-within-countries-not-between-them Lombard, K. (2020). Culture to Cultures Lecture 10 [iLecture]. Blackboard. https://echo360.org.au/media/75b2a5b7-60ac-4553-a4802033655b96be/public?autoplay=false&automute=false&startTimeMillis=4960 Oxfam. 2015. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Protocols. Oxfam. https://www.oxfam.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-74-ATSI-Cultural-Protocolsupdate_WEB.pdf 8
