Cultural Identity Paper Assignment
Requirements: Four-five-pages, one-sided only, 11 pt. Arial or Times
New Roman, with page numbers, double-spaced, and stapled with one
inch page margins.
This paper is about how our various cultural identities shape us, our behavior, and
our communication.
It will require you to examine:

The cultural patterns (Kohl’s, Hofstede’s, Hall’s) that reflect and predict your
culture’s general beliefs and values

The beliefs, values, and norms that you have been taught as a member of your
culture and groups (all the components of your culture’s Worldview)

Hall’s three levels of identity (Communal, Social/Relational, Personal) as they
apply to you
This is not to be an autobiography or the story of your family’s history.
Think of this paper as an ethnography of a culture and its members in which you
describe and interpret the attributes and members’ behavior to those who are
not familiar with them. The twist is that the subject culture/s is your own, and the
attitudes, values, beliefs, and behavior you are examining are your own.
Since you’ll be writing about your specific Communal Identity, no citations from
our textbook or other sources can be used. No one has written about your
specific Communal Identity before, therefore any cites or scores from our text
book or other sources will be inaccurate as they deal only with national identities.
The elements of culture and identity that are required to be examined are:
I.
COMMUNAL IDENTITY
Your culture’s or your co-culture’s beliefs, values, and norms; not just yours!
Communal means “shared,” so you’ll share these beliefs, values and norms with
those who share your communal identity.
1. The name of your culture or co-culture
a. Your communal identity = Your culture and the specifics you were born into in
the five categories below:
i. ethnicity
ii. gender
iii. generation
iv. socioeconomic status
v. region
2. Worldview
Examples of your communal identity’s perspective. See:
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/cultural-frames
3. Kohls’ Values Americans Live By
What are these and how do they show up for those who share your communal
identity? See: www.uri.edu/mind/VALUES2.pdf
4. Hofstede’s Indices
What are these and how are they apparent for those who share your communal
identity? See: http://geerthofstede.nl/dimensions-of-national-cultures
II.
SOCIAL/RELATIONAL IDENTITIES
The specific organizations and groups that have shaped you and how they have
shaped you
Identify each of the groups you belong to, or have belonged to, and what effects
they have had on your behavior and your communication.
1.
family
2.
religion
3.
schools
4.
jobs
5.
clubs, interest groups
6.
sports
III.
PERSONAL IDENTITY
Just you…what makes you unique? (Personal introspection and evaluation
required)
How your own individual:
1. experiences,
2. attributes, and abilities shape and influence your own personal/individual
identity;
3. these will have helped shape your own
a. personal beliefs,
b. values,
c. norms,
d. attitudes and
e. perceptions about life, the universe, and other people and groups.
4. These effects will also be evident in how and with whom you are willing
to communicate. Discuss this.
Paper Evaluation Criteria
Your paper will be graded on the following four criteria (weighted as shown):
1. Communal Identity - 50% (how well you identify these shared aspects of your
communal identity’s Worldview)
2. Social/Relational Identities - 20% (how well you develop these identities and
their attributes and effects upon you)
3. Personal Identities - 20% (how well you develop these influences and their
effects upon you)
4. Writing Quality - 10% (how well you write, format, proofread, and express
yourself as a 300-level college student)