Essay Sample: Reflection on Culture

I believe that cultural identity is the feeling of belonging to a particular group in terms of practices related to attributes such as race or nationality. Cultural identity, therefore, is a part of an individual's self-perception as well as self-conception and is usually associated with ethnicity, nationality, religion, generation, social class, locality, or even any kind of social group to which an individual is tied to. It is for these reasons that I believe that cultural identity is a characteristic of how an individual was brought up as they grow, as well as how they are surrounded by or relate with. The aspect of identifying with a particular culture gives an individual a sense of belonging as well as security.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Some of the elements that contribute to a person's cultural identity include ethnicity, nationality, religion, generation, social class, locality, or even any kind of social group which an individual is tied to, as established. These elements are critical because identifying with a given culture provides an individual with access to social networks that have the ability to provide support as well as shared values, inspirations, and aspirations.

The elements that could be considered when comparing and contrasting cultures include where an individual grew, their surroundings, as well as the society within which they were bred and the people that they interacted with within the course of their lives for an extended period of time.

I believe that I would identify my culture through an understanding of various attributes such as ethnicity, nationality, religion, generation, social class, locality, or even any kind of social group which an individual is tied to, as they are the elements through which culture is developed.

Step 2 Exploration of a Prevention Program

The Interview

The interview was conducted at theHuman Rights Watch offices near my hometown, which is a nonprofit organization that deals with the defending of Human Rights for individuals in a community who are racially oppressed or marginalized. From the interview, it was established that there are certain groups of individuals who face racial discrimination or certain kinds of operation as a result of the culture that they are linked to. The following is part of the interview, which was conducted with a representative of the nonprofit organization to establish this particular premise.

Question; Why was the organization formed?

Response: The organization was formed in order to fight for the rights of people affected by racial discrimination.

Question; What are some of the problems that you face as an organization?

Response: Some of the problems that we face as an organization involves the fact that some individuals are yet to understand that racial discrimination is unacceptable and that it is the duty of every individual to respect the culture of the other despite having different backgrounds.

Question; Do you believe that culture is an essential part of analyzing the course of problems in your organization?

Response: Yes. I believe that a lot of racial problems begin with the differences in individual cultures, whereby certain people do not want to accept the culture of others.

Question; What are the prevention strategies you are utilizing at the moment?

Response: We are trying to help people understand the importance of respecting other people's cultures and racial backgrounds.

B. Analysis

In order for a deeper understanding of cultural identity, the subject is taught in most educational facilities in order to equip the learners with the basic knowledge about their culture as well as to make them aware and respect the culture of the others. In businesses, culture is a crucial part of management as it determines how the business will operate in certain jurisdictions. Nevertheless, cultural issues have arisen over time, and therefore, the reason for applying prevention measures is to enable people to co-exist in an environment comprised of diverse cultures. As established from the interview with the representative from the nonprofit organization, the preventive ways to prevent the problems associated with the existence of diverse cultures is teaching about tolerance and acceptance.

Step 3 Explorations and Culture

The culture of the community of my target population in the group is the dressing of religious attires known as hijabs as part of the crucial cultural attribute. The target population was selected randomly in order to avoid any bias that would arise. The elements that I consider the most significant in the identification of an individual's cultural identity include ethnicity, nationality, religion, generation, social class, locality, and the social group they interact with. In this case, cultural identity is brought about by religion. The first example where history has had an effect on the culture, as well as the culture of the community that has been selected in this case, is when people associate the attires to terrorism, and the second is when religious fanatism was addressed with the culture. My final thoughts about the target community are that as part of the prevention measures, people should learn to respect the cultures of others because the religious attire is a part of their culture and should not be confused for anything else.