Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
In this assignment, we build upon the questions, "Who am I as an individual?" and "What are my group memberships?" Create a cultural picture of yourself by describing how your personal background has influenced who you are today. As you prepare for the assignment, first create (write or draw) a cultural diagram. To do this, you should consider all of the cultural associations you may have and the customs and traditions such as dress, music, dance, family stories, holidays, and celebrations. (I am African American, enjoy all music very diverse, and enjoy dancing to songs that are step related, holidays and celebrations are all centered on Christian religion beliefs in which I worship). Once you have created this cultural diagram, Synthesize your personal experiences with the notion of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. What specifically in your background may be rooted in ethnocentric beliefs? Have any of those beliefs created cultural relativistic opinions?
Utilize the unit resources to support your discussion.
Specifically address:
1. What is ethnocentrism?
2. What is cultural relativism?
3. What cultural groups do you belong to?
a. Who or what has influenced you?
b. What are the cultural norms associated with your cultural groups?
c. How do you interact with others?
4. Analyze your perspectives.
a. Are any of your cultural beliefs rooted in ethnocentric beliefs?
b. Are any of your perspectives based on cultural relativism?
5. When are ethnocentric beliefs beneficial to society? When are they not?
6. When have you been ethnocentric and why.