Cultural Autobiography - Essay Example

Cultural Autobiography Name Course Institution CULTURAL AUROBIOGRAPHY The essay consists of an autobiography and a biography of a friend to explain various cultural dynamics and the strategies and frameworks of cross cultural communication. The essay makes use of the questionnaire that answers the community communication systems in my cultural setting and that of my friend, Braco. We are both female and within the same age bracket. The paper addresses the intercultural dynamics using the intercultural competence framework. Brief Biographies I am a British Iraqi and all the members of my family share in my nationality. My family is large but the family members with who I live include my mother, father, grandmother, two brothers, two sisters, and I. All the members of the family respect the opinions put forward by my grandmother. My father gives the final say in most of the decisions and my mother is mostly responsible for our disciplining and care. Father makes all the major decisions and mother asks for his approval with regard to her decisions and I believe that hierarchies are essential for the peaceful coexistence of human beings. I therefore, exhibit high power distance that explains the characteristic of the belief in hierarchies[Cle171]. When it comes to the mobility of my family, I was born in Kuwait but my family moved back to Iraq after the Gulf War in 1990. We later moved to the UK after which we moved back to the UK accompanied by many other numerous international travels throughout the Middle East and Europe. As a Muslim, occasions such as Fasting in Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha, New Year, and Birthdays are significant. The lack of the consideration of such occasions is considered bizarre, especially the religious occasions. I was born and lived in a residential area near the city with a family that consisted of a working father and a stay-at-home mother. The institutions that had and still have a strong influence on me include school and my parents. Other influences include my various international travels and the different places in which I have lived. Braco is Scottish by nationality and lives with her father, mother, a brother, and two sisters. The father is the bread winner where the mother mostly takes care of the household duties such as childcare, home-maintenance, and the overall family care. The father also helps with some of the housework. Braco also has significant autonomy and the family treats her the same as before despite her divorce. Braco is a Christian protestant and her whole family considers occasions such as Christian Protestant, Christmas, Easter, New Year, and Birthdays are considered as special. She was born and raised in a farm where her family visited the city twice every year. The family consisted of a working father and a stay-at-home mother. Sunday Church services are important and sentimental to her. Her divorce also played an essential role in shaping her life and she can be said to exhibit low uncertainty avoidance (that explains tolerance with ambiguity and uncertainty) as seen in the tolerance of the ambiguity and run be fewer rules by her and the family[Cle17]. Taking by life and that of Braco into consideration, there are various factors that shape our behaviors and different upbringing practices. There are also various similarities despite the different areas of upbringing with different religions, cultural backgrounds, and life preferences. For instance, the family structure is an essential part of human personalities and overall social behavior[Bir06]. Our two families were similar in the gender relationships between our parents, who are the first role models in the lives of children. Both our families had a working father and a stay-at-home mother. My major influences when I was younger included school and my family whereas Braco considered Church and church services as core influences in her life. The differences can be owed to the cultures that surrounded our childhoods while the similarities are as a result of learning and the in-group culture that comes with the preference of people similar to us[Hew02]. We can both be said to have been in preference of our religious lifestyles over others and the family structures in which we grew. There is also the similar characteristic of collectivism (with an interdependence perspective of ourselves) as seen in our childhood where we held our family ideals and the expectations of our parents over our lives in high regard[yIu11]. We also exhibit high context cultures in terms of territoriality, learning, and interaction (where space is communal, there is dominant verbal element use, and relationships are built slowly on trust)[Pac16]. Comparing the Biographies, the Different Theories and Frameworks that explain the Bibliographical Traits, and the Major Influences in my life According to the intercultural competence framework, a person may remain minimally appropriate and effective in their communication skills. It describes intercultural competence as a process that continues through the life of a person. At no one point can a person be considered to have complete intercultural competence. According to the framework, intercultural competence revolves around the attitudes, desired internal outcomes, desired external outcomes, and knowledge and comprehension[DrD06]. Taking all those factors into consideration, my childhood development was relatively healthy with just enough interactions, exposure, and experiences to develop my intercultural competence. The same applies for Braco who had diverse interactions and the molding of her intercultural competence. Some of the major influences in my life have changed over time as a result of natural changes and as a result of changes in my interests. That concurs with the intercultural competence framework that declares that intercultural competence is a process[DrD06]. Such include my perspectives on the extended family and diving together under the same roof. As a female Muslim, I am expected to accommodate the idea of sharing my space with my extended family. However, I value my privacy as it has been granted to me over the years where my family has moved over different geographical areas in the world. I prefer my privacy and my idea of a house is that of a nuclear family with relatives nearby but not within the household. However, I would not hesitate to accommodate my extended family member of the need arose. Growing up comes with wisdom and an increased desire for autonomy. In addition to that, it comes with a change in my path where I now focus on my career, talent, and passions. It is for that reason that school is not one of my sentimental considerations. It is replaced by my career and relationships. However, the influence of such influencers remains where I consider education as very important. I hope my children hold it with as much regard as I did. Family is also very important to me. Braco also exhibits a considerable shift in her interests and preferences. However, as a lady from a deeply religious family, her divorce was a blow and a great determiner of her path in life. According to the intercultural competence framework, the most significant internal outcomes of the life of Braco mostly affect her attitudes with regard to relationships and marriage. Her ethnorelative perspectives and adaptability are well developed, something that has matured over time. From our talks, she hoped a once-and-for-all marriage where it would last as long as that of her parents. It caused her to display reluctance in attending church service, which remains a central preference in her life. However, she is exposed enough to now that sometimes marriages do not work and that divorce is a viable option in the current day and era. Taking realism into consideration, cultures are different and it is unreasonable to consider them as equal[Blo98]. That is why I understand her when she explains her shock with regard to the divorce. Having studied in international schools and various other schools across the Middle East and Europe including the UK, I have a broad perspective of my culture and other cultures. The evident internal and external outcomes are evident in the way I address daily issues. I avoid judgmental behavior with restricted perspectives of other cultures. Taking my friend into consideration, she grew up in Scotland and changed between the rural and urban areas. We are both exposed as individuals with different defining factors throughout our lives. The effectiveness and appropriateness (according to the intercultural competence framework) of our intercultural competence is evident in our adaptability to different environments and the way we relate to people of different cultures. According to the theory on intercultural sensitivity, the perspectives of a person change from ethnocentric orientation (where the person avoids cultural differences) and develop to an ethnorelative worldview (seeking the differences in culture, learning new cultures, and accepting the importance of diverse cultures) upon the frequent interaction with diverse cultures for some time[Mil13]. Braco and I are similar in out adaptability and comfort in different cultures. Taking the theory of evolutionism into consideration, there are various explanations related to the differences and similarities in our cultures despite our different cultural, religious, and geographical backgrounds. An example is the comfortable co-existence of our parents where the father is the bread winner and the mother the home keeper. Two schools of thought explain evolutionism where one school of thought explain such similarities by the use of the element of the diffusion of cultural traits where they are transferred from one place to another and spread in such places[Blo98]. There are other ethnologists that argue that different cultures are perfectly capable of the creation of similar cultures without any prior forms of interaction. Lewis Henry Morgan is one of the supporters of the second school of thought where he explains the capability of the different groups to create similar cultural beliefs and practices as a result of all human beings passing through the same stages of evolution[Bir06]. Deardoff (2006) explains that the development of intercultural competence cannot be obtained in a day or absolute time frame. It is a continuous process and evidently develops with time. It is for that time my values and attitudes have changed over time with the diverse situations of exposure and experience. It is for that reason that there still exists people without intercultural competence and it has to be internationally addressed through courses, orientations, and education programs. The conceptions of human beings are true as far as their civilization goes where the willingness to accommodate the cultures of others and let go of some of the strongholds of one’s own culture[Mar09]. In this case, the accommodation of different cultures is greatly contributed by the numerous travels of Braco and I. I am not sure what my perspectives and preferences would be if not for the exposure from the numerous travels and interactions with different people throughout my childhood and adult life. Exposure contributes to the effective intercultural communication and the subsequent tolerance of the same[The08]. I accommodate the idea of living with the extended family members and such settings do not come as a surprise for me. The same, however, is different when it comes to the application of the same because I would prefer the privacy of my home with my nuclear family as opposed to the co-existence with several other extended family members. Inter-cultural relationships are influenced by the tolerance and communication between the different members of the different cultures. Ethnocentrism is a psychologically supported trait that explains the preference of the culture of a person and the critic of another. Every aspect of communication relies on communication whereby a blend in the communication behavior of two or more people from different cultural backgrounds determines the possible success of the outcome. However, a deeper understanding on one or both sides helps in the consideration of cultural influences on the communication methods of their counterparts, thus, promoting tolerance[Blo98]. In my case and that of Braco, the numerous travels around the world are eye-openers in our behaviors and attitudes. For instance, despite my background where my father worked while my mother stayed at home and cared for the family, I aspired to be financially independent with a career of my own and my own path in life besides that of my spouse. The same applies to Braco because her family setting was similar to mine with regard to the relationship between the parents and the father as the bread winner. Exposure is essential in breaking some norms at will[Mar09]. Conclusion In my case, it is difficult to understand how I manage to maintain a relationship with a person from a very different cultural background with different religious beliefs and still manage to get along. Our cultures have similarities and differences. The biographies presented in the essay prove some of the theories that explain intercultural communication and the possibility of tolerance between people of different cultures. References Cle171: , (Clearly Cultural), Cle17: , (Clearly Cultural), Bir06: , (Simonsen and Gard), Hew02: , (Hewstone, Rubin and Willis), yIu11: , (Basu-Zharku), Pac16: , (Pacific), DrD06: , (Deardorff), Blo98: , (Blommaert), Mil13: , (Bennett), Mar09: , (Aneas and Sandín), The08: , (The University of the Sunshine Coast), Read More