New Horizons in Multicultural Counseling - Literature review Example

 New Horizons in Multicultural Counseling: Summary of Chs. 1-11 Chapter 1: What is Culture? Basically this chapter deals with the complexities of how people self-identify. Many people ask things like, “Are you Chinese? Are you Hispanic? Where do you come from? What foods do you like? Are you Mexican?” Do you say, “I’m a New Yorker!” when asked where you’re from? People have various ways of responding to the question “where they are from.” In essence, it is a loaded question because people have a variety of ways they may respond to that question. People may say, for example, that they are ethnically Chinese, but born in Tibet. This type of differentiation is not at all uncommon. We all have various ways of perceiving the world, and various ways of responding to our environments. The word “Hispanic” is another loaded word. The term “Hispanic” is a term that was devised in order to describe Latinos in a way that was more white-collar. Many Latinos, however, may take issue with the word “Hispanic,” not to mention the term “Latino” itself. There is such a thing as the Mexica movement, which stresses a necessity for people to get back to describing native peoples in terms of their own language, and not the language of the oppressors (a.k.a. white culture). The question about where someone is from may engender various attitudes. People may harbor resentment towards one type of culture over another. That is why, when people say what foods they like, if they are of one race or culture than another—it may be more expedient for people to just lie instead of say what foods they “really” like and what really is their race or culture. Chapter 2: Complexity and Culture The question of race regarding culture is not lost on the authors of this book. The authors of this book realize that race plays a major factor in everything we do and say, from the day that we are born. Thus, it is really the complexity of race that interacts with the issue of culture. From the day we can talk or even hold a spoon, babies are made aware of the differences between men and women, black and white, and how things and people in the world are differentiated. There is something in us as humans that makes us differentiate between the diametrically opposed parts of duality. This chapter raises the questions of who we are, in essence, and who are we, in reality. This chapter raises the questions of where we have come from and where we are going. Here is where it becomes a bit more difficult to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Here is where it becomes more difficult for researchers, who typically are white and have a vested interest in making sure that their research keeps tabs on those who do not look like them. The complexity that comes with defining race and where culture fits in is such an intricate and delicate dance. On one hand, no one wants to be the person who is pegging a round peg in a square hole. No one wants to be called different or be singled out because of his or her particular looks. However, as humans it is only normal that we do make such distinctions about race due to our curious nature. People do differentiate and one must realize that this comes with the territory. Chapter 3: A Short History of Colonization and Decolonization This chapter covers all of the elements of colonization and decolonization. From the very beginning of time, people have been being colonized all over the world. Most notably, slave traders from all over bought and sold African slaves on the world market starting in the 15th century. However, what is important to know is that slavery is not a new phenomenon, nor has it only been going on in Africa. In ancient Greece, both men and women, black and white, were slaves. Usually slaves had some kind of debt that was burdened upon them for some reason and had to serve out a time period to their masters depending upon how much debt was owed and so forth. For some people, slavery was a way of life. They knew no other way. This was especially true of people born into slavery in the American South. Also, in several of the islands that were in Latin America, slavery was the norm and was almost expected. In Latin America there was slavery within the realms of the Incas, Mayas, and the Aztecs. Notwithstanding, there were also slaves in Asia and all throughout Europe at some points in their history. No continent, really, save Antarctica, has ever been free of the bane of slavery. It is a known fact that decolonization, however, has happened as rapidly as colonization if not faster, and that quickly the world is becoming more open and accepting of people who have traditionally been considered “Other” in many regards. Chapter 4: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity What is race, indeed? “The notion of race originated from the French language, meaning breed or lineage as defined by physical markers.”1 People have, for many years, defined race according to societal markers and standards such as eye shape, the slope of one’s forehead, and so forth. However, what many people do not realize is that race is a discussion fomented by the colonizers (white people), and that the only real race is the human race. Race is a socially constructed concept, and it must be treated as such. Technically, in today’s society, it would be pitifully wrong to say there is no race, however. Everyone has been made aware that people have been “broken down” into categories by which they are judged. Thus, to say that race is negated or that one lives in a post-racial society would be quite difficult if not impossible. However, attitudes toward race are changing at an astounding rate. Sixty years ago, Black people still did not have the right to vote in the United States, for example. That has all radically changed. Not only do Blacks now have the right to vote, but a Black man is President of the United States. That is a radical paradigm shift. Chapter 5: Response to Chapter 4 The person who responds to chapter 4 is an accomplished writer, researcher, and educator who is interested primarily in conflict-resolution with regards to Maori students in Australia. This educator noted that, many times over above and beyond their non-Maori counterparts, Maori students were absent from school and had considerable amounts of other problems that plagued them during their school days. This educator took note of that and wanted to understand the reasons why. This educator had a passion for learning and a quest to find out what the problems really were which were underlying these Maori students’ difficulties. The results were astounding. Basically, the educator found that the most likely reason for students’ misbehavior was that they were not being heard. Simply, they were not getting their point across. In Maori culture, it is very common to do something called conferencing. Whenever there is a problem, people get together to talk about the problem and then take appropriate action to find a solution. When students were given the opportunity to solve their own problems, that was where the true gold was found. It is important to remember that when students find out answers to questions themselves, ultimately that is far more valuable than having given them the answers oneself. It was the concern of this particular educator to find out the reasons why the students were acting in a manner that was inconsistent with their peoples’ traditions and cultural values. Naturally, the educator had no idea what the problem was until the educator sought a solution which was readily available from the hearts of the students themselves: they just needed a place where they could voice their own opinions and be heard. Chapter 6: Power and Privilege: Part One Individuals never live in a vacuum. Why do some individuals succeed while others fail? Simply put, it is because they are set up to fail from the beginning. Look at what happened with Katrina. Those in power did little to nothing to ensure that those without power suffered horribly at the hands of the hurricane. The politicians pointed blame at each other but very little was done. To this day, New Orleans is still in a state of semi-disrepair to some extent. To what do these people owe their woes? Simply because of the fact that their leaders did not dare to care. Power and privilege are two things that hang in the balance. Without power, one can have no privilege. Without privilege, one has no power. Therefore, for people like those who were stranded in Katrina’s aftermath, it was a crying shame to have to witness people at the Superdome with no food or supplies for days. It was as though God had turned away his eyes. Soon enough, yes, there was help to be found. But that was only because of the interventions of organizations like the Red Cross, which immediately was on the ground running, and had teams available to help the people who were left in Katrina’s wake. Not everyone can be so fortunate. That is why it is important to understand the different kinds of power plays that come into the foray when peoples’ lives are at stake. Chapters 7 & 8: Power and Privilege: Part Two A feminist analysis of systemic patriarchy is just one example of a way in which power can be thwarted. For years, male domination has reigned supreme in one way or another in several countries all over the world. However, as we understand it, this is generally becoming the old system of doing things. People now understand that capitalism, patriarchy, and racism have generally come under the same umbrella and they are not taking it anymore. Rather, what is being envisioned now is a rather stunning revolution, or an uptake of all that has been done to people over the years. This knowledge of a new system, capable of overturning the old one, is being adopted as the new way, the new world order. The old ways of patronage are gone. The new day has arrived. A new sun has set and the world has, for as much of its own sake as its new arrivals, left off of these ideas that women are not capable, that people of color are not capable, and that people with disabilities, of different sexes, of different races, and from different places are not capable. Indeed, this is a new generation which is coming upon the realization that we can do no worse by our children than to realize that there is a new age in which we live. The new age in which we live demands that we know that there is nothing more sacred in this world than to be the fomenters of our own destinies, and that we must secure for our children and our children’s children the dawn of a new horizon, which is free of these petty issues of power and privilege which plagued our predecessors. This is a new day, and we will say “nay”—no more—to those who continually oppress and seek to undermine the health, hope, prosperity, and love of a new generation that is trying so desperately to be heard in these trying times. As a matter of fact, this generation is here right now, and it realizes the nadir which has been reached. Chapter 9: Gender and Identity Gender has played a huge role in the way we self-identify. To say anything less would be an insult. From the moment we are born, we self-identify even in the baby clothes we wear. Girls wear pink. Boys wear blue. Thus, from the very beginning, gender roles are either assumed or implied by the parents. Everything we learn in life is distinguished between the masculine and the feminine, the yin and the yang. Gender roles play a particularly large part in how one views society as one grows older. Women are more likely to view the world in a way that is opposite a man. This is not only normal but expected. Gender has played a role in traditions throughout societies and cultures, and is continued to do so for many years to come. Chapter 9: The Globalization of Identity Our identities are not only shaped by our ancestors but by our peers as well. The rapid global sociohistorical points of view that are being shaped today come as a result of a maddening pace to the finish line. With the advent of the Internet, social networking technology, and other kinds of interfaces, the globalization of identity has taken center stage. Hopefully this identity can be used to foment the good nature and the civil side of humankind. Chapter 10: Identity Construction The notion of the singular self and the focus on oneself is not lost on psychologists. How one self-identifies relies solely on identity construction. How one ultimately decides to differentiate oneself between oneself and others is in the end a purely personal choice. In this life, there are many people, but few points at which one can really make a mark on life and claim that one owns it. Therefore, it is essential for someone who is constructing one’s identity to know clearly how one wants to shape one’s own development. Usually, people don’t know how to do this in the beginning and that is why people have parents. Chapter 11: Cultural Identity Development Racial identity theory deals with the predictable stages people go through in a process which help one to understand how people react. For instance, young African-American children may not quite understand why their hair whorls in a different way than other children. Thus, at first they may react with shock once they see their mother at the hair salon having her hair done. After having continually viewed this experience, however, they may come to view it with time as an actually pleasant experience and will understand the ritual which goes behind the visit to the hair salon as well as the implicit meaning behind it—“this is my hair and I care for it enough to take care of it.” There are subtle cues in any culture, but cultural identity development takes this all into account. REFERENCES Monk, G.D., et al. New Horizons in Mutlicultural Counseling. California: Sage, 2008. Read More