Concept Application - Joe Morrison

In my experience working with Muslim kids, most are or have parents who are immigrants. In many of the families I noticed a difference compared with other families, especially other immigrant families from Mexico. There was a strong sense of cultural hybridity in the families. When I was reading that section I saw so many of my former students in the examples. Cultural hybridity is where they assimilate in certain areas, such as work or school, but it's they don't completely dive in. Basically in my experience the home life was very different than the public life.

I want to understand this better. I want to talk with families as a whole if possible. It'd be interesting to find out if the parents promote or accept if their child is assimilating more than they'd like. I had one student who I really hope to interview her and both of her parents. Her family is the perfect example, she acted just like another student in my class, but the few times she had to call her mom or see her mom in my classroom, her personality, her habits, and her language all changed. She was able to balance both worlds very well. I want to find out if it's difficult to do in the world today.

I'm in contact with the Islamic Foundation of Lincoln and have been asked to go participate in all the activities and events they offer. I'm excited about that, hopefully I get immersed in the culture quickly. I am trying to contact a few former students and their parents, but over spring break that wasn't happening.

Claire London Concept Application Blog

The theory I have chosen to relate to my study of the UNL Women's soccer team is cultural space.  Martin and Nakayama define cultural space as the social and cultural spaces in which our identity forms.  Generally this could include where we grew up and what places have had the most influence on our character.  This could include our homes, our neighborhoods, our church, our school, and many other places that we have found our identity.  Cultural spaces may also include our family and friends who influenced us. 

I am choosing to discus the soccer field as the cultural space in my research. The cultural space within which athletes practice/play/meet is very defined and set aside.  On the field is where the team grows together and engages in their "culture", so to speak.  All players can identify the field as a place where they practice, improve, and work hard to be the best team possible.  I'm sure they associate this cultural space with a various mixture of blood, sweat, and tears.  They can also associate this cultural space with great victory and a lot of disappointment.  This is a very defined space because when the players meet on the playing field it is a whole different atmosphere than if the players were to hang out at someone's house.  At someone's house the players would act differently and do different activities than if they were meeting at the field to play soccer.

I have spoken to my friend about possible interview times and a few game times in which I will go to watch and observe the players.  I think it would be very beneficial to go to a practice or two to see how the teamwork is behind the scenes.  I plan to ask her how being an athlete has affected her life in all aspects. How is "practicing" the culture of athleticism different than practicing religion? How is it the same?  I am interested to know how she views her culture in comparison and contrast with other cultures, and just how she views her culture in general.  I am excited to start my research on this project!

Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InCDry6gjH0

Molly McLaughlin: Concept application

The group I am going to be looking at is those who considered themselves Republican.  I am very familiar with those who believe in the Republican values and those who are involved in the Republican party. so reaching out to them for this project should be easy.  The concept I will be looking at is cultural spaces, from chapter 7.  Cultural space is explained as “the social and cultural contexts in which our identity forms- where we grow up and where we live” (Martin and Nakayama, 2013, pg 274).  I chose this concept because cultural space has a lot to do with how a person becomes who they are.  A persons political affiliation can be a large part of their identity, so what they consider their cultural space impacts that part of them.  I think looking at the surrounding cultural spaces people have I can better understand how they came to be part of the republican culture.

For my data collection I have decided I will interview people.  I have several friends and connections that are part of the Republican party, so I plan on setting up times to sit and talk with them.  I also decided that I would only be looking at participants that are around the same age group as me so 21-23 years old.  So far I have 2 willing participants, 2 males age 21. I would actually like to talk to 1 or 2 more people, hopefully females.  Some example questions I will be asking are things such as:

 -What political background do you have?

 -What party do your parents affiliate with?

 -Have you ever voted? If so, was it for the republican candidate?

 -Have you ever taken part in a republican campaign?

 -Where did you grow up?

 -How much did you learn about politics in high school?

Along with the interviews I plan on attending one of the UNL college republicans meetings as soon as possible.  I found the UNL college republicans facebook page, where they post about meetings, events, speakers and even t-shirts members can buy.  I will probably just sit in the back and take notes on how the meeting is ran, who attends, and what they talk about.

Concept Application Blog- Dani Wingard

A concept or theory that I chose to look at is intercultural relationships. In our textbook it says that the key to these intercultural relationships is maintaining a balance between differences and similarities. You have to be able to take a step back to try and understand someone else's world. The first step is to acquire knowledge about the world, the second step is to break stereotypes, and the third step is to acquire new skills. Of course there are many challenges to intercultural relationships. Cultural differences are characterized by communication styles, values, and perceptions.

This theory relates to my topic because I'm studying non-traditional families. I think it will help me to better understand these families and have insight into their everyday lives. If I can understand intercultural relationships then I think it will help me with my research on these families. Families are all about relationships and maintaining those special, one-of-a kind relationships. Your family is always here for you, for the most part. I want to know how these families lost those tight nit relationships, if they're willing to share.

I've started working on specific interview questions to ask the families. I haven't set anything up yet because I don't know what events I would like to take part in! I'm hoping that I'll be able to sit down at dinner with them and see how they interact. 

Concept Application – Abhi Shome

“Cultural adaptation is the long-term process of adjusting to and finally feeling comfortable in a new environment” (Martin & Nakayama 2013). Now while the book was referring to immigrants and refugees when it said this, I realized that it could also refer to the LGBT community. In this, I refer not to the LGBT people themselves but rather the people around them.

A recent article in USA today talks about how the LGBT community as a cultural group has become an accepted part of everyday culture and it is important for those who still do not accept them to learn to adapt. In this the article was mainly referring to the religious aspect of Christian groups who were ending their involvement in anti-homosexual events. “"We need to equip kids to live out biblical tolerance and grace," Exodus President Alan Chambers explained, "while treating their neighbors as they'd like to be treated, whether we agree with them or not"” (USA Today 2011).

Now while this is certainly not acceptance, it is a good sign for the LGBT community who have been fighting for their rights as a cultural group for a long time. So as the article points out, the transitioning of the LGBT community into everyday culture, rather than just a small group with no influence, has even their detractors adapting to the new environment, where it is no longer acceptable for people to look down upon homosexual people.

"The Church must learn to adapt to the gay culture" - Alan Chambers

In regards to collecting data, I have scheduled interviews with my gay friend and his straight roommates. I hope to see the viewpoints of both sides: both how it feels to be gay in college, and how similar or different it is to live with a gay roommate. A few of my planned questions to my gay friend:

1)    How hard was it for you to come out? When did you realize that you are gay?

2)    How have you been treated? Do your old friends treat you differently? Is that good or bad?

3)    Do you think that people are more accepting now than they’ve been a few years ago? Or do you think people just say that they “accept gay guys” and not really do anything about it?

4)    What do the words “gay rights” mean to you?

5)    Are there any real differences in communicating with people who are gay or straight?

6)    Acceptance or apathy, which would you prefer?

To his roommates:

1)    When did you figure out that he was gay?

2)    How has it been having a gay roommate?

3)    Has having a gay roommate changed the way you interact with him? Why?

4)    What are you general opinions about the LGBT community?

5)    What do the words “gay rights” mean to you?

6)    Do you unconsciously treat/ talk to people who are gay differently?

Works Cited

Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.

Krattenmaker, Tom. "On Gay Rights, Keep Fighting or Adapt?" USATODAY.COM. N.p., 15 Feb. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

CAPS 4 - Abhi Shome

Focusing on the relationships between the members of an Indian immigrant family in England, Bend it like Beckham provides an interesting viewpoint into the differences between first and second-generation immigrants. The movie focuses on Jesminder “Jess” Bhamra, an 18 year old Punjabi Sikh living in London, who wishes to play football professionally. But, as she’s a girl, her parents forbid her from playing the sport. The movie deals with the differing viewpoints on the matter between the traditional Indian parents and the daughter who is more assimilated. As such, the movie provides a great example between the differences between assimilation and separation discussed in the book.

            Most immigrants have a choice between assimilation and separation when they move to other countries. More often than not, the first generation immigrants try to avoid total assimilation and pick separation, where, in order to retain their original culture, they interact minimally with people of other cultural groups, if only because they are afraid of losing their culture (Martin & Nakayama 2010). Integration, on the other hand is the other option where immigrants try to both retain their culture and maintain relationships with new cultural groups.

In the movie the interactions between Jess and her parents help us to see the cultural differences between the first generation immigrant parents and their daughter, who has assimilated into British culture. The parents, for example, in trying to retain their cultural practices from India and in trying to make their new world seem just a little more like home have almost no British friends. They interact mostly with other Indian families in the area, a classic example of separation. They do not want to lose their culture. Their daughter on the other hand has fully assimilated into British culture, and does not see anything wrong with playing football.

In one of the earlier scenes in the movie for instance, the parents react very negatively to the idea of her playing, not only because they don’t think it is “womanly” to do so, but also because in India, it is traditionally thought of as being very unseemly for grown women from respectable families to wear shorts in public. This is a classic example of separation vs. assimilation. The parents, who are trying to retain their culture and have separated from the culture of the new country, tend to be more traditional and forbid their daughter from playing football. The daughter on the other hand, who has grown up in England and assimilated sees nothing wrong in dressing like her friends and playing sports. As such, the movie deals with communicating with the traditional parents and convincing them to let her play.

Thus, the film, Bend it like Beckham, provides an interesting window into the different paths immigrants can take when they enter a new culture.

Work Cited

Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.

Concept Application- Robert Edwards

The Concept I decide to pick when looking at people from small town is migrant, the book defines migrant as "an individual who leaves the primary cultural context in which he and she was raised and moves to new cultural context for a extended time". I was first introduced to people from small town when I moved into college. A lot of my friends who lived on my floor were from small towns in Nebraska. These kids were moving into a city that in some cases were four times bigger then their town. It was interesting to watch them get used to living with so many people.

It has been fun talking to my friends about this subject, I have learned more about what it truly meansto be from a small town. I have planned a trip to Bloomfield, Nebraska for later this month. I am excited to see how growing up in a small town is different from growing up in a big city. I will only be there for a weekend, however I think the first hand experience will allow me to see to understand more about small towns and how they work. I am excited to learn more about small towns.