Culture and Identity

7 Themes of Culture

• L anguage• A rts and Literature• R eligion• G overnment• E conomic Systems• S ocial Organization• T raditions and Customs

Underneath each of these themes, there are deeper values, beliefs, assumptions, thoughts, feelings, priorities, perceptions, and attitudes that manifest through the outward experience of culture.

For example, consider the following:

Above the water level consists of elements of culture that we see, below the water level are a number of abstract ideas that we can not necessarily see.

In this class, we will explore the open, blind, hidden, and unknown areas of our world cultures. This will involve self-discovery as we explore our own identity, and shared discovery as we learn the culture of others.

In order to do this, we will need to develop social and emotional skills such as:

Communicating clearly and compassionatelyo Separating observations from evaluationso Surfacing assumptions respectfullyo Expressing and identifying emotion (emotional intelligence)o Identifying needs and valueso Requesting what we need/value while respecting others’ needs/valueso Balancing advocacy with inquiry

Taken from Rosenberg (2003) Nonviolent Communication

Taken from Senge et. al (2012) Schools That Learn

Taken from Senge et. al (2012) Schools That Learn

Identity

Who am I?

Examples of Types of Activities we will be doing to discover identity: