What is culture and how does it inform my identity?

Grade 9 Seminar

Unit 2

Why is this important?

• Search for identity is a key component to growing up• Sense of self is important to self-actualization• Secondarily and to support this human development

goal, it is an IB imperative– Seeing our planet as a community with personal and

economic interdependence– Environmental awareness and our connectedness

ecologically– Understanding our own culture to build tolerance which in

turn builds world peace

Who am I?

• One thing that informs or helps create our sense of identity is our culture.

• That leads to the questions– What is a culture?– How does it affect me?

Things that show: The tip of the iceberg

• Clothing styles• Folk culture: dancing, music, stories• High culture: music, art, literature • Games and sport• Food• To some extent, religions

What might not be so obvious

• Notions of modesty• Concepts of beauty• Child-raising• Relationship to nature• How we deal with others• Work and careers• Sense of justice• Leadership• Display of emotion• Concepts of past and future• Approaches to Problem

solving

• Time and life tempo

• Courtship, marriage, and sex

• Cleanliness

• Status and mobility

• Gender roles

• Facial expression and body language

• Friendship

• Competition

• Physical space

• Religious practice

Culture: What is it?

But isn’t it deeper than that?

• http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/derek_sivers_weird_or_just_different.html

This week

• Think about your culture and how it shows up in your life – Your family life– Your beliefs– Your tastes– Your attitudes