Final

Throughout the semester we have been exploring the subject of power—who has it, who doesn’t, and what that means for those involved. Use two concepts or theories from the text (1 from Chapters 1-5, 1 from Chapters 6-10) to explore and discuss how cultural values impact who does and doesn’t have social power. Discuss how cultural values (and how we think of or envision these ideals) are influenced and shaped by communication and culture (in all of its many shapes and forms). Remember to define key terms and pull in citations from the readings to support and develop your idea

. Before discussing how cultural values influences and controls communication , it is worth noting that communication is integral to the very concept of culture itself The reasoning behind this is due to the characteristics of cultures which our  influenced by human behavior and creates a  primary element of communication as a whole. When looking at values in a culture’s point of view to understand what’s good and considered justin society.To best define culture it is “a general process of intellectual, spiritual, and aesthetic development.” this definition features the most important aspects of what culture truly defines in the best possible way even though we must understand that the definition itself isn’t enough to go in depth regarding who or what culture truly is.The influence of the different culture values on human interaction is inconsistent due to how we conduct our daily lives due to our culture context which influence our every thought, feeling, and action.

Since communication is an important part of our everyday routine. However, it’s never ending presence often comes with the idea of simplicity when the definition itself continues to evolve repeatedly as human beings continue to progress. The relationship between culture and communication is one that cannot survive without one another. Communication is created between human interaction through which cultural characteristics—whether it be customs, rules, rituals, laws, etc.—are created and shared.In a society in order to manage all the different social groups it is done through what is known as hegemony which is described as the existence of how dominance is controlled between one group over another.

Cultural hegemony has the possibilities and power of controlling society through our dominant social groups which allows for our society to be policed in a way that is unnoticeable to the dominant group. Hegemony allows not only for the consent of the dominant social group through coercion but also establishes a sense of control held over the society as well. When speaking about dominant we are referring to the social group who have the resources, assets, and means to control the cultural environment of a society. The dominant social grouping can influence and affects anything from fashion,norms, values, and behavior of what we find acceptable to society. Culture value is significant in being able to  determine and understand  the way people think, act and interact. While some of them are obvious based on their customs, arts, food and celebrations. Others, such as social status, body language and form of communication go unrevealed

Difference is a key term that we have been addressing throughout the course. Describe why this concept is important in relation to issues of communication, culture and identity. Draw on 2-3 relevant concepts or theories from the textbook or class readings. Be both thoughtful and sophisticated in your discussion, defining key terms and pulling in citations from the readings to support and develop your ideas.

The term difference while some might find offensive others take pride when  being defined or define oneself as different Because of the increase of different culture I believe that individualism and social classification our  important concepts to understand in order to allow for the key term difference to have significance . Individualism is meant to emphasize the worth of oneself based on how we choose to define ourselves while social classification is a set of concepts in which we are placed in a social categories based on where we stand financially.

By taking the following term into account , differences , we must start at looking at oneself . Through individualism we form cultures and groups in which we fall under which  impact how we think, act and judge others. Every culture has rules while  knowledge, rules, beliefs, and values are taught, most is gathered subconsciously.While culturally we can claim that we aren’t different from one another ,  in reality each and every of our identities are different and by denying it is actually harmful to society.When we speak about one’s identity we must understand that it is a working process which means it’s ongoing and interplays on a daily basis between the experiences we face.Identity is influenced based on a number of things in which creates how we view ourself and how we want others to view us , it is something that we shape throughout our life to create what we believe to be our true self which is created through the key term difference.

Now that we are speaking of identity , the most critical part of one’s identity is the influence of social classification on people’s lives. An individual’s social class has a major influence on his or her chances out in reality ranging from being able to obtain the things they most desire and avoiding unpleasant experiences..The reason behind social class and how it influences us is due to social construct , even though it doesn’t physically exist in reality, which is a result of human interaction and understanding.The term difference has created an endless amount of ways in which we can measure our life and the link  between how one’s  social class affects one’s identity. The question one must truly ask ourselves is  if there was a world without difference would  it be a world worth living in?

Considering the class from the very beginning, identify one argument/perspective on culture and communication that influenced your thought. This can be any point that you found: relevant, interesting, puzzling, important, unexpected, frustrating – in other words, the point does not need to be positive. Explain this concept or insight and describe how it influenced your own thinking, connecting/contrasting it to at least 1 other concept from the textbook. Be both thoughtful and sophisticated in your discussion, defining key terms and pulling in citations from the readings to support and develop your ideas.

Throughout the course the most influential perspective that created a new perspective for me was McIntosh essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” . This idea of “privilege” in which is something that some people benefit from unearned and some times unacknowledged but comes with advantages, which don’t go unseen. Although McIntosh  is certainly not the first to write about whiteness and white privilege what stuck with me is how it impacts our daily lives in ways that go unseen each day . When reading this piece not only is eye opening but it was frustrating how no matter how far we’ve progressed the advantages of being white might not be noticeable to them but for us it doesn’t go unseen.

When reading this essay I believe that the reason why it affected me mentally was that

when she wrote the list of unseen prívelage one was “ I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race”.  This has everything to do with not only the influence of whites being seen as the dominant social group of society but also of how our society allows for everyone other than American history to go unheard of. When I actually began to think about it , I always knew but wondered why is it that I had to learn my history through my family and when I was old enough to understand why my color would always make me have to work harder than others

As a society we have allowed for many schools, to continue solely on teaching their history classes based on american history which tells us how Europeans conquered this great world we live in.The list goes to show that those who are and identify themselves as caucasian seem to not fully grasp how privileged they are in society. Their white  privilege comes at a high cost because with that comes with them always being the dominant social class because with privilege comes bigger and better opportunities . Everything in life is much easier when your race or ethnicity is the one that gets you into the best school or job. Because let’s admit it even though we have progressed in time white privilege will continue to reside in many prestige companies since it’s almost always run by white privileged men.