Cultural Artifacts

Family Photo

Culturally, there is a focus on the nuclear family and creating a life for yourself. In LDS culture, there is strong connection to extended family.

Reading and Literacy

Education is a cultural value because it relates to the value of money and commerce. You have to be educated to make money.

Religion

Religion has influenced much of the culture that I grew up with. Many of the beliefs and values differ from the Western culture. However, even these differing beliefs connect to individualism and self-sufficiency. 

Pride Flag

This is a cultural symbol for an anti-hegimonical culture of which I'm a part.

Music

This relates to the American Dream-belief--anyone can be anything.

Television and Entertainment

This is a cultural status symbol. If you have enough time for relaxation and entertainment, you're well off. 

Esther Poster

This comes from a Christian culture (different than LDS). It represents the idea that if you stand up for what you believe is right, you'll come out on top. 

Butterfly Pin

This represents a concern for the environment.

Closet

This represents organization--the belief that if you're not organized, you're lazy.

Mission Name-tag

This represents the LDS belief that all young men should serve missions to preach the gospel and learn to be self-sufficient. 

Car Keys

This represents self-sufficiency as well. You should be able to move yourself and get to where you need to go without the help of others.

Shower Set

This represents the Western standard of hygiene. If you don't have certain hygiene products, you are not following social mores. 

Marriage Announcement

This represents the idea of the nuclear family and "traditional family." Sorry if anyone knows these people. 

Wallet

This represents the ideas of money and materialism. If you don't have the money, use on credit. 

Ties

This reflects the ideas of presentation. If you dress right, you'll be taken seriously and you're in the right class. 

Watch

This represents the focus on time. If you're on time, you'll be taken seriously. 

High School Diploma

This is represents the idea of education and how it is a "universal right"

World Map

This reflects the idea of a "global concern" while still focusing on the West.

Personality Poster

This is a thing I made for another class that underlines the individualism of Wester culture

 Reflection

I learned that my culture is very Western-centric. It is individualistic and capitalist. There is a lot of emphasis on hard work and money, leaving your family and starting a life for yourself, etc. Even the focus on education was toward the idea that with an education, you can create a good life for yourself. This is contrasted a bit with my LDS and Christian culture which has a focus on families and familial connections. However, these are still couched in Western superiority. Even the things that are supposed to help me look outwards (travel and mission, concern for the environment and people suffering in other places) works under the assumption that what I have is what everyone else wants and/or everyone needs my help. This is kind of harsh which is fair because I’m very critical of my culture. However, I do want to point out that what my parents taught me was, I believe, in what they thought was my best interest. I don’t want to criticize them, just the systems that inform them and me. My connection with LGBTQ culture has helped me open my understanding because of its connections with feminist theory but even still, I see issues within that culture in the US with racism and internalized homophobia.

I think that, to an extent, my culture can be helpful in school settings. There will be students that share many of the same aspects of my culture and this will create a sort of short-cut to understanding one another; we will have kind of a pre-established connection and we do not have to start at zero. However, this will also create a hindrance with all the other students that are not on the same page culturally. Many of my future students are going to be racial minorities in the US and much of the cultural similarities I share with other white, middle-class Americans is not going to be present with these individuals. Even my assumption that this is the case could be a problem because I’m under the assumption that they will be total outsiders to what I have been raised to understand is the base-level of culture.