Global Acceptance through Cultural Moments by Alexis

Global Acceptance through Cultural Moments by Alexis - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

If I had the opportunity to create any class that I wanted I would make a cultural immersion class. There are already classes on differing cultures to teach students about the world, however the class that I would make is more integrated than a normal cultural studies Every social norm of the culture would be not only shown to the students but experienced by them.

I believe that the best way to learn is from experiencing moments, therefore the perfect class would be all about creating an experience for the students. It allows for a book level learning and a hands on tactile experience that stays with a person on a more fundamental level. Similar to the way incorporating music helps a brain absorb new information, experiencing cultural moments will broaden a persons global perspective and garner a greater understanding of the culture studied. Often times we forget things we learn, but rarely to we forget moments or people involved during that learning process. An example of this would be attending a Chinese New Year with a traditional Chinese family versus reading about what Chinese New Year in a text.

I would choose cultural studies because in my opinion much of the tension politically in our world stems from ignorance about people’s differences. Ignorance often breeds fear, distrust and rash acts. One cannot help but love or at least appreciate something that they understand completely, so if youth could start learning and appreciating the customs of differing people then we could move towards a more peaceful world. Realizing how people work and what drives or motivates them always starts at the root of their culture.