2 Project: Culture Log

• The Culture Log is like a journal in which you write about your observations, experiences, and reflections. In this Log your focus will be on culturally relevant experiences and providing scholarly psychological analysis.
• The log entries must be a brief description followed by a critical examination using psychological terms and psychological explanations. .
• Each Log entry should include:
  • a brief description and scholarly reflections integrating psychological terms and concepts;
    • e.g., “acculturation”, “linguistic relativity” “ingroups-Outgroups”, “cognitive biases” etc.
  • You should also cite scholarly research wherever applicable.
  • You are encouraged to insert pictures, photographs, brochures etc. in your log.

Four categories for Log entries

Category I:    Intercultural Observations/Experiences in Daily Life  (Minimum 2)

These may be from your past experiences or current on-line interactions.

• This would include your own unintended interactions with someone from a different culture
  AND/OR witnessing an interaction between individuals of different cultures.
• Examples of Unintended Interactions: Riding a bus, shopping, bank teller, work meeting, family visits, email/phone exchange, personal social media post etc.
• Write a brief paragraph (about 250 words) on each of your (2 or more) log entries of intercultural experiences and scholarly reflections
  • Include a brief description of the context; where, how etc.
  • Was there any misunderstanding due to cultural differences? How did you sort it out?
  • Did you learn anything new about a different culture pertaining to any of the topics discussed in
    this course?
    • eg., language and accent, independent-interdependent culture, close relationships, child rearing practice, health beliefs and practices, communication patterns, time orientation etc. 

Category II:   Participation in Intercultural Activities: Public/Social events (Minimum 2)

These may be from a past event or current on-line event you viewed/participated in

• Choose from any of the following: Must be from a culture that is different from your own.
  • A social event (e.g., visiting someone’s home, engagement ceremony, wedding etc.)
  • A cultural event (e.g., folk dancing, folk music, Indigenous story-telling, Greek festival etc.)
  • Visiting or viewing virtual art exhibits (e.g. a museum’s display of Guatemalan arts)

• Write a brief paragraph (about 250 words) on each of your log entries of intercultural activities and scholarly reflections

Category III:  Religious Activity (Minimum 1)

This may be a virtual visit/attendance as many religious places are currently offering it, or, it may be from your past experience of a place of worship other than your own faith.

• Participate in a religious ritual/ceremony/practice other than your own faith
  (e.g. Hindu temple, Muslim Mosque, Sikh Gurudwara, Jewish Synagogue, Catholic church, Buddhist temple)
  Your goal should be to experience a religious activity that is very different from what might be familiar to you.
• Avoid choosing a faith which is just a different denomination of the faith system you might have grown up with or are familiar with. For example, if you were born and raised within a Protestant faith, do not choose Catholic or Lutheren or Unitarian- as these are just different branches of the same faith- Christianity.
• If you grew up without any religious faith, choose the one that is very different from the faith practiced by those around you- your family, relatives. The aim should be to participate in an activity of a different religion.
• Make separate paragraphs for each of the following points (About 500 words total)
  • How was this ritual/ceremony/practice different from what you were familiar with?
  • What were the basic beliefs about the nature of human beings and spirituality?
  • What kind of views about the world and people were symbolized in this ritual?

Category V: Movies

Watch a “foreign film”, i.g., a movie about a culture other than your own.

• What did you learn about culture and psychology?
• Was that an accurate/positive/negative portrayal?
• Did it stereotype a cultural group? How?

An A+ Culture Participation Log

• includes all the required components and adds more than the minimal requirements
• is scholarly, well organized with paragraphs and subheadings, points following a logical order
• is reflective of critical thinking
• avoids commonsense explanations
• does not use Google/Wikipedia as a source of information
• cites scholarly references from peer-reviewed journals
• integrates psychological concepts and terms
• contains lots of relevant information and relevant research studies
• is creative