Reflective Writing I

Reflective Writing I

In our first assessment of Culture and Society we were asked to think and reflect on four different concepts that reflected our culture and society. As New Zealand is still a comparitively young country, it seemed as if we have no "obvious" culture of our own. However the quote "culture means embedded norms all obey usually without thinking about it" (Ryan, 2010) really enlighntened the simple habits or norms that I have grown up with. However, as I have learnt during this assessment it is not always the same perspective of someone else.   

For my CLSYculture1, I picked a photo of a bach. I feel, apon reflection, that this was still a good reflection of my personal culture. For me, a bach is representive of a humble yet hardworking lifestyle as a home away from home near a beach. As I saw from some of my classmates who also defined themselves as born-and-bred kiwis, a majority of the photos were deplicting their bond with the ocean as a unique part of our environment which it is our culture to make use of. The quote "culture as a way of life tends to produce a commonality of thought and behaviour" (Ryan, 2010) enhances the idea that the love and use of our beaches is our common cultural "thread" between us and the bach is a product of this. 

For CLSYidentity2, it was a complex concept as "identity hinges on an apparently paradoxial combination of sameness and difference" (Lawler, 2008). Based on this idea, I believe my identity as a world traveler was too broad and too general to be a defining personality trait which could not, in the end, define my identity as either sameness or difference as individual opinions will define it. For example, an international student may believe the amount of traveling I have done is insufficient to be defined as a "traveler" yet another student may believe one trip overseas would suffice.

For CLSYhuman3, the issue regarding letting refugees into the country. I find this a particularly important issue of human rights in New Zealand, considering that we are a country that was founded through immigration, usually in search of a better life, just as refugees are. I still believe that New Zealand needs to do more in assisting with refugees. However I did not take into consideration of the effect this would have on New Zealand both socially and economically. For example, "labour market discrimination...might force them to choose something they did not desire or intend" (Bedford & Spoonley, 2012). This would directly effect the quality of life that they will recieve and so I now believe that preparations for job opportunities should be done before accepting more refugees.     

      

For CLSYhistory4, Truby King, the founder of Plunket is not an obvious choice as an historical influence. However his innovation has changed infant care for the last 100 years and more so, this has directly effected the majority of the population. "Legacies from the past are preserved but also adapted" (Corfield, 2008) and Truby King is exactly that.

References

M, Ryan. (2010). Cultural Studies: A Practical Introduction. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley and Sons

S, Lawler. (2008). Identity: Sociological perspectives. Cambridge: Polity

R, Bedford., P, Spoonley. (2012). Welcome to our world? Immigration and the Reshaping of New Zealand. Auckland: Dunmore Publishing

P J, Corfield. (2008). Making History: The changing face of the profession in Britian. Retrived 3 April, 2016, from http://www.history.ac.uk/makinghistory/resources/articles/why_history_matters.html#resources