In order to
be able to identify parts of my social identity, one of the first steps I
encountered during the beginning of this paper was to be able to identify and
analyse the societies that I am a part of. During this process I concluded that
I am a part of many societies and that each of these societies presented
different experiences and expectations of those within them. On a grand scale,
the societies I identify with the most is the societies within Auckland, my
home. I was born in Auckland and I have lived here most of my life. I have
always felt as though I knew most of what there was to know about Auckland,
although the creation of task 1,2 and 3 challenged the way I perceived the societies
I am a part of and added to my knowledge of the peoples and places I am exposed
to, and also the different attributes of societies globally.
The
assignments presented me the opportunity to analyse specific concepts and
themes within my societies and also relate them to societies on a global scale
in order to gain knowledge and appreciation for each of the concepts and
themes.
During the
course of this paper my perceptions of my cultural identity has changed.
Initially, the word ‘culture’ or ‘cultural identity’ would stimulate feelings
and memories regarding my traditional Niuean culture. As noted above, through
the exploration of issues within my societies I also came across the existence
of the numerous cultural aspects within Auckland that I could also identify
with that were not related to my Niuean culture. I became much more aware of
the cultural aspects of Auckland, such as every day norms and the social
expectations and exchanges within Auckland’s societies. I have always
recognized and thought highly of the culturally diverse aspects of Auckland and
N.Z in regards to the abundance of traditions, languages, and ethnic foods etc,
but I have also gained a bigger appreciation of what it means to be a part of a
city with a monopoly of respected cultures.
My values
and beliefs are a part of who I am. I cannot envisage a life without all of the
things I hold dear to me and my identity. I noted in assignment 2 that I find
it hard to specify all of the aspects of my identity, although throughout this
paper I have become conversant of what identity is, and I have accepted that my
identity is what makes me unique. Through my awareness on my identity and
acceptance of the numerous identities of others in my society, I was also able
to establish commonality with people I originally thought I had nothing in
common with.
Largely
through group work, I have learnt to appreciate the perspectives of group
members I was working on assignment 3 with. I also applied their perspectives
to society in general in order to increase my regard for the numerous and
differing opinions and values of all members in my society.
For assignment
3, my group and I focused on ‘building effective communities.’ There are many
aspects I have learnt through the exploration of what an effective community
is, and what it takes to create and sustain effective communities.
Firstly we
had to define what a community is. Love describes the main attributes of communities,
but the definition that resonated with me the most was his final attribute
which states ‘The critical factor is that members engage and interact with
and have a sense of belonging and identity with each other’ (2008). Interaction
within societies, with those that may or may not come from the same cultural
background, enables communities and societies to thrive. I learnt that
acceptance and willingness to interact and learn from all the members within my
communities will create harmonious and effective societies.
The first
aspect my group and I established was the power of the media and how highly
influential media can be regarding the shaping of peoples perspectives within
society. We highlighted the existence of bias media and the lack of news
coverage regarding sensitive issues within our society such as the removal of
state housing in Glen Innes, the media’s predominantly negative coverage of
gang communities, the lack of media coverage which exemplifies the raw details
of the lives of low income families, and the lack of new coverage which focuses
on the hardships of the unemployed. Essentially, all modes of media have the
potential to make or break effective communities and in turn, mould the
perspectives of individuals within our societies. In order to build effective
societies, fair and unbiased media needs to be promoted and the issues within
our societies that have the potential to disrupt the effectiveness of communities
needs more attention. The main thing I learnt due to the exploration of
effective communities is to be aware of the medias influences regarding the shaping
of how I view the world and the issues within my society.
Overall I
have enjoyed this paper. There are very few papers that offer insight into
culture and society, and the themes and issues that this paper emphasises. I
feel as though I have learnt an abundance of lessons regarding societies in New
Zealand, and also abroad, and I have increased my appreciation of my identity,
my culture, the perspective of others, and the societies I live in.
Referencing
Chile, L. M. (2007). Community
practice in new zealand: Exploring good practice. Auckland, NZ: Institute of Public Policy, AUT University
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