ATA 5

Assignment 5 asked us to find a peer reviewed article that combined several things learned so far in the course. We were to choose a topic and a specific country to relate to the course. The article I chose was “Homeworking in Rural Spain: A Gender Approach” and I found this very interesting. It looked into women in different areas of rural Spain and how their homemaking skills were used in the textile industry. I learned that these women did not always feel fulfilled by this as they technically were contributing to their family, they are paid less than men for their work. This gender bias has applied to many different psych classes especially Cross Cutural and Lifespan Development. I’ve learned throughout this course that women are treated the same across many cultures but are oppressed in many others. This article expressed that women in these rural areas of Spain are allowed to work and contribute but on a lower level than men. In Lifespan Development it is discussed that while many women do feel fulfilled and content with being a mother and homemaker, others in the present world, would be much happier with a career.
I felt that this topic related directly to me because I would love to visit Spain one day and I am also a woman in a rural area. I have a different experience however, living in the United States and having the option to choose between homemaking/motherhood and a career. I choose to have both. I am working towards a career that I love but I also enjoy traditional “women’s” activities such as gardening and cooking and know I want to be a mother someday. I think that in this day and age you can have both.

I chose this visual from my Items to Archive because it represents the very rural coastal area that I come from. Northampton County only has 12,000 people and has shaped me into the person that I am today.

I chose this image also because this is what I envision when I think of rural Spain. I would love to visit here someday and really take in the culture.

ATA 4

Assignment 4 made us look into advertisements in different cultures and point out the differences in gender schemas. It was very interesting to look at these discrepancies. It was similar to Assignment 3 where I wrote on gender from a student who studied abroad. The female writer I studied had different emotions towards her experiences than a man would and this is what advertisers in media are looking for. They try to gear the ads towards women’s and men’s emotions.
I found that in many cultures the ads saw women in traditional roles such as the homemaker and also sexualized them to grab men’s attention. Many of the ads were sexist including the Middle Eastern Nike ad which showed a woman runner completely covered which is customary in that culture. Although most cultures are vastly different, their advertisements are generally the same.

I chose this image to represent this assignment because I think it is the most ridiculous ads I came across. I cannot even be offended by it because it is so funny to me that BIC thinks they can cater to women by having pens “for her.”

ATA 3

Assignment 3 asked us to read and analyze several blog posts from a student in a study abroad program and use one of the themes from the text to discuss it. I chose to read about a student who studied in Rome and focused on gender and emotions. I learned that studying abroad can be very intimidating but rewarding. I think that it caused my particular student to open her eyes to the cultural differences for example table manners. She wanted to be very respectful to anyone she came across, feeling like an outsider.
This assignment made me realize that I should have taken the opportunity to study abroad even for short-term programs during spring break. I definitely want to travel more now that I am a little more understanding of other cultures and how to be more open minded from this course.

This is a visual representation of one of my favorite places I’ve ever traveled to; Honfleur, France. I would love to go back there now as an adult when I could appreciate it even more.

ATA 1

Assignment 1 looked into Bennett’s Model of Intercultural Sensitivity and had us decide which stage we most closely  fit into. I fell into the stage of Acceptance of Difference. While reading about this stage, I realized that I am a fairly accepting person. I do not judge others based on their cultural differences.

I also realized that I could be more open-minded and accepting by learning about other cultures. When I have travelled to other countries, I am guilty of only worrying about how I will communicate in a restaurant and not truly delving into their culture and realizing how others truly live. This assignment did make me more eager to travel with a new perspective that I hope to gain throughout this course.

 

 

https://www.thoughtco.com/culture-hearths-and-cultural-diffusion-1434496