Cultural Awareness, Understanding, Acceptance Research Paper

Cultural Awareness, Understanding, Acceptance - Research Paper Example According to Patty (2009), these distinct ways of living are usually manifestation of beliefs, convections and experiences of members of a given society. For example certain cultures practice female genital mutilation as a means of portraying their values of controlling female sexuality. On the contrary, western societies are associated with materialism and consumerism, which represent the manner in which members of those western societies’ value material items as opposed to intangible aspects like female circumcision in third world African countries. According to Patty (2009), this means that culture involves application of both tangible objects like materials and intangible elements like language and practices in demonstrating customary inclination of a given society. At this juncture, it is worth acknowledging the fact that culture is not genetically inherited but learned and transformed from one generation to another. In modern societies, culture manifest in form of gender roles, aesthetical values, social structure of families and social norms. According to Banks and Cherry (2013), culture exists only in the mind of members of a given society. Consequently, it is a fragile component which can be easily lost through social integration between members of different communities. This explains why western cultures are proliferating in second and third world nations. Western education is an example of culture that has been widely adopted across the world. In addition, Christianity as a religion is another definite cultural inclination that originated from Europe and has spread to almost every part of the world. Banks and Cherry (2013) says that as culture spread, other traditional customary practices like the worship of extraterrestrial gods by the Greeks are lost and replaced by relatively superior belief systems. Multicultural Education Based on the distinctive nature of culture, modern cosmopolitan societies are striving towards creating articulate int egration between members with different cultural beliefs. Muslims and Christians have different cultural inclinations in terms of religious beliefs. On the other hand, the role of women in Indian cultures is not similar to that of the female gender in African and Anglo Americans. In this context, there is need for concerted efforts in creating a favorable environment where members from different social backgrounds can interact for a common purpose. In this regard, multicultural education is an academic discipline involved in fostering an equitable environment for learners from distinct cultural backgrounds. Banks and Cherry (2013) says that distinction in terms of cultural background could be based in terms of ethnicity, race and socioeconomic status. In addition, multicultural education entails expounding the role of women on modern social, political and economic setting. In actual practice, multicultural education encompasses application of theories and practical strategies in res ponding to educational needs of a culturally diverse society. One approach of integration multicultural principles in contemporary education includes fostering human relations between members of different races or genders. During the first half of 20th Century, African Americans were experiencing one of their most tragic incidents in their history. According to Banks (2003), racial discrimination was prevalent in political, social and economic contexts. Apart from the Black population, women were also

Explain the key arguments presented by Thomas Szasz (in the texts Essay

Explain the key arguments presented by Thomas Szasz (in the texts studied on this course) against the current practice of psychiatry. Assess the significant strengths and weaknesses - Essay Example psychiatry is against autonomy and individual choice; psychiatry is based on false assumptions which cannot be proven; and finally, that psychiatry should be a means through which there is an attempt to help individuals understand themselves and others in society. One of the most significant arguments made by Szasz against psychiatry is that psychiatrists are successors to priests and other religious figures. This succession came about through getting directly involved in the attempt to solve the various problems that seem to be plaguing individuals, especially in the case where it was believed that these individuals needed spiritual intervention (Szasz 1974, p.181). He argues that this is exactly the case with modern psychiatry where practitioners seek to classify the various problems of living that some individuals in society might have as mental illnesses. The argument of classification is strength because it creates a situation where the psychiatrist comes to have incredible control over the lives of his patients and this in such a manner that he is able to determine what he would like to do with them. That psychiatrists have a level of power over their patients comes about through their being able to recommend that they be confined in me ntal institutions for a certain period as a means of treating their mental illnesses. It creates a situation where it is extremely difficult for individuals in society to escape the clutches of control because psychiatrists, using medical terms, act as priests did using religious terms, can still impose control over those who have put their faith in them. A weakness of this argument is that it does not attempt to show the origins of the behaviours which can be considered as not being normal within human society. Such behaviours include the mentality of murderers who do not feel remorse for their actions despite the latter being horrific. However, one would agree with Szasz’z argument because it is a means of showing the