Reflective Writing CLSY Sem1 2016

When I was completing the photo board exercise, I was able to reflect on my chosen images and the way they connected to myself and my life, and I felt I began to get a deeper sense of knowledge about where I find myself in my culture, my identity and important world issues. Reflecting on the photo of my culture I have realized how superficial my understanding of where I come from is. Ryan (2010) believes that culture consists of cultural artifacts, which I feel is evident in the photos other students chose and only slightly evident in my image. I chose an image of Vegemite and Marmite. Both of these food items have become an icon in each nation, and I felt I could relate to this photo because it was an image that proved how similar my cultures are to me. The image is quite a shallow idea, but I feel like my understanding of my culture is incredibly shallow and I am not cultured enough to be able to make a statement about where I belong.

When writing about my identity I struggled, as I felt I didn’t know myself well enough to be able to write an in depth paragraph about who I am in 70 words that made sense to myself and others, and It was validating to see many peers felt the same way. I limited my self-value to being based upon friends, family and upbringing, instead of how I feel about who I am as a person. Lawler (2008) states that identity is impossible to singularly define, which made me think about whether identity is something you can actually define.  

I wrote about the refugee crisis for my human rights image, as I feel these people are being denied the right to life, freedom and personal security, the third article on the human rights bill as stated by the United Nations (2016). This issue is occurring globally, and I feel as though when other countries refuse to take refugees as their own, they are denying them the most basic of rights that all human beings should have available to them.

Lastly for my historical image, I chose an image of Kate Sheppard, who was the leader of New Zealand Women’s’ Suffrage campaigns. I chose this image as she changed the way New Zealand’s’ political system worked by achieving women’s right to vote in 1893 (New Zealand History, 2016) and influenced other British colonies to follow suit. This historical pivot is still relevant today for women’s groups who are still fighting for equalities, and I value the ability to participate equally in politics and society.

Viewing the photo board posts from my peers illustrated to me how broad and different understandings are of culture and identity, and what my fellow classmates find important in past and present day society. Creating, sharing and viewing these photo boards has been enriching for my understandings of other cultures and my understanding of my own personal identity in comparison to others. 

References:

Ryan, M. (2010). Preface. Cultural studies: A Practical Introduction.

Lawler, S. (2008). Identity. Sociological Perspectives.

United Nations. (2016). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved on April 2, 2016 from http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

New Zealand History. (2016). Kate Sheppard: Biography. Retrieved on April 2, 2016 from http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/people/kate-sheppard