Identity/ies Final Exam

Worth 30 points
Identity consists of cultural, social and personal identities (according to Koester, Lustig,
Samovar and Porter). Please consider the identities provided by Martin and Nakayama as
well.
Step 1: Begin by identifying the dominant identities (cultural, social, and individual
introduced by Koester and Lustig) that have most influence your self-concept. Your
cultural/ethnic identity might include family history, traditions, and customs. In your
view, what are the characteristics of your deep structured culture?
Step 2: Discuss the role that your social identity plays as a factor of your overall identity.
If applicable, address your gender, race, and economic standing (class) and discuss
difficulties you have had to overcome because of these socially defined
intersectionalities. How has privilege or the lack thereof played a role in your life? Also,
if other social groups play an important part in defining you as a person i.e. the military, a
basketball team, a dance troop etc. discuss the group(s) role in contributing to your
overall identity.
Step 3: Acknowledge those personal characteristics that are outside the realm of cultural
and social identity: your personal identity. What characteristics are unique to you that
significantly contribute to who you are?
Step 4: Summarize the discussion by identifying the significant, or not so significant
impacts of your culture and accompanying co-cultures on your overall identity.
Step 5: Address whether you consider your identity to be unexamined, in identity search,
or identity achievement.
Step 6: Make sure that you have defined and given examples of at least 10- 15 concepts
that we have discussed in class, or in the text. I will provide a list at the end of this
assignment description. The 10-15 terms are in addition to those that you use to discuss
identity (cultural, social, individual etc.)
Your final must meet the following criteria:
* Address your cultural, social, individual and categories of identity development
* Typewritten, single spaced, and one-inch margins
* Please use a 12 font, no larger or smaller
* Please write 3-5 pages
* Please use correct grammar, spelling and word choice.
* Turn in a hard copy to me on the final day. I do not accept emailed finals.

Your final should be structured as such:

I. Introduction
Describe your self-concept/identity in a paragraph or two,
II. Body
A. Your cultural identity
B. Your social identity
C. Your personal identity
III. Conclusion
Identify any insights that you have discovered through this process.
Please include 10-15 of the following concepts in your analysis:
Ethnicity, race, nationality
Three Levels of Culture
Co-culture
The continuum of intercultural communication
Intercultural competence
The BASICs of Intercultural competence
Cultural Relativism and Cultural Universalism
Cultural patterns definition
Components of cultural patterns
Kluckhohn and Strodtbecks value orientations
(Activity, relationships, human nature, people-nature, time)
Functionalist, Interpretive, and Critical approaches to ICC
Halls high and low context cultural patterns
Hofstedes dimensions of culture
Power distance
Individualism-collectivism
Uncertainty avoidance
Maculine-feminine
Categories of identity (Martin and Nakayama)
Cultural Biases
Social categorizing
Ethnocentrism
Stereotyping
Prejudice
Discrimination
Racism
Culture shock and Re-entry shock
Forms of Acculturation (Assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization)
The adaptation process (U and W curves)
How self concept develops
The Looking Glass Self

The Johari Window

The Invisible Knapsack Theory (Dr. McIntosh)
Normative Race privilege
Forms of privilege
Entitlement and ethnocentrism
Positive Psychology and Culture
Intrinsic and Extrinsic values and Happiness
Dr. Mihalys notion of Flow
The positive psychologists adaptation of the Hedonic Treadmill
Individualism and collectivism and happiness
Using Happiness to compare culture
Dialects, accents, jargon, and argot
Code switching
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (firmer and softer views)
Types of equivalence (Vocabulary, idiomatic, grammatical-syntactical, and experiential)
Emblems, illustrators, regulators, adaptors, and affect displays
Halls four spatial zones
Cultural differences in Time and touch
Chemical, dermal, physical and artifactual code systems
Cultural Space
Contact cultures
Quasilogical, analogical, presentational persuasive styles
Organizational preferences in other languages and culture
Cultural differences in what is acceptable as evidence, reasoning
Ethos, pathos and logos (from lecture)
Dr. Baxters Inevitable contradictions
Dr. William Gudykunsts Uncertainty Reduction Theory
Strategies for reducing anxiety and uncertainty
Emotional Intelligence
Grading Criteria (30 points possible):
Content: 20 points
Did you identify the required number of concepts complete with accurate examples?
Were the examples you used to illustrate the terms clear?
Structure: 5 points
Did you develop each part of the response? Was there a clear introduction, body and
conclusion? Was each main point developed sufficiently Did you meet the requirement
for each part?
Written work: 5 points
Were there obvious typos, misspellings, sentence fragments that could have easily been
corrected by proofreading the paper?
Were the layout requirements met:
Was the paper typed? Including 12 font, and 1 margins?