 Identify your home culture and build a network similar to the one discussed in the video

lectures, and fill in the elements of the network that more readily come to mind.

I consider Indian Culture to be my home culture and my beliefs, values and ideals are largely defined
by the elements that define the culture. As per Indian Culture, many elements are considered sacred,
ranging from natural elements such as the sun and rain to animals such as the cow. In line with these
beliefs, many people also choose to be vegetarian and not consume meat of any other living creature.
Our values of decency, honestly and humbleness is driven by the societal norms and even seen in
traditional Indian clothing, which is vibrant, yet modest.

Since a large population of the country worships deity’s, there are several temples around the country
with depictions of their gods in different forms, such as Lord Shiva with the Trident. The Taj Mahal,
a symbol of love and devotion, is an easily recognizable element of the culture as well.

Indian culture being a highly vertical collectivist culture leads to several norms, such as a hierarchical
system where individuals are treated differently based on several factors, including age, social status,
and even their profession. Younger members of the household are not permitted to speak amongst
adults when making collective decisions within the family.

Last and most importantly is the food from the Indian subcontinent, which is known to be flavorful
and spicy, and very different from other cuisines around the world. Indian food also has the largest
variety of vegetarian dishes owing to the religious beliefs and culture of the land.

 Identify another culture you are familiar with (a heritage culture, one that you have learned
about through travels or media, or a culture you know about from casual observation) and
build a network similar to the one you just did. Fill in the elements of the network that more
readily come to mind.

I was born and raised in Kuwait and hence I am also familiar with the cultural norms and traditions
within the Arab Community. The Arab Cultural system is based on the rules of Shariah Law and is
defined by the teachings of Islam. Hence, the culture is very traditional and conservative. Men and
women, that are unrelated by family, are not permitted to openly mix with one another. Till recently,
women were not allowed to vote or even drive in certain Arab countries. The traditional dressing
style od the Arabs, including “dishdasha’s” for men and “abaya’s” for women is designed and worn
in a very modest fashion, with loose and flowing designs, which compliment the conservative cultural
norm in the society.

I believe the Arab Culture is also a dominant Vertical Collectivist culture and social hierarchy is an
integral part of the system. High levels of authority and respect is shown towards individuals based
on social status, age and one’s profession.

Objects of Arab Culture, namely the Arabic Numeral System are used by people all over the globe,
daily, in their business and in personal lives. Additionally, elements of the Arab region such as desert
sands and mosques with minarets that have a crescent moon on top are key objects that can easily
represent the culture.

Since the Arabs have lived in desert areas, their cuisine is not as varied as we see in Indian Culture.
Meat-based dishes make up the majority of the diet in Arab Culture, with vegetable generally used as
side dished in a meal. The water smoking pipe or “sheesha” is an integral part of the culture.
 Identify one situation in which your home culture should be salient. This could be a situation
you remember in which you thought of being a member of your culture or one in which you
imagined your culture would be salient.
1. Describe the situation in detail
2. explain why the situation activates your culture
3. predict your opinions and behaviors in the situation
4. explain whether your opinions and behaviors are aligned or not with your culture’s
prescriptions

When my daughter was born, we had to make a conscious decision, within my household, about the
language to be spoken at home. My wife and I have been brought up in households where at least two
languages are spoken, and we had to decide how we want to develop our daughter’s communication.
We decided to have English as the primary language in the house and simultaneously teach our child
Hindi, as we believe that Hindi is a key element of the Indian Culture and we wanted to instill a sense
of our traditions into our offspring.

Language is one of the key elements of any culture and we wanted our child to be able to effectively
communicate with other people within the Indian sub-culture, which will build a sense on comradery
and belonging. Speaking in our mother-tongue at home is something we have experienced throughout
our childhood and is a salient part of the Indian Culture. Understanding the language will help my
daughter assimilate better to the culture. Additionally, it is important for her to be able to
communicate with the elders in the extended family, many of whom speak only in Hindi.

Since my wife and I have lived in the Middle East and speak Arabic, we did consider the option of
teaching our child the language of the salient culture around us, Arabic, but decided against it, for the
initial part of our daughter’s life, as we believed that it was more important for us to first teach her
about the heritage and culture she comes from, and then expose her to other languages.

My opinions on the language of choice are well-aligned with my culture. It is commonplace to see
children of Indian Origin, in various parts of the globe being taught to speak Hindi.

 Identify one situation in which the other culture (not your home) should be salient. This could
be a situation you remember in which you thought of assimilating to this other culture or one in
which you imagined this other culture would be salient.
1.
1. Describe the situation in detail
2. explain why the situation activates the other culture
3. predict your opinions and behaviors in the situation
4. explain whether your opinions and behaviors are aligned or not with what the other culture
would promote

In Arab culture, it is common to always say “Salaam Wa Alaykum” when you walk into a room,
whether you know someone in there, or not. This is actively done in professional, social and family
settings and is a salient part of Arab Culture. Such a community-based greeting seen in Indian
Culture.

Since I live in Kuwait, I see this being practiced every day and everywhere I go. If I choose not to
practice it, I would be the ‘odd-one’ that did not greet people when arriving. Hence, I have
assimilated to this cultural norm and now practice it consistently. I believe this situation activates the
other culture as it is the dominant culture where I live. Frame switching to this element of the Arab
Culture is something I was happy to do, once understanding the meaning of it, namely, “Peace be
unto you”, and did not have any personal objection to the practice. This is one of many such practices
I have adopted to satisfy a personal need to identify with the culture.

I believe this assimilation is slightly aligned with my salient culture. In Indian culture, it is common
practice to say “Namaste”, which means ‘bowing to you’. I believe the Arab and Indian greeting
practices are both meant to bring good wishes on somebody and hence, the mindset being the practice
can be aligned.

Since our salient culture is different from the salient culture where I live, we are always switching
cultural frames based on the setting we are in and even the people around us. But we have made a
conscious decision to have Indian culture as the salient culture within our household, as we would
like our child to identify with the culture like we do.
References:
1. Dooley, R. (2005) “Cultural Frame Switching: Different Language, Different Personality”.
Dooley Direct LLC. https://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/language-
personality.htm