COMS1003 Culture to Cultures Report 1 Sample
Detailed Information on Assessment Tasks
1. Case Study
This assessment is a chance for you to become comfortable with the overarching concepts of the unit around a topic that is relevant to you. Although we generally focus on culture in Culture to Cultures, our main concepts pervade many topics and aspects of social life (see some of the suggested topics below) and this assessment allows you to explore that.
There are two parts to this assessment – (1) a creative work and (2) short answer questions. The questions will ask you to apply the concepts you have learned so far to your creative work. The questions are listed on a template available under the submission link for this assessment on Blackboard. Your creative work should be added at the end of the template, or a link provided if it is hosted online. You will then submit this document as your assessment.
Part 1. Creative work
Produce a creative work around a topic that allows you to engage with ONE or TWO of the concepts explored in the first 4 weeks of Culture to Cultures (e.g.: essentialism and non-essentialism, stereotyping, othering, culturism). Lecture 4 in particular will discuss this assessment, ideas around topics and the types of creative works you could produce.
Topic
The topic you focus on is up to you. Some suggestions include a creative work around identity, gender, sexuality, a particular subculture, job/career, hobby/interest, race, ethnicity, immigration, nationality, politics, multiculturalism, language group/s, cultural appropriation, animals, environmental issues. Have a look at the information around Part 2 of the assessment as it may help you decide on a topic. If you need guidance about whether your topic might be appropriate, please speak to your tutor or unit coordinator.
Medium
Your artefact could take the form of an art work, short story, blog post, vlog, TikTok, YouTube video, script, storyboard, news article, comic, press release, policy paper, an advert, poster, an educational resource or activity for children for use at schools or at a community event etc. If you need guidance about whether your medium might be appropriate, please speak to your tutor or unit coordinator.
You are allowed to use generative AI for part 1 of this assessment – the creative work. You do not need to seek permission from the unit coordinator if you do so. You may use it as much or little as you like, for content or ideas. For example, you could use a text-to-image generator, entering the text of your idea/concept to produce an image, and then submit that image for your assessment. Or you could use a language model AI to come up with ideas for a short story, which you then rework, adding some of your own ideas and material.
If you do use gen AI, you will need to answer some questions around your use of it. We are asking you to do this because as AI use increases and it affects careers and career opportunities, we want you to have the ability to use AI tools, as well as an understanding of responsible and appropriate use, the ethics, legal implications, limitations, biases, and other ramifications of AI. Don't forget to reference your AI use as per APA 7th guidelines. You may find the UniSkills page on Gen AI useful: https://uniskills.library.curtin.edu.au/digital/gen-ai/
Part 2. Short Answer Questions
Along with your creative piece, you will respond to some short answer questions. The questions will ask you explain your work and apply the concepts to it. The questions are listed on a template available under the submission link on Blackboard. Please type your responses under each question.
Keep in mind
- You do not need to explore every concept - choose 1 or 2
- If your creative work is text-based (a short story or news article, for example) please keep the word limit to 700 words
- If your creative work is not text-based and you are unsure of how long to spend on it, we recommend the same time it would take you to write a 700 word piece.
Solution
Part 1
Creative Work
Near a river in a market place, there was a weaver, who wove garments of the true colour of her people and their culture. The piece of work that she wore was made from wool which was knit around her ancestral background and the clothe depicted the history of her village. And one day, a merchant who lived far away county came; they told stories of cities which were far away, large building with many floors, and many people in the world but these people are not happy. He talked of Oriental markets with spices which turned food into something else, of the Western technology that domesticated nature. Thus, the weaver who heard these wonders about the foreign lands, started meditating for the first time about what was there in the huge world out of her village.
Piqued, the weaver traded one tapestry – that woven from her mother’s renditions of lullabies – for a bundle of silk travelling from the four corners of the earth. It was a silk – this was something she had never felt before. It was silky to the touch and it was somewhat glossy and looked like it could be polished under the light like it was a dream that has been left behind.
As the merchant departed, he left her with a question: This is similar to the original question: ‘With threads from every part of the globe what would you make?’
That same night the weaver sat beside her weaving desk staring at the piece of silk. Taking it to the moon’s light she spread them admiring the delicate feel of the fabric. She started to think of the stories that her mother used to tell her in details—young Gods and brave heroes that fought in twilight zone between the night and the dawn. Could these stories still be told with threads from foreign lands including the peculiar ones like the already mentioned one of Simon Pure? Can her ancestors voice still be heard in the language of the world?
She started to loom and, at first, very softly and slowly. The silk slipped easily on the shelf among the wool as if it has always been placed there. She mixed corn with unripe nuts, rough ones with smooth ones and something new emerged , a piece that was like none she had ever woven before, a piece of art, a tapestry.
Her work attracted attention. Soon, people from other distant lands started coming in search of her goodies and her tapestries ever went round the circle. They were displayed in palaces and museums where people fought for them with words as they admired their ability to successfully incorporate tradition with the new, the domestic with the global. Her kist had become the world globalization, a delicate interweaving of various cultures within a single art in a form that was still very separate.
That’s when more challenges came and the weaver began doubting herself. She thought that with foreign threads in her tapestries she was being unfaithful to herself and to her people, as the richness of her country’s colors faded into new shades she saw in other cities. The stories she used to tell in her work become universalized, and painted a world she did not know. One day, she decided what to create a new picture: love and the ability to accept the world and remain oneself. Employing wool from her village and silk from the merchant, she wove a primary cloth which depicted the combination of the local and the cosmopolitan.
Thus, the final artwork shows that the weaver builds a picture that focuses on the meeting of different cultures without their integration. The work for university assignment help represents the intercultural tolerance in globalization; creating one culture out of differences. The weaver learns that while globalization does not universalise, people are rolling a greater layer to the colourful canvas of one’s life stories. When the travelers are looking at it, she mentions to them that each of these threads is a life story –some of them hers and the rest of them belongs to somebody else. The weaver’s identification is broadened in the global rather than risk losing it in the process.
Part 2
1. Describe your creative work. What is the conceptual idea and aim of the piece?
My creative work ‘The Weaving of Identities’ can be described as an allegory of the cultural Self in its relationship with the global Other(Beribe 2023). The protagonist is a weaver whose work, indeed, serves as a metaphor for retention and narration of a given people’s culture, legacy, or origin. Her tapestries are full of colours that she took from the native country, each of them telling the story of a culture which stays unbroken between generations of people. Nonetheless, she experiences globalization in the form of a foreign merchant and his ideas and products threaten her way of constructing an identity.
The conceptual message, which is behind this work, can be summed up in the fact the identity of a specific culture can change with time, yet remain whole and unbroken when subjected to other cultures(Sutrisno 2023). By depicting the weaver who, from creating strictly native products to adding foreign strands, the author provides the readers with the powerful image of intolerance which many cultures experience in the contemporary world. The foreign threads symbolize modern globalized world full of beauty and sophistication but is it worth to lose one’s heritage?
Thus, in this story, it will be my intention to focus on the tension between preservation of the national culture and its assimilation of the global one(Doszhan 2023). The weaver’s eventual decision to blend the wool of her village with the silk of distant lands signifies a realization: This means that one does not have to surrender to the globalization tendencies and let the cultural essence die out of his or her people. The last art piece of woven culture that she develops serves as the icon of the unity whilst providing the cultural diversity indicating that globalisation does not equal to cultural assimilation but expansion.
Finally, it wants to tell its readers that cultural identity is woven from many strands which are both traditional and modern alike(Patawari & Mamonto 2023). The intent is to provoke thinking about how people exist in the contemporary socio-political environment of globalisation, how history is downPLAYed and written and how individual and collective histories can be integrated into the grand narrative of humanity.
2. How did you come up with this idea? What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of it?
This story idea developed from pondering about how cultures change when societies interact especially in the modern society with a large integration of other cultures(Prasanti, Adila, & Muhyi 2024). Thus, the image of weaving seemed quite organic to express the concept of integration of traditions together with global elements. Tapestries with all the coarse threads depicted, represents the fact that as much as cultures are dynamic and ever changing, every bit of the new cloth that is being interwoven into it is another story, memory or an identity that is equivalent to the previous one.
There is much of value in this idea since its focus is symbolic, which helps in the representation of such notions as cultural or identity, globalization(Saaida 2023). While the weaver’s journey presents a hummable emotional arc of the film wherein it deals thematically with the concept of tradition and change on one hand, and the message of acceptance of the diversification on the other.
However, one possible the limitation could be on its flexibility, or generalization as it were since it is based on political science theories(Eslami, Larina, & Pashmforoosh 2023). Pursuant to the marking criteria, if the topic demands sharp analysis and references, the concept of the metaphorical and symbolical approach may be considered as too general, unscholarly or not pertinent to the issue.
3. In what ways does your creative work engage with the concept/s you chose? In answering this question, you should engage with the concepts in some depth looking at definitions, various aspects of the concept, or details around it.
My creative work“The Weaving of Identities” deals with cultural identity in the age of globalization. This is a very clear representation of how cultural identity is created and reshaped through the weaving process in the context of globalisation and the inherent opportunities and threats lie in front of individuals striving to maintain their cultural identity .
Cultural Identity and Essentialism
Ethnicity is regarded as a identification of people that is based on the values and beliefs that are characteristic for a certain community(Tuncer 2023). These identities are generally based on history, language, religion and place. In the context of the story, this can very well be seen in the weave and threads of the weaver as she creates dresses that holds the tales of her people. The colors chosen by her – red, orange, indigo again point to her roots, and to the Indigenous Australians’ unity with the land. Every string that she employs is an illustration of a part of the traditions and folk of her people, and every tie in her web is any part of their story. This depiction corresponds to the second concept of cultural identification, which we earlier described as more primordial because it paints culture as fixed in inherited traits such as the reinforcement of culture or traditions.
However there are changes that occur in the story, in one instance the weaver meets a foreign merchant who reveals to her new materials and ways of weaving, which corresponds to the idea of globalization affecting her previously sheltered world(Huang, Yang, & Meng 2023). This is the point at which the story destabilises the idea of fixed, natural categories. This is not very different from the narrative in the sense that it disapproves the cultural identity as something permanent and unshifting but depicts it as a process which might change with time as other aspects are added. The weaver, deciding to add the foreign silk to her creations recalls the notion of culture as not being a fixed state – instead of being immovable and infinitely rigid culture has the ability to grow and evolve. This is in consonance with a less rigid aspect of cultural thinking which postulates that people’s identities are always in a state of construction and reconstruction from different forces outside. Thus, the story Challenges the natives to adopt a cultural attitude that culture is something that has to remain pristine and untainted by contact with other cultures.
Globalization and Cultural Hybridization
It is important to point out that the concept of globalization forms the backbone of the story. This means that is the expansion of people, countries, continents and other sub groups integration due to the exchange of ideas and commodities. This very often result in formation of new cultural forms, the so-called syncretization, whereby some parts of culture forms a new form of identity that is different from the preceding forms(Sakib 2023). The merchant embody globalisation in the story as he arrives bringing with him silk from other countries and tales of cities with tall buildings such as skyscrapers. By his presence, the weaver gets acquainted with other cultures and other opportunities apart from the village life.
To start with, the weaver is rather intrigued with the material as well as the possibilities the silk offers her. She tries to mix it into her native costume material to come up with new pieces of work with added non traditional component. This is a metaphor for the idea of globalization where the global culture has an impact on the local cultures but these are not fully dominated by the former. However, this raises the question: New forms of identity appear here, which have elements of earlier and later. The story is an example of how despite globalization, culture is not wiped off but instead a new layer of culture is built upon the older one.
But the story also tells about conflict which may appear in the process of such merging. The weaver starts making that decision thinking that she is cutting herself from her culture by using the foreign material. The colours of her native country which are red, orange and indigo are replaced by these new colours that she has learnt are associated with foreign countries. The themes the previous tapestries portrayed to the world about her people’s past and culture are erasing her, giving a world she has no knowing into.
The Function of Agency in Cultural Subjectivity
Actually, one of the main considerations of the story is the question of the personal contribution to the cultural formation. From all the events described throughout the plot, the weaver is not a mere receptor of the globalization affectation. However, what is most important, she decides consciously about how to cope with it. As she touches the foreign silk she changed her mind and opted to weave a final tapestry as a combination of her own culture and the new materials that she has discovered. She knits her dress from the wool of her village, but the colors are those of her village, however, she uses, silks of the merchant, which looks like the river near her home. It can be said that this decision is also an embodiment of her ability to negotiate between the postcolonial local modernity and the neocolonial globalization.
Reference List
Beribe, M. F. B. (2023). The Impact of Globalization on Content and Subjects in the Curriculum in Madrasah Ibtidaiyah: Challenges and Opportunities. At-Tasyrih: jurnal pendidikan dan hukum Islam, 9(1), 54-68.[Retrieve from:https://ejournal.iainbatanghari.ac.id/index.php/attasyrih/article/download/157/91][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
Doszhan, R. (2023). Multi-vector cultural connection in the conditions of modern globalisation. Interdisciplinary Cultural and Humanities Review, 2(1), 27-32.[Retrieve from:https://interculture.com.ua/web/uploads/journals_pdf/Interdisciplinary%20Cultural%20and%20Humanities%
20Review.%202023.%20Vol.%202,%20No.%201.pdf#page=27][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
Eslami, Z. R., Larina, T. V., & Pashmforoosh, R. (2023). Identity, politeness and discursive practices in a changing world. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 27(1), 7-38.[Retrieve from:https://journals.rudn.ru/linguistics/article/download/34225/21932][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
Huang, Z., Yang, Z., & Meng, T. (2023). National identity of locality: The state, patriotism, and nationalism in cyber China. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 28(1), 51-83.[Retrieve from:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tianguang-Meng-2/publication/361443993_National_Identity_of_Locality_The_State_Patriotism_and_Nationalism_in_Cyber_
China/links/633da93976e39959d69f9e5e/National-Identity-of-Locality-The-State-Patriotism-and-Nationalism-in-Cyber-China.pdf?origin=journalDetail&_tp=eyJwYWdlIjoiam91cm5hbERldGFpbCJ9][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
Patawari, P., & Mamonto, M. A. W. W. (2023). Formulation of Cultural Values Internalization Policy by Regional Government: Efforts to Mitigate the Negative Impact of Globalization on Children. Journal of Law, Politic and Humanities, 3(4), 403-411.[Retrieve from:https://www.wecmelive.com/open-access/application-of-s-m-nazmuz-sakibs-four-principles-of-potential-output-in-physiotherapy-across-diverse-medical-disciplines.pdf][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
Prasanti, N. A., Adila, P. E., & Muhyi, A. A. (2024). The Correlation between Islam and Globalization According to the Maudhu’i Interpretation. Bulletin of Islamic Research, 2(2), 237-250.[Retrieve from:http://birjournal.com/index.php/bir/article/download/13/14][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
Saaida, M. B. (2023). The role of culture and identity in international relations. East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 4(1), 49-57.[Retrieve from:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daba-Debo-2/publication/379980732_The_Double-Edged_Sword_Culture_and_Identity_in_a_Globalized_World_Daba_Debo/links/6624fdaff7d3fc287472e2a2/The-Double-Edged-Sword-Culture-and-Identity-in-a-Globalized-World-Daba-Debo.pdf][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
Sakib, S. N. (2023). Comparing the sociology of culture in Bangladesh and India: Similarities and differences in Bangladeshi and Indian cultures. Simulacra, 6(1), 33-44.[Retrieve from:https://www.opastpublishers.com/open-access-articles/a-legal-analysis-of-the-status-of-the-bihari-community-living-in-bangladesh-becoming-citizen-from-statelessness.pdf][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
Sutrisno, S. (2023). Changes in Media Consumption Patterns and their Implications for People's Cultural Identity. Technology and Society Perspectives (TACIT), 1(1), 18-25.[Retrieve from:https://journal.literasisainsnusantara.com/index.php/tacit/article/download/31/51][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
Tuncer, F. F. (2023). Discussing globalization and cultural hybridization. Universal Journal of History and Culture, 5(2), 85-103.[Retrieve from:https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/3069054][Retrieve on:21.08.2024]
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