Instructions:  As stated in your syllabus, “This assignment will heighten awareness of your own identity and other diverse populations to foster the development of a sense of self in relationship to others. This paper is a personal narrative and assessment of how you view yourself in the broader environment of differences.”

 

This paper will be in APA format, 8–10 pages (not including cover page and any listing of references) double-spaced Do NOT single space.  This assignment must incorporate the textbook chapter readings by bolding six key terms/concepts. You must also explain how they “fit” your narrative.

 

This assignment must be completed as a narrative. Do not repeat the questions and do not break the paper down to subsections, e.g., a, b, & c. The paper MUST be divided into the identified sections (sections 1 – 8).  The student is required to integrate at least six concepts (i.e., one concept from each chapter in your textbook. You should use key terms/concepts from the textbook up to the required readings at the time of the due date. You MUST bold only the terms/concepts in your paper.  Do NOT bold the complete definitions.  You MUST include an explanation regarding “how’ the key term/concept applies to your narrative. A couple of sentences will work.

 

Respond according to your comfort level. What you share is between you and the instructor. You only need to complete at least one per section, no more than two pages.

 

Structure of the paper:

 

1.       Gender:(minimum one page – maximum two pages)

 

a)       Answer a few of  the following relevant questions regarding yourself:  What is your earliest memory of you being aware of yourself as a male or female? How do you see or describe yourself as a female or a male? How do persons who are of the same sex see you? How do persons who are not of the same sex see you? What do you like about being female or male? What do you dislike about being female or male? What did you learn when you were growing up about acting like a man (for males) or a woman (for females)? When was the first time you realized that boys and girls were treated differently because of their sex?

 

b)       Describe your experience (again, what is relevant): What advantages or disadvantages have you experienced because of your sex?  How have you responded to any awareness of gender inequality? How well do you relate to males and females? Give examples. Do you have issues that may make it difficult for you to help clients of a different sex/ gender?

 

What in your assigned readings and class discussions supports or contrasts with the information you know about gender? How might you challenge yourself to be more gender-sensitive and to combat sexism?

 

2.       Ethnicity/Nationality: (minimum one page – maximum two pages)

 

a)       Answer a few of the following relevant questions regarding yourself:  What do you know about your ethnic heritage? Describe what you know about your first or last name’s heritage or any culturally significant name change(s) in your family background. What country or countries would you identify as your ancestral geographic base?  What values, behavioral patterns, language, political and economic interest, and/or history of the identified ethnic group(s) are parts of which you are your values, language, or history? What do you know about your ancestors and how they came to live in the United States?  How do their experiences and histories affect you? Describe an aspect of your ethnic heritage that you are proud of and an aspect you are not proud of.  What was the ethnic composition of the neighborhoods in which you have lived? How much contact have you had with members of other ethnic groups?

 

b)       Describe your most significant contact(s)with members of other ethnic groups:  Where did you get most of your information or misinformation about other ethnic groups? Give one example.

 

What in your assigned readings so far and class discussion support or contrast with information you have learned about your cultural identity? How is your background the same or different from other groups?  Do you have issues that may make it difficult for you to help clients of a particular ethnicity? How might you challenge yourself to be more ethnically sensitive to combat xenophobia, hostile nationalism, and ethnocentrism?

 

3.       Race: (minimum one page – maximum two page

 

Answer a few of  the following relevant questions regarding yourself:   What race would you say you are?  In what racial group would others place you? What is the racial background of your family? When were you first aware of yourself as a member of a particular racial group?  When were you first aware of people of other races? Which races?  What was the racial composition of the neighborhoods in which you have lived?  When did you first witness or experience someone being treated differently because of his/her racial group?  What experience made you aware that your racial group affects how you are treated in this society?  What advantages or disadvantages have you experienced because of your race?  What about your racial group makes you proud to be a member of that racial group?  What about the racial group that makes you not want to be a member of that racial group?

 

a)       Briefly describe an experience that caused you to feel guilt, shame, anger, or rage because of membership in or identification with your racial group.

b)   Briefly describe significant interracial contacts and feedback that you have received from members of other races.

       Do you have issues (e.g., negative experiences, biases about skin color/physical features, stereotypes about racial

       group or mixed/biracial heritage) that make it difficult for you to help clients of a particular race?

c)       What in the assigned readings and class discussions reflect supporting or conflicting information to your understanding of the impact of race?

 

4.       Sexual Orientation: (minimum one page – maximum two pages)

 

a)       Answer a few of the following relevant questions regarding yourself:  When was the first time you realized a sexual orientation other than heterosexual? What do you remember learning about people who are gay/lesbian or bisexual? From what sources did you get information or misinformation about persons who are gay/lesbian or bisexual? How did you learn that you were expected to be heterosexual?  What experiences made you aware that your sexual Orientation affects how you are treated in this society?

 

b)       Describe significant contacts you have had with gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons: What oppressive acts toward gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons do you recall or have you witnessed? How did you respond?

 

c)        What in the assigned readings and class discussions reflect supporting or conflicting information to your understanding of sexual orientation’s impact?  Do you have issues that may make it difficult for you to help gay, lesbian, or bisexual clients?  How might you challenge yourself to be less homophobic and to combat heterosexism?

 

5.       Ability/Disability: (minimum one page – maximum two pages)

 

a)       Answer a few of the following relevant questions regarding yourself:  What are your earliest memories of or experiences with people with disabilities? What images, impressions, or feelings did you have as a child about people with disabilities?  What messages did the people around you (parents, teachers, and friends) pass on to you about people with disabilities?  How did these messages affect your thoughts about yourself?

 

b)       What impressions, thought, feelings or beliefs do you have now about people with disabilities?  How have they changed

or stayed the same over time?  What direct and significant experiences have you had with persons with disabilities?

    What types of disabilities?  Do you have issues that may make it difficult for you to help clients with disabilities?

    How might you challenge yourself to be sensitive to ability differences and to combat able-ism?

 

6)      Class: (minimum one page – maximum two pages)

 

a)       Answer a few of the relevant following questions regarding yourself:  Considering your relative rank in terms of income, wealth, status, or power, what class (underclass, welfare poor, lower-class poor, working-class, middle class, owning/ruling class) would you say you are? What class would others say or think you are in?  What would indicate to others that you are of a particular class?  

How similar or different is the social class/standing of family members of the same generation and different generations?

 

b)       What is the first memory you have of someone you thought was richer than you were? Why did you think so?  What is the first memory you have of someone you thought was poorer than you were? Why did you think so?  What have you gained from your class background?  What limitations did you experience? Provide examples of memories/critical incidents in your awareness of your class. What class or classes of people lived in your neighborhood(s)?  What significant experiences have you had with people persons of different social classes? What classes?

 

c)        What in the assigned readings so far and class discussions reflect supporting or conflicting information to your understanding of the impact of class?  Do you have issues that may make it difficult for you to help clients of a particular social class?  How might you challenge yourself to be more sensitive to class differences and combat the myth of our classless society and classism?

 

7.       Religion/Spirituality: (minimum one page – maximum two pages)

 

a)       Answer a few of the following relevant questions regarding yourself:  What was your religious affiliation during your childhood?  What phases did you experience growing up as a child or young adult or both within your religious group?  What phases have you gone through in the development of your religious or spiritual identity?  What is your religious affiliation now?

 

What has been most challenging about being a member of or identified with your particular religious group?  What about your religious group, affiliation, or identification pleases you, or is it a source of pride?  How much do your religious beliefs affect what you think and do?  Do you have issues that may make it difficult for you to help religiously or spiritually different clients?  Think about the continuum of religious beliefs from fundamentalism to liberalism. How might you challenge yourself to be more sensitive to religious or spiritual differences and combat anti-religious sentiment and oppression of other religious minorities?

b)       Describe anything you have ever heard about other religious groups or identifications: Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Gentiles, Christians, atheists, agnostics, etc.  What significant experiences have you had with people who are religiously or spiritually different from you?  What acts have you experienced or witnessed that are anti-a particular religious group or oppressive toward a particular religious group?  What was your response?

 

8.       Conclusion: (minimum one page – maximum two pages)

 

Answer the following questions based on your responses in sections 1-7: What is your cultural worldview? What might be the advantages and barriers that you may have in working with culturally diverse populations? Be specific (i.e., including minorities and/or those in the dominant culture). Reflecting on Sue’s (2001) multidimensional model of cultural competence (as cited in Sue et al., 2016 pp. 69-79), what can you say about your understanding of the model’s components of cultural competence (Dimension2) identified as  “awareness,” “ knowledge,” and “skills” (i.e., specifically in pp. 71-75).  You must comment on each of the three components as you also reflect on your responses in steps 1-7 in this assignment as it relates to you as a future multicultural social work practitioner.