Multicultural Review-Children's books about Islam

 

The main theme of the five materials I have chosen for my multicultural review is the Muslim world. This collection of materials is significant for many different reasons, all of which are just as important as the next. The first reason I chose to review materials based on the Islamic faith is because of 9/11. Ever since the terrorist attacks on 9/11 people of the Islamic faith have been persecuted for terrorist acts that most don’t even support. Another reason that I chose the Islamic faith is that I live in the Metro Detroit area which is also home to Dearborn where the largest Muslim community can be found in the United States. Since this is the case I thought it would be pertinent to create a well thought out review of the Islamic faith that could be used by not only Michiganders but people all over the world.

The five materials that I have chosen make a cohesive set because I have included three nonfiction books and two picture books, almost all of them were published at different times throughout the years. In order to find diverse materials I used the internet, the Wayne State University catalogue and the Royal Oak Public Library catalogue. It was important for me to include both fiction and nonfiction in my collection because I feel it is the best way to give the reader a truly full flavor of the Islamic religion and Muslim people. All five of the materials were created for children, however I feel that they are acceptable for anyone who is looking for more knowledge into the lives of those who are of the Islamic religion. My collection would be useful in a program given at a public library as well as additional information for a student who is studying multiculturalism.

Tames, R. (1982). The Muslim world. Morristown, N.J.: Silver Burdett Company.

This work of nonfiction breaks down the Islamic faith into 17 different categories that include: Who are the Muslims?, The story of Muhammad, How Islam spread, Islamic empires, The Qur’an, The Five Pillars, Mosques, Fasting and feasting, A pilgrimage to Mecca, Daily life, Childhood, Marriage, Women in Islam, Sufis, Islamic art, Scientific wonders, and Modern Islam. Through these chapters author Tames is able to give the reader a full, if not quick, view of how the Islamic religion came to be and how it is today.

Tames starts the book, The Muslim world, by first giving a brief description as to what the word Islam means, which is Arabic for “submitting” and goes on to say that, “A follower of this religion is a Muslim, a person who is submitting to God’s will and trying to live in the way that they believe God requires them to”. Tames then goes on to talk about the life of the prophet Muhammad and how he came to hear the word of Allah, the Muslim’s God. Which is followed by the many years spent fighting to change the Islamic religion into one where Muslims no longer worship false idols.

Further along in the book author Tames discusses the meaning and importance of the Muslim bible, which is the Qur’an. He tells the reader that Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the word of God, which would make Muhammad not the author but the translator. It is also stated that the Qur’an is written in a combination of prose and poetry, which is said to be extremely beautiful when read aloud. Tames says that when asked to perform a miracle, Muhammad explained that the only real miracle he had was the Qur’an and that, “The people who heard it had to admit that it was language of the greatest power and beauty”.

One of the most important parts of the Islamic faith is the Five Pillars which are used by Muslims in their belief and in their daily lives. The first pillar is the profession of faith and Tames states that, “Anyone who makes this statement publically and sincerely can become a Muslim by that simple act”. The second pillar is prayer five times a day while the third pillar is zakat, which means to give a portion of your wealth to those in need. The fourth pillar is the fasting during the month of Ramadan and the fifth pillar is a Muslim’s pilgrimage to Mecca.

Tames ends his book by talking about modern Islam. He discusses the influence of Western colonization and rise against Western views years later. He also discusses how Muslim countries have gained independence since the Second World War and how some countries have gained considerable wealth through the oil industry. The Muslim world, while a quick read, is perfect for any child who is beginning to learn the background and basics of the Islamic religion. It is also a good resource for any adult who is looking to enrich his/her religious knowledge because Tame manages to cover everything of importance.

Matthews, M. (1996). Magid fasts for Ramadan. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Magid fasts for Ramadan is a children’s fiction story about a young boy who desperately wants to fast for Ramadan but is still too young to participate in the ritual. Author Mary Matthews follows Magid, his sister Aisha, his Mama, Baba, and grandfather Giddu as they begin their fast for this very religious holiday.

Even though Magid is too young to fast from sunrise to sunset, he feels left out from the rest of his family and in celebrating Allah. On the first day of Ramadan Magid promises to himself and to Allah that he will try to secretly fast during the whole Holiday so he can be a truly obedient Muslim. For the first morning Magid was even able to convince his mother to let him skip breakfast.

Magid soon begins to feel the effects of not eating or drinking anything and needs to constantly remind his self that he promised Allah he would fast and that Giddu, once the fasting was over, will be proud of him. When he gets home for lunch Magid is once again able to trick his mother into not eating; this time Magid asks to be allowed to eat his lunch outside where he quickly gives everything to geese. Feeling faint, Magid lies down and is awakened sometime during dusk. He waits for the signal that the fasting for the day is over and follows his family in prayer and food.

During the second day Magid is once again able to convince his mother to let him skip breakfast. Throughout the day he realizes that while it’s still very difficult to not eat or drink, it’s getting a little bit easier than the day before. Unfortunately for Magid during lunch his sister Aisha catches him giving his lunch to the geese and she runs into the house to tell on him for fasting. His mother sends both Magid and his sister into their rooms to wait for Baba and Giddu to get home and talk to them.

During the family meeting Marid realizes that while his actions were honorable, lying doesn’t make him a good Muslim. Giddu, being the wise grandfather, asks Marid if he would like to continue fasting and is answered with a “no”. Marid has realized that he is in fact too young to fast all day. The family then decides to compromise and let Marid fast during Ramadan until noon. Author Matthews does a wonderful job illustrating the thoughts and feelings of a young Muslim child and easily enables the reader to relate to Marid and his feelings. This would be a wonderful book for any young child.

(2004). Who are the Muslims?: Where Muslims live, and how they are governed. Abou El Fadl, K. & Inati, S. (Ed.). Broomall, PA: Mason Crest Publishers.

Who are Muslims, is a nonfiction book that is a part of a collection titled Introducing Islam. It is broken into seven chapters that discuss the following: Tradition and diversity, the development of Islam, The spread of Islam, What Muslims believe, Islamic legal sources, the distribution of Muslims today, and Governments in the Islamic world. The book also gives information through an introduction, chronology, glossary, internet resources, and further reading.

In the first chapter, Tradition and diversity, the reader learns that Islam is practiced by over 1.25 billion people and that, “the Islamic world stretches from Africa to Indonesia and includes more than 50 countries”. The reader also learns that, just like most religions, Muslims share common core beliefs, but their practices can vary from area to area. The book tells us that some of the most common differences can be found in Muslim dress, and in celebration of events.   

In chapter three, The spread of Islam, the reader learns that in the early beginning when the Islamic religion was being spread, those who were non-Arab Muslims were being discriminated against by Arab Muslims. This proved to be a problem for many reasons, just one being that the religion was so widespread that Arab Muslims soon found themselves outnumbered by non-Arab Muslims. Throughout the many decades Muslims were able to convert others to Islam, and while some cases were violent, others happened relatively peacefully.

Chapter five, Islamic legal sources teaches the reader that the Islamic faith is very committed to following the will of Allah, and as such, “the study of law is more important to the ordinary Muslim than the study of theology”. We learn two important words, ijma which means “consensus or unanimity” and qiyas which means “reasoning by analogy”. It is also stated that the Islamic legal sources are widely used to help give guidance on unclear points in the Qur’an which help Muslims to better follow what is expected.

Chapter seven, Governments in the Islamic world, discusses the differences between secular and religious governments. It’s stated that, “More than 98 percent of Turkey’s people are Muslim. However, unlike many largely Islamic countries, Turkey has no state religion”. There has also been a change in separating Islamic law and government, however there has been some unrest among Muslims who would like to see Islamic law come back together with their government. While this book may be a little too complex for young readers, it’s a good read for teenagers and adults who would like to learn more about Muslims.

Addasi, M. (2008). The white nights of Ramadan. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, Inc.

The white nights of Ramadan is about a young girl named Noor, her two younger brothers Sam, and Dan, and her parents and grandparents as they celebrate the festival Girgian, which comes in the middle of Ramadan. In order to prepare for Ramadan, Noor dresses in a beautiful red and gold dress. Her brothers are still too young to partake in the fasting part of Ramadan but they also celebrate Girgian by dressing up.

Author Addasi does a wonderful job showing the reader the intimate moments that take place within a family that is preparing to celebrate Girgian. Noor and her family lovingly make candies with powdered sugar, honey, and nuts to pass out and gleefully decorate their bags they carry to collect candy.

As she declares her love for candy and the festival, Noor’s grandmother reminds her that the main part of celebrating Girgian is to give back to the less fortunate. With this in mind, Noor and her brothers take off to go door to door and collect their special candies. Noor quickly notices all of the children dressed up and the brightly colored lanterns and thinks, “It’s no wonder that the called the ‘white nights of Ramadan’”.

After Noor and her brothers return home, their bags bulging with candy, Noor’s mother greets her and hands her a basket full of food that she is to give to the needy. Walking hand-in-hand with her grandfather, Noor goes to the mosque to give the food away. Noor remembers what her grandmother said about the true meaning of Ramadan and is happy.

Author Addasi and illustrator Gannon effortless capture the true essence of Ramadan and the festival of Girian. The reader sees all of this through the eyes of young Noor as she excitedly waits for evening and for the much anticipated candy that will follow. This is a story that will be sure to warm the hearts of parents and children alike.

(2004). What Muslims think and how they live. Abou El Fadl, K. & Inati, S. (Ed.). Broomall, PA: Mason Crest Publishers.

What Muslims think and how they live is a nonfiction book that is also a part of a book series called Introducing Islam. It is broken up into seven chapters titled: Polling the Islamic world, the roots of the modern Islamic world, What it means to be a Muslim today, Views on culture and values, Women and Islam, Views on the issue of Palestine, and Views of the United States on other issues. The book also covers other subcategories that are chronology, glossary, further reading, and internet resources.

In the fourth chapter, Views on culture and values, the reader learns about marriage, education and divorce. It is stated that in today’s times Muslims are allowed to fall in love and marry whomever they choose. However, in some rural areas an arranged marriage is still allowed but only if both children agree. Depending on where parents chose to live, their children will have the opportunity to attend either a public school or an Islamic school. Children are also taught the Qur’an before they can read. Divorce is a very serious issue in Islamic religion. The reader is told that a husband must declare his intent for divorce three times before it is final.

Chapter five, Women and Islam, discusses the role of women in the Islamic religion, the reasons for wearing a veil, or hijab, and the extremely strict laws that restrict women’s rights far more than is requested in the Qur’an. Throughout this chapter the reader learns that before the rise of the Islamic faith, most Muslim women had little to no rights and were treated very poorly. The reader also learns that the majority of women wear a hijab because they want to be modest for Allah, themselves, and to keep away any unwanted attention from men. Finally, the chapter ends with discussing how some zealous countries, such as Afghanistan, are ruled by groups like the Taliban who enforce extremely strict rules for women that go beyond what is expected from Islamic Law.

Finally, in chapter seven, View of the United States on other issues, the text discusses the rather negative views that Muslims share. As stated, “74 percent…said that western influence was negative—53 percent ‘very negative’, and 21 percent ‘somewhat negative’’. The reader also learns about Americans’ on biased and uneducated assumptions about Muslims, specifically that all Muslims support terrorism. The chapter is concluded with the statement that both Muslims and Westerners need to learn more about each other if they’re to truly understand one another.

This book would make a great read for an older child and even an adult who needs some insight and understanding on a religion that may seem different. I would highly recommend having this series available in a public library, it would also prove to be a very effective book to use during a story time that concentrates on different beliefs and religions.

 



Scholarly Review #3

Scholarly Review #3

“The fiction shelves, where I began, were stocked with antiques, scores of Horatio Algers, nineteenth-century ladies’ books, some valuable-looking first editions, numbered sets of Thackeray, Dickens, and Conan Doyle, eleven copies of The Vicar of Wakefield, a lot of esoteric modern fiction, and a very few novels which might conceivably generate some interest if they could be got at all. Everything had been donated by Northerners whose good intentions were not so much in doubt as their grip on realities”.

Davis, D. and Malone, C. Reading for Liberation: The Role of Libraries In The 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, in Untold Stories: Civil Rights, Libraries and Black Librarianship, ed. John Mark Tucker.

While the role of the Freedom Summer Project that took place in 1964 in Mississippi did an enormous amount of good in helping to see that underprivileged African Americans were allowed access to libraries, books, and knowledge, it is discussed in Reading for Liberation that a lot of the books that were donated were unusable. Granted, some of these books were probably not in the best shape when donated, but I believe that the majority of them that couldn’t be used were because they had no use for the patrons that were trying to be served. As stated in the article, and discussed by volunteer librarian Virginia Steele, “People had taken the trouble to search out books by and about Negroes, the most valuable to us and the most eagerly sought by local students and adults, about civil and human rights…”. While it is noted that the support of Northerners in establishing the libraries was very helpful, a lot of the people donating books hadn’t a clue as to what kind of books would be appreciated and used.

            As I stated in my first scholarly review, which was based on author Honma’s article Trippin’ over the color line: The invisibility of race in Library and Information Studies, in order to truly embrace diversity one must step away from one’s own culture and background and look at those around. While I would like to say that Caucasians have come a long way since the Civil Rights Movement, especially in libraries, I can personally say that we haven’t. As someone who works in both an academic and a public library I can say that Caucasian librarians are still struggling with fully embracing diversity as a whole and the diversity of their community. Just like the quote that I chose says, “Everything has been donated by Northerners whose good intentions were not so much in doubt as their grip on realities”.

            So, as a graduating Caucasian female librarian what can I, and others like me, do to help erase this divide and educate those who are the majority? One step in the right direction would be to pay closer attention to the materials that we purchase for our collections. In my collection development class it was taught that a librarian should conduct an Information Needs Assessment of their community to gain a sense of the diversity that they are serving. I suggest that librarians go one step further and, while still conducting an INA, make an effort to include books about cultures that aren’t represented in the assessment. I feel that even with an assessment of the surrounding community, the library can’t fully receive a full and robust understanding of the diversity that their community is actually made up of. Also, with so many libraries connecting with other libraries across the state and country librarians should be aware that even if their community doesn’t have a certain culture it doesn’t mean that the collection still can’t have materials that celebrate those cultures.

            It’s a shame that so many Caucasian librarians are still unaware of how biased they really are, but if Library and Information Science programs continue to offer classes on diversity as well as make an effort to include diversity in other courses, I think that eventually minority cultures will begin to be recognized as they should be. In a perfect library every race, culture, and religion would be equally represented and hopefully we’re not that far off.

Social Bookmark #4/ The National Education Association

http://www.nea.org/home/index.html

NEA, or the National Education Association, is a foundation that began in 1857 when “one hundred educators answered a national call” to make sure that every child had a right to a good public education. These teachers saw the injustice that was being made and chose to take a stand. The NEA boasts an impressive record of, “welcoming Black members four years before the Civil War and electing a woman as president a full decade before Congress granted women the right to vote”. Today NEA’s website offers an array of information and tools to help students, educators, and those who just want to make a difference. The NEA also offers grants and awards for teachers, schools k-12, and universities, such as the Healthy Living School Grant and the Ezra Jack Keats Minigrants. NEA also offers awards to individuals who have reached excellence such as the NEA Friend of Education Award and the NEA Human and Civil Rights award. On top of everything that NEA offers it also has a special section for teachers who would like help on classroom management and character building. It’s obvious that the National Education Association recognizes the problems that plague America and until all children are treated equally they won’t be going anywhere.

ARC, Social Bookmarking #3

http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_arc



ARC, or the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, is a website based on the beliefs of author Ayn Rand. The Ayn Rand Center is a branch of the Ayn Rand Institute and works to ensure the freedom and individual rights of all people. As stated on the website, ARC “sponsors writing and research; produces articles, op-eds, and other media content; hosts forums, panel discussions, and debates; reaches out to businessmen, elected officials, and policymakers; and assists victims of governmental abuse in their efforts to defend themselves on moral grounds”. ARC offers many different opportunities for learning, growth, and contribution for not only students but the media. Through ARC supporters can request speakers, start a club, read blogs, and learn about government policy.

Scholarly Review #2

Scholarly Review #2

“[LIS teachers] see all students, including students of color and speakers of languages other than English, as learners who already know a great deal, and who have experiences, concepts, and languages that can be built on and expanded to help them learn even more. They see their roles as adding to, rather than replacing, what students bring to learning. They are convinced that all students, not just those from the dominant group, are capable learners who bring a wealth of knowledge and experiences to class.”

Abdullahi, I. (2007). Diversity and intercultural issues in library and information science (LIS) education. New Library World, 108(9/10), 453-459. Retrieved from Research Library. Document ID: 1341235711.

It is a well-known fact that as our country grows there is an influx of diverse cultures, and as these cultures grow, people are now forced to live closer to one another than ever before. Since public libraries are supposed to be the center of the community, then how can we, as librarians, make sure that all patrons are being treated equally? Abdullahi states in his article, “Diversity and intercultural issues in library and information science (LIS) education” that cultural acceptance and knowledge should start with LIS teachers. Through these teachers LIS students will learn what it takes to become culturally aware and sensitive and will therefore be better equipped in the workforce. Abdullahi argues that there are four main components that need to be recognized in order for LIS teachers to truly be able to inform their students. A good LIS teacher that commits to these four components:

“is socioculturally conscious, that is, recognizes that there are multiple ways of perceiving reality, and that these ways are influenced by one's location in the social order; has affirming views of students from diverse backgrounds, seeing resources for learning in all students rather than viewing differences as problems to be overcome; sees himself or herself as both responsible for and capable of bringing about educational change that will make LIS schools more responsive to all students; and uses his or her knowledge about students' lives to design instruction that builds on what they already know, while stretching them beyond the familiar.”

As an LIS student in her final semester I must admit that my cultural diversity class is the first class that I have taken in my program that truly emphasizes that importance of diversity. At first one might be apt to say, “Well of course that class discusses diversity! It’s titled Multicultural Information Services isn’t it?” While this is true, after reading Abdullahi I realized that all of my professors should have made it a point to discuss multiculturalism. As a future LIS professional I find it disheartening that the only time I really received an in-depth look at the differences around me was in my multiculturalism class. If libraries are the vein of the community, and these communities are constantly changing and growing, then as stated by Abdullahi, these four components, “…must be consciously and systematically woven throughout the learning experiences of information professionals in their coursework and fieldwork. Thus, they serve as the organizing framework guiding the infusion of attention to diversity throughout the LIS education curriculum”. The true cultural depth of our society shouldn’t only be offered to LIS students through one of the few multicultural classes that are available.

Abdullahi makes a significant point when he discusses the fact that each person has their own view of the world that is shaped by sex, age, race, cultural, and social status. He also points out that a good LIS teacher will recognize these differences in his/her students and use them to not only help grow the individual, but the class as a whole. If all LIS educators took this stance I feel it would greatly help the students because acceptance and understanding of cultural and ethnic differences would become second nature to them. This would then allow them to bring their understanding to the communities and groups that they serve thus starting the change in the LIS profession that is so badly needed.

In this article it is stated that, “Librarians are change agents whose job is to facilitate the growth of knowledge and development of other human beings. LIS students depend on their teachers having their best interests at heart and to make sound educational decisions”. If our educators begin to make a conscious effort to follow the four components that were discussed earlier then hopefully LIS students will begin to see a change. It is guaranteed that some of these LIS students will eventually go on to become LIS educators themselves. It is my belief that if the present students start to see a change in their LIS professors in that they all begin to recognize and celebrate differences, then these students who go on to become LIS teachers themselves will not think twice about including the same belief in their class. The sooner all LIS educators take a greater interest in diversity and culture, the sooner acceptance and understanding will become second nature to the LIS community as a whole.

ePals/Social Bookmarking #2

http://www.epals.com/

ePals is a collaborative website that acts as a social network for educators and students across the globe. “The world's largest K-12 learning network, ePals Global Community™ consists of more than 600,000 educators and reaches more than 25 million students and parents in 200 countries and territories”. This collaborative website allows for students to interact internationally with other students and connect on a personal level through working together on projects within the website. Not only does ePals bring students and teachers together, but it also sponsors a project called In2Books which was created to help literacy in children who live in lower economies. In2Books connects struggling students with adult pen pals who, “read the same books, and exchange teacher-monitored, online letters about questions and issues raised by the text”. ePals also offers a section on their website for parents of homeschooled children. With this section homeschooled children are now able to learn and develop social skills that are normally honed in a traditional school environment.

Scholarly Review #1

“By examining the sociopolitical histories of libraries, in particular public libraries in the United States, we can get a better understanding of the library’s formation—the ontology, if you will—as one that is both racial and racist”.

Honma, T. (2005). Trippin’ over the color line: The invisibility of race in Library and Information Studies. InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies, 1(2), Article 2. Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/4nj0w1mp.

In the article “Trippin’ Over the Color Line: The Invisibility of Race in Library and Information Studies”, author Honma argues the exclusion of minorities in public libraries. Honma (2005) starts his article asking questions such as “Why does the field have a tendency to tiptoe around discussing race and racism, and instead limit the discourse by using words such as ‘multiculturalism’ and ‘diversity’?” and “Why is the field so glaringly white yet no one wants to talk about whiteness and white privilege?” (p. 1). With these questions in mind Honma takes us on a journey through the history of public libraries, starting from the very first one constructed to those of present day, and looks at how and why public libraries have become racist.

Honma (2005) states the following:
“whiteness” works as an invisible and elusive structure of privilege, one that allows for constant reinvention and rearticulation to protect the interests of a white racial ruling class. The identification of whiteness and its structuralizing principles is necessary in order to combat its invisibility and normative effects. (p. 5)


When I first read the above statement I was confused as to what unseen structure of “whiteness” Honma meant. Surely he was confused because public libraries were built on the concept of free and equitable information and knowledge for all. How could public libraries possibly be racist? Then I started assessing the fact that I am a Caucasian female from a middle class background. Just because I didn’t notice anything different didn’t mean that it wasn’t true. As I read further into the article I started to realize that what Honma was arguing was true. I didn’t necessarily notice this gross inequity in the public libraries because it has been going on since the library’s creation. Honma (2005) argues that during the 19th century one of the main reasons for creating openly public libraries was to assimilate the incoming immigrants. So from the beginning public libraries have been functioning on this unspoken basis. As this realization came over me I started thinking back to all of the libraries, public, school, and academic, that I have been in and the utter lack of color within them. How could I have been so blind? According to Honma (2005), it was my own ethnicity that blocked the truth.

How can we change these inequities? I personally feel that the LIS profession must first begin change from the inside before we can begin to implement change on the out. Honma (2005) argues that not only must more librarians of color be brought into the profession but that we must all be made aware of this injustice so we can begin to fight against it. That merely “celebrating multiculturalism” and having librarians of color will not work to break down the racist structure that has been created. Once racism has been fully acknowledged within the profession and research has been done, only then can we begin the fight to break this racist structure and start to truly serve all patrons equitably and fairly. Just as Honma (2005) states, “These perspectives, as well as the interrogation of white positionality, need to be further explored in the field of LIS, if we are to begin to fully understand the racialization of libraries and the field of LIS in general”. Social inequity within the LIS profession has been going on for far too long and as future professionals in the field it is our duty to rise up together and yell “injustice!” before tearing down the walls of biasness and rebuilding a fair and just future.

Teaching Tolerance, Social Bookmarking

http://www.tolerance.org/

Teaching Tolerance is a website that was created by The Southern Poverty Law Center in order to help teach children and teachers about tolerance and diversity. Their self titled magazine is given to more than 400,000 educations twice a year and is also freely available online on their website. Once a year Teaching Tolerance holds a Mix It Up At Lunch Day where schools can participate in social “mixers” that help teach tolerance in diversity. The Teaching Tolerance website also offers plenty of classroom activities for teachers, such as using cartoons to teach about bullying, gay rights, and intolerance. The website also offers a multitude of resources for educators to help them become more aware of the difficulties faced by their multicultural students. Since Teaching Tolerance was created it has, “won two Oscars, an Emmy and more than 20 honors from the Association of Educational Publishers, including two Golden Lamp Awards, the industry's highest honor” for its teaching materials. Since being founded in 1991Teaching Tolerance has been fighting against racism and misunderstanding by teaching children and educators about the power of tolerance and respect.

Cultural Mosaic

The statement that stuck out the most for me when reading Chao and Moon’s (2005) taxonomy of a cultural mosaic was the statement made by Hofstede, which was, “individuals carry different layers of culture within themselves”. This is because a few years back my mother commented on the fact that I tend to act differently and participate in different things when I was with my various friends. “Why can’t you just be yourself?” she asked. Until then I never put much stock into the differences my friends had between each other or the fact that I acted differently depending on who I was with. Her observation made me start to worry that maybe I didn’t know myself as well as I thought I did. An old statement comes to mind of, “You are your friends”. So then who was I, truly? Once I read the statement that every individual has various layers of culture I felt relieved, thrilled, exalted. My different personality traits don’t mean that I don’t know who I am, but rather, that I’ve known who I was all along. With this I feel comfortable in saying that my cultural mosaic is made up of: daughter, lover, mother (to the four-legged variety), woman, student, worker, friend, Christian, librarian, Caucasian, nerd, beauty queen, heavy metal thrasher, creative writer, Texan, and Michigander.

For my Demographic category I feel that my gender makes up the greatest part of my mosaic. This is because as a woman I have struggled with feeling comfortable in my own skin for the 24 years I have been alive. Throughout middle school and early high school I fought an eating disorder that left me weak physically because I was already weak mentally and emotionally. While there is a small part of me that is resentful for my female body and my insecurity in it, I wouldn’t change my experiences for the world. What I went through in the past has served as a Segway for me to be able to help my friends, family, and complete strangers learn to love themselves for who they truly are. I personally feel that if I had been born a man I wouldn’t have gone through the experiences that I had, which of course would have resulted me not being able to help others in the way I have been able to as a woman.

I was born in Houston, Texas and when I was four-years-old my parents moved me up to Michigan. As Hofstede states in Chao and Moon that there are, “significant correlations between latitude, a rough measure of climate, and three cultural values. Lower latitudes, or hotter climates, were associated with lower power distance, masculinity, and collectivism, whereas colder climates were associated with higher power distance, femininity, and individualism”. I chose climate as the main tool for my Geographical category because I felt that the above quote helped lend a better understanding to some of the contradictory tiles that make me. Perhaps because I was born in Texas, with a lower latitude and hotter climate, this is why I enjoy horror movies, going to dive bars, and immersing myself in the chaos of a heavy metal show as opposed to watching romance flicks, drinking martinis, and keeping up with the latest pop star. However, maybe the fact that I have lived in Michigan for most of my life will help explain why I love being romantic, dressing up, and dancing around to upbeat music. I recognize that within this very paragraph I have managed to write about many stereotypes but I feel that in order to truly explore and explain the different facets of myself it was pertinent to do so.

As said in Chao and Moon, “We classify people into specific groups to help us define who we are and who we are not. We identify with our groups in order to reduce uncertainty in our self-concept and to bolster our self-enhancement”. When thinking about my Associate category for my mosaic I kept coming back to the tiles of my Christianity and my chosen profession. I chose my religion as one of my larger tiles because without it I would be lost. It is something that has given me comfort in my greatest time of need and gives me strength when I feel I have no more left. Also, in my circle of friends I am the only Christian. While I appreciate the different beliefs that my group has, I feel an extremely strong need to keep my Christianity close to me. Mainly this is because it is one facet of me that I don’t share a bond with my closest friends. My profession in librarianship is also an extremely important part of myself. Ever since I learned to read I knew that I was destined to have a career involving books. Now, as I finish up my degree with a concentration in youth services, I look forward to having the chance to light that same spark in other children. That, to me, is one of the greatest services I can give while spending my time on Earth and because of that, my profession deserves a prominent tile in my cultural mosaic.

I think I have learned more about who I am during the time spent reading Chao and Moon and writing my cultural mosaic blog than I though possible. It gave me the chance to sit down and really think about whom I am as a person and how I became that way. After reading Chao and Moon I now know that one must look at oneself not only from afar but up close, because only then will you see all of the different tiles that make up your true self.

Chao, G. T., & Moon, H. (2005). The cultural mosaic: A metatheory for understanding the complexity of culture. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1128–1140.

Not so great Blogging Librarian

Hey everyone,

So I guess I thought my profile was considered the blog...whoops. I think I finally got this figured out now!