MY TOPIC IS MEXICAN CULTURE: There are several Day of the Dead events in Oakland, California in 2024, including a festival, a market, and a celebration at the Oakland Museum of California:
Día de los Muertos Festival: This free festival will take place on Sunday, November 3, 2024 from 10 AM to 5 PM at International Blvd. at Fruitvale Ave. The festival will include live music, food, altar exhibits, Aztec rituals, rides and games for kids, and arts and crafts vendors.
There I learned papel picado, how to make the 7 layer alter and the importance of the layers, pan de muerto
Learning is best achieved by combining study with application. While studying cultural processes through a psychological lens, you may find that some concepts resonate with your own experiences, and that you are interested and eager to find out more about your own culture, as well as a culture that is different than your own. As such, these papers will allow you to discover your own culture further, and learn about a new culture in which you are curious. For this New Culture, you may research & reflect on it (see below), OR you have the option researching the culture WHILE you eat the culture’s unique foods! Either way, your essay should provide an informative overview of both cultures, and must include these components:
- A New Culture! (one page; 100 points) DUE at the end of the semester
- CHOOSE ONLY ONE OF THESE OPTIONS:
- UCM Cultural Club Experience – Reach out to any of the active cultural clubs on campus, tell them about this project, and ask how you can be briefly immersed into their culture by participating in a cultural process/event.
- Some ideas to consider:
- Cooking! – Students from that cultural club help you cook some cuisine from that culture.
- Dancing! – Students from that cultural club teach you a dance from their culture.
- Music! – Students from that cultural club teach you how to play an instrument from their culture.
- PRO TIP: draw on the OBJECTIVE elements of culture (Ch. 1) to get ideas for immersion.
- Cross-Cultural Potluck! – Organize a cultural potluck or cooking club with fellow students interested in exploring different cuisines. Participants can bring dishes from various cultures, share recipes, and discuss the cultural significance of each dish.
- Community Cultural Experience – You may attend an event from a new culture out in the community in order to immerse yourself! Including the ideas above, here are more ideas to consider in order to engage with a new culture out in the community:
- Personal Interview – While attending an event, interview someone from that culture! Tell them about this project, and ask them to inform you of 1-2 of the aspects that person likes best about their culture.
- You’re welcome to develop your own Qs, though here are some samples:
- Please tell me about one cultural tradition or celebration that holds great significance in your culture, and what it means to you personally.
- What are some unique aspects of daily life, such as greetings, meals, or social interactions? How do these customs shape your perspective and daily experiences?
- I’m interested in understanding the values and beliefs that are deeply rooted in your culture. Can you share an example of how some values play a role in your life or the lives of those around you?” 1. Written Submission – your paper itself must be formatted as such:
- You’re welcome to develop your own Qs, though here are some samples:
- Personal Interview – While attending an event, interview someone from that culture! Tell them about this project, and ask them to inform you of 1-2 of the aspects that person likes best about their culture.
- Some ideas to consider:
- UCM Cultural Club Experience – Reach out to any of the active cultural clubs on campus, tell them about this project, and ask how you can be briefly immersed into their culture by participating in a cultural process/event.
- CHOOSE ONLY ONE OF THESE OPTIONS:
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- Times New Roman, 12-point Font, Double-spaced, 1-inch margins
- On TITLE page: Assignment Title (bold), Your Name, the Course Number & Section, My Name, and the Date the paper should be centered-aligned, in that order.
- Subsequent pages should use APA-style headers (bold) to denote sections.
- 2-3 PAGES OF SUBSTANCE MAX (excluding Title and References pages) for each paper! You don’t have much space, so make your thoughts concise, and accurate. Don’t BS! You should be writing & editing at your best!
- If you choose to use a traditional source of info for your cultural discoveries (e.g., websites, empirical studies, etc.), you must cite your sources, both in-text, and in a References page, APA-style. UCM’s Library has great advice on proper APA formatting. You can also find an example paperLinks to an external site. on APA’s own website. While deriving cultural info from family/friends is totally acceptable for this paper, you don’t have to cite them APA-style, but you still must state from where you’re getting the info for the cultures you discuss (e.g., ‘From my personal experience…’, or ‘I wanted to know more about why my culture does ____, so I asked my grandparents…’, or ‘Some of my friends are from ____, so I asked them about…’).
