Culture

Introduction

Culture
In this theme we are looking at Culture.
Maybe you are wondering what this is going to be about? Will this be about films and books? Well, no. There are so many issues connected to culture and we’ve chosen some that we hope you maybe haven’t yet considered.

What are you going to do?
So we start off with cultural appropriation. It was big in the news a couple of years ago, and still makes headlines. We look at that and you’ll be asked to give your opinion.
Then with that in mind we move to what is culture? If it’s more than just visiting a museum on a Sunday afternoon, or a Native American headdress, well what is it?
Then we look at a couple of examples of modern day culture.
We look at conspiracy theories and who believes them (maybe you do, and that’s fine!)
and we look then at an art form that in recent years has become very popular: getting a tattoo.

So a varied and broad ranch of topics all under the multi-coloured umbrella of culture.

What about you?
What do you think does culture mean? Does it mean the same thing to everyone?
Are there different meanings of the word, and if so, what are they?
Check the dictionary: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com

Have fun!

Need to know

What do you need to know?
At the end of this theme, you should be able to talk about Culture with ease.
But you don't have to be able to do all this perfectly right away! If you take the following lessons you'll find out what you need to know!

Read the questions.
Select with a classmate three questions.
Discuss these questions about 10 minutes.

Choose from the following questions.

What are some things that define a culture? Music, language, ....... Mention another three.
What do think is most interesting about your culture?
What other cultures have you met people from?
In your culture is it polite to be straightforward and direct when you talk to someone? To whom is it OK and to whom is it not OK?
Do you think "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" is always good advice? Why or why not? Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you had to "do as the Romans do"?
What do you think is important when visiting another culture?
If you could change one thing about your culture, what would it be?
What is the best/most important thing your culture/country has adopted from another culture?

Can do

In this theme you will focus on the following 'can do' statements.

Listening B2

I can understand extended speech and lectures and follow even complex lines of argument provided the topic is reasonably familiar.
I can understand a programme about cultural appropriation and can identify the speaker's mood, tone etc.
I can understand the majority of films in standard dialect.
I can use a variety of strategies to achieve comprehension, including for main points; checking comprehension by using contextual clues.

Reading C1

I can understand texts about tattoos and answer questions in my own words.
I can understand texts about the meaning of culture in which the writer takes a particular point of view.
I can read quickly enough to cope with an academic course, to read the media for information about dos and don'ts of cultural appropriation.

Speaking B2

I can give opinions, points of view and comments on 'tattoos'.
I can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with a classmate about the meaning of culture quite possible.
I can take an active part in a debate on conspiracy theories, accounting for and sustaining my views.
I can present clear, detailed descriptions on my morning routine.
I can give a presentation about a popular culture. I can outline what the culture is and can identify issues of cultural appropriation.

Writing B2

I can write clear, detailed text on how you think about tattoos: Are tattoos an art form?
I can write a persuasive poster for an 'English speaking cultural' evening. I can describe why people should come.
I can write an email about cultural appropriation to a friend.
I can write clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects related to my interest.
I write an essay or report, passing on information or giving reasons in support of against particular point of view.
I can write letters highlighting the personal significance of events and experiences.
I can make notes while someone is talking or write a letter including non-standard requests.

To do

The theme Culture contains an introduction, four sections and a final project.
In the schedule below, you can see the titles of the sections and an estimate of the time required for each part.

Lesson	Title		Time
Introduction	Introduction Need to know Can do To do		0,5 hour
Lesson 1	Cultural appropriation	Read about and discuss the dos and don'ts of cultural appropriation.	3-4 hours
Lesson 2	The meaning of culture	Read, speak and write about the meaning of Culture	3-4 hours
Lesson 3	Conspiracy Theorist's world	Read about conspiracy theories. Discuss if conspiracy theories are valid.	3-4 hours
Lesson 4	An art dealer	Read and speak about tattoos.	2-3 hours
Finishing touch	Final Project:	Give a presentation about a popular culture.	3 hours
	Oefenprogramma Engels	Practise with the 'Oefenprogramma Engels'
	Examentraining	Prepare for exams: practise taking past versions.
	Evaluatie	Answer evaluation questions, what did you learn?
	Total		less than 20 hours

*hour = lesuur. Eén lesuur komt ongeveer overeen met 2 SLU.

Lessons

Culture appropiation

Cultural appropriation

Introduction

Introduction - Cultural appropriation

What do you think of when you see or hear the word culture? Do you think of your nationality and customs? Do you think of words like multi-cultural? Is culture a positive or a negative word? What other words go together with culture? There a lot of ideas and you may think of all of these ideas or, you might have some ideas of your own.

In this first section we’re going to look at the topic of cultural appropriation. Do you know what the term means? Examples include Miley Cyrus twerking, or Selena Gomez’s bindi. In other words, the debate surrounds whether it is right to take something from another culture, and to use it in your own, if it is not normally a part of your own culture. You will hear both sides of the argument. But first, let’s see how many different cultures you ‘use’ on a daily basis.

This first section contains 5 steps. Work them through step by step.

Step	Activity
	Introduction	Find out what you already know.
Step 1	Speaking (and reading)	Make a list of your morning routine objects/foods. Read a text and make a list of the items and their origins.
Step 2	Watching	Watch two videos about cultural appropriation. Complete notes about the first video. Put statements in order about the second video. Compare the videos and give reasons.
Step 3	Reading	Read the complete text. Fill in the headings.
Step 4	Words	An exercise about prefix. Make words negative.
Step 5	Task	Write an email to your friend in 150 words.
	Evaluation	Reflecting on what you have learned.

Difficult words? Search these on Cambridge Dictionaries

Step 1 - Speaking

Think about your morning routine – from the time you wake up to the time you leave the house. How many objects/foods do you interact with are not from your home country?
Make a list of the items and their origins.
E.g.
- pyjamas – bought in Indonesia
- bread – Turkey
- coffee – Brazil

Compare your list with your partner. How many different countries/origins have you got?

Now read the first paragraph from this article on cultural appropriation.
Make a list of the items and their origins. How does the authors list compare to yours?

At my house, getting dressed is a daily act of cultural appropriation, and I’m not the least bit sorry about it.
I step out of the shower in the morning and pull on a vintage cotton kimono.
After moisturizing my face, I smear Lucas Papaw ointment — a tip from an Australian makeup artist — onto my lips before I make coffee with a Bialetti stovetop espresso maker a girlfriend brought back from Italy.
Depending on the weather, I may pull on an embroidered floral blouse I bought at a roadside shop in Mexico or a stripey marinière-style shirt — originally inspired by the French, but mine from the surplus store was a standard-issue Russian telnyashka — or my favorite purple pajama pants, a souvenir from a friend’s trip to India.
I may wear Spanish straw-soled espadrilles (though I’m not from Spain) or Bahian leather sandals (I’m not Brazilian either) and top it off with a favorite piece of jewelry, perhaps a Navajo turquoise ring (also not my heritage).
As I dress in the morning, I deeply appreciate the craftsmanship and design behind these items, as well as the adventures and people they recall.
And while I hope I don’t offend anyone, I find the alternative — the idea that I ought to stay in the cultural lane I was born into — outrageous. No matter how much I love cable-knit sweaters and Gruyere cheese, I don’t want to live in a world where the only cultural inspiration I’m entitled to comes from my roots in Ireland, Switzerland, and Eastern Europe.

Step 2 - Video watching

You are going to watch two videos about cultural appropriation.
In the first one, the presenter makes a case in favour of cultural appropriation and outlines the benefits to the community.
As you watch, complete the notes with words from the video.

Watch the video

Watch the video and discuss with a classmate about Cultural Appropriation.

What do you think about this video? Would you wear the garments/accessories the man in the pictures shows?
Do you think you are entitled?

Discuss with a classmate

Read the following statements. Choose two statements to discuss with your classmate and mention your arguments. Then listen and discuss the statement of your classmate.

	Cultural appropriation highlights the imbalance between those in power and those who have been historically oppressed.
	Cultural appropriation is a layered and nuanced phenomenon that many people may have trouble understanding—or may not realize when they are doing it themselves.
	It is natural to merge and blend cultures as people from different backgrounds come together and interact.
	If cultural appropriation is done right everybody can benefit.
	Cultural appropriation is morally wrong.
	Appropriation is permissible and is just an innocent byproduct of the melting pot in a country where many cultures come together. The result of the melting pot is sharing, synthesis and learning.

Step 3 - Reading

In Step 1 you read the first paragraph of this article.
Now you are going to read the rest of it.
The title of the article is ‘The do's and don’ts of cultural appropriation’.
Make a note of three 'do's and three don’ts' that you have learned so far.
Compare your list with your partners.

Now read the article – were your ideas mentioned?
Read the article again. The headings have been removed.
Put the headings into the correct place.
TIP: There are two that you do not need.

The Dos and Don’ts of cultural appropriation
by Jenni Avins

There are legitimate reasons to step carefully when dressing ourselves with the clothing, arts, artefacts, or ideas of other cultures. But please, let’s banish the idea that appropriating elements from one another’s culture is in itself problematic.

In the 21st century, cultural appropriation—like globalization—isn’t just inevitable; it’s potentially positive. We have to stop guarding cultures and subcultures in efforts to preserve them. It’s naïve, paternalistic, and counterproductive. Plus, it’s just not how culture or creativity work. The exchange of ideas, styles, and traditions is one of the tenets and joys of a modern, multicultural society.

So how do we move past the finger pointing, and co-exist in a way that’s both creatively open and culturally sensitive? In a word, carefully.

1. [……….]
This is painfully obvious. Don’t dress up as an ethnic stereotype. Someone else’s culture or race—or an offensive idea of it—should never be a costume or the butt of a joke.

2. [……….]
Cultural appropriation was at the heart of this year’s Costume Institute exhibition, “China: Through the Looking Glass,” at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Among the evening’s best-dressed was Rihanna, who navigated the theme in a fur-trimmed robe by Guo Pei, a Beijing-based Chinese couturier whose work was also part of the Met’s exhibition. Rihanna’s gown was “imperial yellow,” a shade reserved for the emperors of ancient Chinese dynasties, and perfectly appropriate for pop stars in the 21st century.

3. [……….]
When Victoria’s Secret sent Karlie Kloss down the runway in a fringed suede bikini, turquoise jewelry, and a feathered head dress—essentially a “sexy Indian” costume—many called out the underwear company for insensitivity to native Americans, and they were right.

Adding insult to injury, a war bonnet like the one Kloss wore has spiritual and ceremonial significance, with only certain members of the tribe having earned the right to wear feathers through honor-worthy achievements and acts of bravery.

4. [……….]
“It’s not fair to ask any culture to freeze itself in time and live as though they were a museum diorama,” says Susan Scafidi, a lawyer and the author of Who Owns Culture?: Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law. “Cultural appropriation can sometimes be the savior of a cultural product that has faded away.”

Today, for example, the most popular blue jeans in the U.S.—arguably the cultural home, if not the origin of the blue jean—are made of stretchy, synthetic-based fabrics that the inventor Levi Strauss (an immigrant from Bavaria) wouldn’t recognize. Meanwhile, Japanese designers have preserved “heritage” American workwear and Ivy League style, by using original creations as a jumping-off point for their own interpretations, as W. David Marx writes in Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style:

5. [……….]
At Paris Fashion Week earlier this month, the Valentino designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli sent out a collection they acknowledged was heavily influenced by Africa.

“The real problem was the hair,” wrote Alyssa Vingan at Fashionista, pointing out that the white models wore cornrows, a style more common for those with African hair, “thereby appropriating African culture.”

6. [……….]
“What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we love black culture?” asks Stenberg in the aforementioned video, a particularly salient point in an America coming to terms with an epidemic of police violence against young black men.

Cherry-picking cultural elements, whether dance moves or print designs, without engaging with their creators or the cultures that gave rise to them not only creates the potential for misappropriation; it also misses an opportunity for art to perpetuate real, world-changing progress.

7. [……….]
Co-branded collaborations are common business deals in today’s fashion industry, and that’s just how Oskar Metsavaht, the founder and creative director of the popular Brazilian sportswear brand Osklen, treated his dealings with the Asháninka tribe for Osklen’s Spring 2016 collection.

Francisco Piyako, an Asháninka representative, told Quartz the tribe will get royalties from Osklen’s spring 2016 collection, as well as a heightened public awareness of their continued struggle to protect land against illegal loggers and environmental degradation.

“Sharing values, sharing visions, sharing the economics, I think it’s the easiest way to work,” said Metsavaht. “This is the magic of style. It’s the magic of art. It’s the magic of the design.”

And it’s a magic that I’d be happy to appropriate for my closet.

^{Source: www.theatlantic.com}

Step 4 - Words

We can use a prefix to make a word (negative)
e.g. sensitive – insensitive.

Choose the correct prefix.
Drag it to the following words to make these negative.

Step 5 - Task

You notice that your friend, Filipa, on Instagram has started wearing her hair in cornrows, and adopting other cultural symbols that you know that some people will find offensive.

You decide to draft a short email about cultural appropriation in general.
You find it difficult to write on the nuances of why exactly cultural appropriation is an issue. Ask her to write back her point of view about cultural appropriation.

Write your email in 150 words.

Possible Answer

Evaluation

Fill in this schedule and answer the questions below.

(Copy to Word or write down in your notebook)

Activity		Needs Improvement	Satisfactory, good	Excellent
Step 1 - Speaking	I can read and understand the text and make a list of the objects/foods I use in my morning routine.
Step 2 - Video watching	I understood the videos about cultural appropriation. I could put the the statements in the correct order and compare the two videos and give reasons why.
Step 3 - Reading	I can read and understand the text and fill in the headings.
Step 4 - Words	I can make the words negative.
Step 4 - Task	I can do the writing task.

What have you learnt in this period?
Answer the following questions:

What was the easiest part of this lesson?
What was the most difficult part?
What did you already know?
What was new to you in this lesson?
What do you have to ask your teacher?