MODULE ONE
In module one, we were introduced to social construction by reading several texts such as Living within Whiteness and Why Do So Many People Get Treated So Poorly? Communicating social identity was the focus of the readings giving the reader real-life examples to examine in our quest for understanding. In answering the question why do so many people get treated so poorly I learned that social constructs and our individual prejudices allow these the manifest themselves in our culture. In Module One we were asked to look into our past encounters and find three instances of communication dissonance in an intercultural encounter. This was a very difficult assignment for me considering I live in a very culturally limited community, I work in a historically black institution, and my family has very few instance of interracial/intercultural marriage. In the end I found a few and realized that they were closer than I ever imagined. I was looking at the big picture for my answers and I found them very close. I had seen crash a couple of years earlier and agreed with the critics that it was a compelling film that we all should see at least once. The racial under and overtones were masterfully placed, we all should see an example of ourselves in the characters. I cried when I viewed And We Stayed, I felt the pain of the students and why they stayed even though their most basic emotional needs were not being met by the institution. I also decided to attend predominantly white institutions and have unfortunately shared some of those same feelings. That was one of the main reasons I decided to earn my Masters online. I did not make the connections and lifelong friendships I heard about beforehand. The Big Idea paper was one that I had great struggles with. I am not ready for such a broad topic. I hit a wall on that assignment and could not recover. I chose diversity, a topic that I am very interested in, but the enormity of the topic engulfed me and was lost.

MODULE TWO
I thoroughly enjoyed Allen’s book Difference Matters, because they do. I have learned to notice and value the difference that we all bring to the table instead of pretending that we are all the same. As an African American woman working her way through school an attempting to climb the very steep ladder of success I found the construction of gender in the US and in the global context portion of the second module particularly interesting, because again gender does matter and the glass ceiling is real. After viewing Tough Guise I realized how much pressure is put on men to conform to a certain ideal of manhood. I found myself very sad and reflective of the men in my life. Reviewing their actions for what was taught and expected compared to genuine feelings not masked by cultural garbage. The Toys R Us field trip continued my education as to why grown-up act the way we do. We are somehow trapped in the ideals created in the aisle of the toy stores. Still Killing Us Softly forced me to look at myself and why I made the choices I made in wardrobe, make-up etc. I realized that I too am a victim of popular culture’s opinion of beauty and success. The sad part about it is that if I plan to stay in the game I must play the game.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed the words of Bell Hooks in Where We Stand: Class Matters. Hearing the story from the inside was very insightful and eye-opening. I thought class was the new dividing line in American society, Hooks made me realize that it was always the diving line, it was just previously masked by the noise of the privileged. Peddling Poverty for Profit: Elements of Oppression in Ruby Payne's Framework by Paul C. Gorski was interesting and disappointing to me. As a critical analysis of I felt he let his audience down when he revealed is encounters with the author and her constituents that lead to his opinions. Reading Social Class Privilege by Will Barratt as an ah-ha moment for me. The questions that are not posed to the upper-class were an eye opener. I wondered “yea, why don’t we ask those questions?” Then I realized those that do are ostracized by society as radicals. The Pursuit of Happiness directed by Gabriele Muccino was a movie that I moved me and was relevant for the subject matter of the course. Analyzing power within relationships was not something that I thought about when I initially viewed the movie. Once you realize the power you possess and the power you relinquish in everyday activities you begin to evaluate each encounter differently using this information to your advantage for the best possible personal outcome.

MODULE FOUR
Outsourced was used to evaluate management styles and reaching goals when cultures are at odds. I learned through that movie to not fight the present culture to learn ways to work within it. This was followed up by the reading of Bordas’ book Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultual Age, which was a beautiful tribute to people of color. Bordas reminds us to take time to understand, appreciate, and value the differences within our communities.

With the knowledge I acquired in this class I am more conscious of class issues and the words of Allen. I will view other cultures looking for the richness it brings to the situation. I will be more cognoscente of the terms I use when describing others, remembering that we all have something to contribute if we take time to understand what those things are.