Analyze the differences and similarities between two cultures using your selected cultural artifacts. Choose from two lenses with which to examine these cultures: how these cultures approach decision-making and problem-solving or their customs and traditions.

Introduction

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

alai Lama, spiritual leader

Have you ever had a problem, such as a leaky faucet, an issue with a family member, or a school assignment, that you just couldn solve? You might have tried and tried to come up with an answer, growing more frustrated as time went on. Perhaps, you then asked someone else for help, and they immediately came up with the perfect solution. Baffled, you may have thought to yourself, /w did they do that? he answer is often that the other person simply looked at the problem differently. And many times, a different point of view is exactly what you need to find a solution.

In this assessment, you will further develop your problem-solving skills by exploring how different people and cultures approach making decisions and resolving conflicts. By looking at a single problem from multiple perspectives, you will find more creative solutions to complex issues at home, school, and work. You will also continue to improve your self- and social-awareness skills as you explore how your perspective may be biased and how that bias affects the way you process information.

Most of my important lessons about life have come from recognizing how others from a different culture view things.

dgar H. Schein, organizational psychologist

If you¥ ever wondered why people from different cultures think and do things differently than you, hereàyour chance to satisfy your curiosity about customs, traditions, religious beliefs, and more. While you work through this assessment, you, strengthen your problem-solving and self- and social-awareness skills by exploring cultural similarities and differences, which will allow you to understand where other people are coming from. Exploring and thinking critically about how friends, peers, colleagues, and even strangers from different backgrounds view the world can make you more empathetic and understanding. And applying this empathy and understanding will ultimately help you build the successful, collaborative relationships that are critical to your personal and professional success. You, continue to cultivate your problem-solving skills as you compare and contrast cultures around the world and develop critical thinking strategies to understand the perspectives and behaviors of others. You, also strengthen your self- and social-awareness skills by exploring how your personal and cultural experiences influence your opinions and choices.

The universe is made of stories, not atoms.

uriel Rukeyser, poet

Storytelling transcends all cultures, time periods, and geographic regions. Thatàwhy the ancient Greeks built huge amphitheaters and why you find yourself saying µst one more episode!!s you devour the new season of your favorite TV show. So itànot surprising that understanding the stories we tell is a critical part of the study of humanities.

In all of this, you will further develop your problem-solving skills by exploring stories from different cultures. By learning about common storytelling themes and values (and their differences and similarities), you will discover more ways to think critically about perspectives.

References

BrainyQuote. (n.d.). Dalai Lama quotes. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dalai_lama_4467…

Goodreads. (n.d.). Edgar H. Schein quotes. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/43958.Edga…

Wikiquote. (n.d.). Muriel Rukeyser. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Muriel_Rukeyser

Overview

This assessment will look more closely at the means of expression.

There is a tradition of artistic interpretation that stresses expression as the main goal of artworks. Whether itàa painting, a film, a novel, a play, music, or a piece of sculpture, an artwork can give expression to ideas and emotions that can be difficult to express in ordinary words. We¥ seen that artworks convey aspects of culture and family tradition. But they can also express and communicate religious ideas and feelings, or political struggles. And a work of art can express the personal experiences and inner life of the artist who created it. A work of art can do all of this in a way that connects the viewer or audience to the artist. Some see this type of connection as the closest we can get to experiencing the inner life of another person.

For example, to get an idea of the means artworks have available for expression, consider how a representational painting conveys much more than whatàdirectly represented (for example, a human figure or mountainscape). A painter can use color, line, shading, and composition (arrangement of forms) to express ideas and emotions about whatàdepicted in the painting.

For this assessment, first, choose an artwork to analyze as a means of expression. You should choose an artwork different from the one you selected for Assessment #1. You may select artwork of your preference or any artwork from the Exploring Cultures text. Remember, a work of art can be a painting, a poem, a film, a piece of music, a story, or more.

INSTRUCTIONS

Once you select your work of art, write a paper in which you complete the following:

• Describe the selected work of art through a historical context.
  • What form does it take (music, painting, short story, etc.)? Be sure to name the artist (or artists) and say something about the historical context of its creation.
• Describe what is depicted in the work of art.
  • If the work depicts a subject or event (like representational paintings, sculptures, stories, or films do), describe what is depicted.
  • If the artwork is non-representational (like an abstract painting or sculpture, music, or architecture), you can simply say that it is non-representational.
• Explain two or three things that the artwork expresses, beyond whatever is directly depicted in the work (if it is representational).
  • What ideas, moods, emotions, feelings, hopes, aspirations, or states of mind do you think the artist is trying to express? If the work is representational, perhaps the artist is expressing certain feelings about whatàdepicted (e.g., grief, anger, or joy).
  • You can also focus on qualities like color, line, shape, composition, light, shading, sound, and so forth. These are the aspects of the work that do the job of communicating to the viewer or listener something that can’t easily be expressed in ordinary language.
• Explain how your cultural perspective shapes your interpretation of the art.
  • Describe any cultural biases that may influence this explanation.
• Describe how the work of art reflects the culture of the artist.
  • How do you think the artist’s culture is reflected in the work of art?
  • Was the art a result of a collaborative goal, such as a genre of music or literature, or was the work of art an individual representation?