https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset How does culture influence identity? en-us 2020-11-23 17:36:20 UTC 2025-09-26 14:47:57 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4da.png chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953308097 Cisneros follows a young, Mexican-American girl, Esperanza, as she grapples with finding her place between two cultures. Her family wants her to fit the mold of a traditional Mexican women, but she wants to move beyond the confinements of her culture and explore opportunities allotted her in America, like becoming a writer.

Q: How is Esperanza’s identity shaped by her community? How does her identity shift throughout the vignettes?]]> 2020-11-23 17:38:52 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953308097 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953313283 Arnold Spirit (Junior) transfers schools from one on the reservation to an all-white small-town school. The only other Indian at the school is,  ironically, the mascot. Junior grapples with finding his place in his new school environment and acclimating the rules and norms of the rez to those at the new school. This finds him in trouble often. Junior goes through identity crises as he tries to find how to blend the two cultures and figure out how he belongs.

Q: What is the significance of Junior’s/Arnold’s name distinction? How does his culture affect his identity?
Q: How do the Rearden students’ and teachers’ reactions to Junior’s presence influence his feelings about the school/belonging and being an Indian?]]> 2020-11-23 17:40:07 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953313283 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953354370 The article recounts a firsthand experience with juggling two cultures. Rudri Patel discusses how she would immerse herself in the Indian culture at home but disguise it when went to hang out with her American friends. As she becomes a parent, she worries her kids will experience the same cultural turmoil. However, her daughter proudly embraces her Indian culture and she celebrates her "other-ness."

Q: How can attitudes towards bicultural identity change from generation to generation?]]> 2020-11-23 17:49:40 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953354370 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953364466 This article explains the concept of intersectionality, or how one's multiple identities interact and affect one's life. The article also explores how intersectionality influences power and privilege and can create a filter of oppression. 

Q: How do you identify yourself? 


]]> 2020-11-23 17:52:06 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953364466 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953380982 Pat Mora shares the story of a second-generation immigrant mother's lesson to her children. The mother uses the English language to discuss American ideals and she is invited to the capital to speak. When she gets onstage, she realizes she is the only Hispanic in the room and freezes. Though she did not speak that day, the speaker (child) reassures us that her voice does not go unheard and they will use their voices in upcoming generations to speak up for what they believe is right. 

Q: How does the poem define the idea of culture, especially as it relates to identity? How do issues of immigration span from generation to generation?]]> 2020-11-23 17:56:01 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953380982 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953396275 Rodriguez explores the assumptions made about his identity because of his name. These assumptions make him feel conflicted between two worlds, but ultimately he is reminded of how proud he is to be himself and how hopeful he is to be able to write his own story. 

Q: What does Rodrigues mean by, "two names, two worlds?" How do assumptions play a role in how Rodrigues defines his own identity?]]> 2020-11-23 17:59:37 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953396275 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953435098 Kostecki-Shaw follows Elliot in America and Kailash in India as they write to each other and share stories of their lives. Through their letters and shared experiences, Elliot and Kailash learn that they  are different, but still the same.

Q: How are Elliot and Kailash similar? How are they different? How do similarities and differences unite people?]]> 2020-11-23 18:08:20 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953435098 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953444376 Y.F. Chang moves from Shanghai to the U.S., after the communist takeover of China in 1949, to enroll in a New York university and pursue the American dream. When he arrives to enroll, he is immediately faced with obstacles because of the perception of immigrants in American. Cammy, the lady working for Foreign Student Affairs, asks Y.F. Chang for his name -- his English name. This leaves Y.F. Chang very confused as he contemplates the meaning of his new name, "Ralph" and how it fits his identity. 

Q: Why does Ralph let Cammy choose an English name for him?  How is this symbolic of his new life in America? ]]> 2020-11-23 18:10:25 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953444376 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953465562 https://www.sharpsolutions-indigenius.com/single-post/2016/05/29/cultureidentity-seeing-more-than-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-1]]> 2020-11-23 18:15:24 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953465562 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953475927 Three immigrant students from Guatemala, Korea, and Somalia struggle with speaking the language, participating in school activities, and communicating ideas - all things they did not struggle with in their home countries. Eventually, with the help of others, these students learn new things from each other and adapt together. 

Q. How can moving to a new place change your identity? ]]> 2020-11-23 18:17:41 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953475927 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953494280 The artwork below epitomizes how those with bicultural identities live between two cultures, feeling pressures to both (1) maintain the traditions and standards of their heritage and (2) live up to the societal expectations of being "American" enough. 

Q: What do you see? How does this artwork make commentary on cultural identity?

https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/bicultural-identities]]> 2020-11-23 18:22:04 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953494280 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953504438 Q: What do you see? How does this artwork comment on the concept of dual identity?

https://digital.utsa.edu/digital/collection/p15125coll11/id/74]]> 2020-11-23 18:24:27 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953504438 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953515792 Answering "where are you really from?" can be a conflicting questions for those with multiple cultural identities. Trying to answer the question can leave them feeling like an outsider searching for a sense of belonging. However, it can also be a liberating experience to belong to multiple cultures. 

Q: How can bicultural identity influence one's sense of belonging?]]> 2020-11-23 18:27:03 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953515792 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953521413 The immigrant experience is a unique one that many of the students in our classrooms today can either recall from first-hand experience or can retell from family member's stories. 

Reflection Qs: Can you imagine what it would be like to travel to a new country all on your own as a kid? What emotions would you feel?"]]> 2020-11-23 18:28:27 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953521413 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953534841 Being asked, "Where are you from?" can be confusing to those with bicultural identities. Anna Gricuk explains her experience with the same question and how she grew to see her biculturalism as a position of power. 

Q: How does one's dual, or bicultural, identity place them in a position of power?]]> 2020-11-23 18:31:55 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953534841 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953538882 Adichie explores how stories we tell of a group of people are powerful and, consequently, there is danger in retelling only a single story. People are more complex than what stereotypes convey.  Dig deeper. 

Reflection Qs: Has someone else ever made an assumption about you because of some aspect of your identity? Was it a positive or a negative one? How did you respond?]]> 2020-11-23 18:32:55 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953538882 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953549688 Alma grows curious about how she got her name and complains that it does not "fit" on paper. Her father reassures her it does fit and shares stories with how she received each part of her name. Through the stories, Alma learns she carries pieces of her ancestors with her in her namesake. 

Q: What is the significance of a name? What is/are the story, or stories, of your name?]]> 2020-11-23 18:35:47 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953549688 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953559761 2020-11-23 18:38:05 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953559761 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953569467 2020-11-23 18:40:33 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/953569467 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/954222052 America Fererra discusses the struggles she faced in her rise to stardom because of her ethnicity and confining stereotypes. 

Q: What is identity? How do stereotypes play a role in the construction or deconstruction of identity?]]> 2020-11-23 22:29:41 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/954222052 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/954236901 2020-11-23 22:38:22 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/954236901 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/954238514 2020-11-23 22:39:23 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/954238514 chillELAR https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/954336451 The speaker faces a difficult situation, torn between two cultures, as her grandmother washes her feet in the sink of a department store for a ritual prayer and American matrons look on in disgust. The granddaughter who understands both languages of the American women and her traditionally Muslim grandmother is forced into the role of mediator. The matrons assume she speaks English because of her Americanized appearance and the grandmother speaks to her in Arabic, the family's language. In the end, the granddaughter does not speak but her actions speak volumes as she holds the door open for everyone. 

Q: How does one's dual identity place them in a position of power?]]> 2020-11-23 23:40:46 UTC https://padlet.com/chillELAR/textset/wish/954336451