Monthly Archives: February 2017

Diversity

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Trump’s recent executive order to ban residents of seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the United States made me remember the importance of diversity. In the age in which people are migrating to different countries, the ability to accept the cultures they bring over is important. In Kathy Gao’s blog “Proactive for Diversity- and why it is necessary in today’s world: PART II” she talks about how diversity is not just ethnical or gender based, it encompasses much more than that. She drew examples from her Comm292 group in which there were members from four culturally different countries.

The reason I believe understanding cultures and being culturally diverse is important is because of the benefits they bring to society. Good ideas aren’t limited to one specific region and if we confine ourselves to this scope of thinking, many ideas that were created in recent decades would never have been produced. Personally, I find it extremely interesting on how the more developed countries of the world are very ethnically and culturally diverse while those with less diversity are not as developed. This may be a mere coincidence but there must be some merit behind this association.

I believe organizations are encouraging diversity because of this valuable exchange of ideas. However, with this influx of diversity comes the importance of acceptance. If people are unaccepting of different cultures and alienate people who have values that don’t align with their own, I believe they are also hindering the exchange of ideas. This issue can be seen right now with hundreds of people condemning the executive ban Donald Trump has imposed. I believe diversity is integral to the growth of humanity and without this open and friendly exchange of ideas, we are limiting ourselves .

 

 

LAST 201 Response to Readings

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Finally! After six weeks, we finally get to the part where we talk about art and its relationship to culture. This was what I thought was culture the entire time… But clearly, I was wrong. In Bruce Campbell’s “Mexican Muralism and the Official Public Sphere”, there was a sentence that struck a chord within me. That sentence was “Mural art falls victim to censorious government officials uncomfortable with the content of images”. I drew parallels with this sentence because it reminded me of how China was and probably still is. I remember my mother telling me that during the Cultural Revolution, many temples, paintings, and books were destroyed. This destruction of culture was also brought forth by the censorious Chinese government.

On page 58, I found the measures taken by the Mexican government to be very similar to the United States. During the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned many artists to create public works of art. And in Mexico, the Mexican government commissioned mural art for public housing projects, hospitals, public work projects, and newly constructed buildings. From what I read so far (this may be wrong), I see a very strong tie between Mexico and its murals. Through the ages, as society changes, Mexican muralism also takes on a new public life. I never knew Mexico was that passionate about the arts but after reading this reading, it really opened my eyes. For example, with the SEP, they built 1,159 schools and 455 new libraries in a span of 2 years!! Furthermore, the minister told reporters of El Universal: “It is my conviction that many of our present and modest architectural endeavors will be remembered thanks to the painters who have decorated them. Architects should feel elated at their good fortune at working in the midst of an artistic renaissance.”

Work was Fun

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It’s relatively rare for
someone to say that they like their job. All too often nowadays, we hear people complain how their job is stressful, unfulfilling, and just plain boring. While work may be boring and unfulfilling for some, there are some individuals who enjoy their jobs. One of these individuals was Takeshi Kimura, who shared his thoughts about his job in his blog “Day in the Life of a Grocery Store Employee”. In his blog, Takeshi talked about extrinsic and intrinsic motivators and how they influenced his attitude towards work.

Although working at Zara was stressful, it was fulfilling and very enjoyable. I woke up excited to meet my fellow coworkers and accomplish the tasks that lay ahead. The reason I was excited to go to work was probably due to the strong extrinsic and intrinsic motivators. I made a good hourly wage, got bonuses when my department did well, and handled managerial duties which proved to be a good challenge. Furthermore, there were opportunities for advancement. These motivators were the reason why I continued to work hard even after my promotion. I saw the impact I had at the store and was personally invested in making the store a better work environment. However, these motivators were only made available to managers. As sales associates, there really wasn’t much to motivate them. There was no bonus, and no personal satisfaction while working. It was only until I became a part of the management team did I understand why most managers have the “Theory X” mindset. This theory, as explained in chapter 4 of the textbook, states that employees are inclined to dislike work. This was true for my workplace because of our astronomically high rate of turnover.

While I do believe employees who enjoy work produce better, it is sometimes hard to give employees the motivators they need to enjoy work. I believe that motivators come at a cost for businesses and that is the reason why they might be hesitant with providing their employees the motivators they want.

Sources:

Puri, A. (2017). We Have All Been Pronouncing ‘Zara’ Wrong This Whole Time. www.mensxp.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017, from http://www.mensxp.com/fashion/style-trends/29363-we-have-all-been-pronouncing-zara-wrong-this-whole-time.html

LAST 201: Response to the Mestizaje

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Before even reading the articles, I was a little confused. Looking at the header in which they were placed under, I couldn’t really grasp what the reading was hinting at. “Theories of Mixture 1: Mestizaje”. I had no clue what that meant. To me, it sounded like a potion book or something of the sort. However, once I got into the reading, it finally came clear to me. When reading “Rethinking Mestizaje: Ideology and Lived Experience” by Peter Wade, the first word that stuck out to me in the text was “Mestizaje”. And it was there that I finally got a definition of that peculiar word. The notion of racial and cultural mixture; that is what mestizaje means. After finding out that, everything seemed to piece together. I understood what this had to do with our course and why I was reading this on a snowy Sunday evening.

Peter Wade’s article went into depth on the history of the mestizaje and how it came about. I found it interesting when it mentioned that mestizaje was an ‘all-inclusive ideology of exclusion’. Which basically meant a system of ideas that appeared to include everyone but excluded blacks and indigenous people. When reading this article, it occurred to me that there was never such a phenomenon when other regions where conquered by the Europeans. However, this might be due to my lack of history knowledge. For example, when the Spaniards conquered the Philippines in 1521, I don’t recall there being any large sharing of cultures. But then again, it might be because I haven’t gotten there yet in this course.

When reading “The Cosmic Race” by Jose Vasconcelos, it seemed to me that he was doing a lot of comparing between the Latins and Anglo-Saxons. He says that “Our age became, and continues to be, a conflict of Latinism and Anglo-Saxonism. Shockingly, after reading the logic behind what he says, I can definitely see where he is coming from.