5 7 page research paper

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This assignment requires that you engage with and learn about a culture that is different from your own. The important consideration here is involvement, not just as a bystander or observer, but engagement with people from a cultural group other than your own.

For this assignment you will be required to:

  1. Attend a cultural event:
    • Examples of a cultural event include a Bar/Bat-Mitzvah, Quinceanera, cultural wedding, church/temple/mosque service, LGBTQ event, sporting event, music concert, a friend’s home, a restaurant, etc.
    • The cultural event that you attend must be from a culture that you have never experienced before (the intention is to experience what it is like to be immersed in a culture that you have no exposure to).
  2. Write a research paper about the event:
    • You must write a 5 – 7 page research paper that includes 1) a description of your event, 2) concepts and theories from the textbook, 3) research from scholarly articles that explain aspects of the culture you experienced, and 4) disclosures about what you learned and gained from the experience.
    • You must include concepts and theories from the textbook in the form of direct quotations, and cite the textbook using MLA or APA formatting both in the paragraphs AND in the Works Cited page.
    • You must include 4 – 6 scholarly articles in the form of direct quotations, and cite each author and page number in the paragraph AND in the Works Cited page.
    • Must include:
      • Introduction paragraph,
      • Body paragraphs (with A., B., C., and D. in beginning of paragraph to identify which question you are answering),
      • and Conclusion paragraph.
    • Must include a Works Cited/Reference Page with 4 – 6 scholarly articles cited in MLA or APA format, and the textbook citation (not included as one of the 4 – 6 sources). The Works Cited/Reference Page is NOT included as one of the 5 – 7 pages of the essay,
    • Must attach 2 pictures from event (one picture with you in it)

These are the four sections that must be included in your body paragraphs. Remember, each section must begin with the words “Section A,” “Section B,” “Section C,” and “Section D” so that you identify which section you are writing about (only need to place “Section” at the beginning of the section – not for each paragraph within the section) Each section needs to be equal in length (at least 1-2 pages each section):

Section A: A description of the cultural experience

  • Write an overview of the experience (e.g., foods, decorations, stories, etc.)
  • Describe where you went, who you met, what you ate, witnessed, discussed, etc.

Section B: Analysis of the cultural event using theories and concepts from the course text-book

  • Include concepts, theories, key-terms from the course textbook.
  • Quote the definitions of the concepts/terms form the course textbook and apply the concepts to your event (e.g., applying the six points of Intercultural Praxis to your cultural event).
  • Must cite concepts, key-terms, definitions, and examples from textbook after the quotes using MLA or APA In-Text citations.

Section C: Analysis of the cultural event using research from scholarly articles

  • Include research from experts writing about aspects of the culture you experienced.
  • Must use quotes from the research that you apply to your cultural event (e.g., include history, statistics, information about food, clothing, music, beliefs, traditions, rituals, and relate the scholarly research to your event). A specific example would be including research about why the culture uses the ingredients in their food and how you experienced the ingredients when you tasted the food.
  • You may use scholarly articles, books, news websites, etc.
  • Must cite 4 – 6 sources (scholarly articles, books, etc.) in this section only (Section C).

Section D: A summary of reflections on what you have learned from the experience

  • In this section you will discuss what you learned from the experience. You can include the following:
    • Did you have assumptions or biases about the culture before you experienced the event; did your assumptions change?
    • What were the similarities and differences to your own culture?
    • What did you learn about yourself from the experience?
  • Sorrells, K. (2013). Intercultural communication: Globalization and social justice, 2nd
    Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  • THIS IS THE BOOK WE USE IN CLASS.
  • NO BIG WORDS PLEASE!!!!!