Journal entry

In this week’s journal entry, you will critically reflect on your own beliefs and biases about your Final Research Paper topic by using the concept of self-reflexivity. To paraphrase Crapo (2013, sec. 1.3), self-reflexivity is the process of confronting one’s own preconceived notions and examining how these may influence how one understands (or misunderstands) others. Understanding biases and beliefs about other cultures helps researchers apply cultural relativism to their work.

For this journal, consider the sources that you summarized for Part I and Part II of your paper in your Week Three Assignment Worksheet.

• What was your initial response to the sources you read for your paper? Include in-text citations using Ashford’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) guide and full reference entries in APA format to all sources you will be using for your Final Research Paper.
• In the course of this class, you have learned about cultural diversity and how to apply cultural relativism to understand beliefs, practices, and behaviors within their cultural context. How has learning about different culturally practices helped you to better understand how narrowmindedness and prejudice constrict diversity?
• Can you identify any biases that you might have about the cultural practices you will discuss in either Part I or Part II of your Final Research Paper?
• Identify any problems you might be having in examining your own culture from an etic perspective or the other culture from an emic perspective. Review Miner’s article Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,  (Links to an external site.)and explain how his discussion of Americans (also known as Nacirema) will help you take an outsider’s perspective on your own culture.