2. Interview your primary source: To gain information about the culture you are investigating, interview your primary source. Explain how you know your interviewee and what their culture is. Use the questions below to guide you. If the person you are interviewing does not know the answer to the question, you must do research to find the answer. Remember that the person you are interviewing may not understand the terminology we are using in class, so you will have to explain it. Also consider that your interviewee is giving his/her perception of the culture and this perception may not reflect the entire culture.
3. Include these topics. The following topics should be covered in your project in the order listed.
I. Background of Culture. (Use primary and secondary sources for this information. (1-2 paragraphs)
How you know your interviewee and what is their culture?
Talk briefly about the history of the culture.
What major historical events shaped the present? (Go beyond describing the events. Explain how those events influenced the present)
What major events shaped the character and perceptions of the people?
What is the world view orientation of the culture?
II. Cultural Taxonomy.
What are the value patterns of this culture? Explore the culture values of individualism – collectivism, small-large power distance, weak-strong uncertainty avoidance, and masculine-feminine sex roles. Use information from the Hofstede Website* and be sure to include examples from your interviewee for each.
Consider the culture’s additional value orientation patterns including meaning, destiny and time.
*If necessary paste into your browser: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/
III. Cultural Identity.
What is your interviewee’s cultural identity salience?
What are his/her social, personal and ethnic identities?
