Culture, Identity, Relationships Paper

For this assignment, you will interview one person with whom you have a personal relationship. During the interview, you will ask the interviewee a series of questions about your relationship. After your interview, you will utilize terms, concepts and theories from the text to analyze your relationship with your friend or partner.

Your goal should be an academic analysis of your chosen relationship in which you make connections to concepts and theories discussed in Chapters 8-10. Your paper should include the following:

  • 2-3 full pages (double-spaced) with an introduction, body, and conclusion
  • Follow MLA formatting
  • Discuss (3) concepts or principles, define them clearly, and apply them to the interview. For each concept, there should be a full paragraph defining and explaining what that concept means; then make a connection to the interview in the next paragraph.
  • Be sure to cite your sources and include a works cited page using MLA formatting.
  • Font should be 12 pt Times New Roman or Calibri

Sample Questions

The following questions/topics are examples of the kinds of questions you can ask in your interview. Your interview protocol is completely up to you, but these can serve as a starting point.

  1. How the relationship got started; first impressions?
  2. One of the best times you’ve shared together.
  3. One of the worst or most difficult times you’ve had together.
  4. Conflict points in your relationship or substantive areas where you disagree.
  5. The advantages and disadvantages of your relationship.
  6. What is their biggest fear? (in life)
  7. People whom they admire and why.

Key Elements of Culture Text Description There are five key elements of culture:

Individualism / Collectivism The extend people understand themselves as part of their family, group, and culture.

Uncertainty Avoidance The extent which people want to avoid ambiguity and vagueness.

Power Distance The size of the gap between people with low and high power.

Masculinity / Femininity The extend people value male-associated behaviors vs. female-associated behaviors.

Long-term / Short-term Orientation The extent in which people think about the past, present, and future.