MULTI-CULTURAL INQUIRY

CULTURE

• "Ukraine: Euro 2012 Host A Treasure Trove of History, Culture, Cuisine & Champions | AspirantSG - Food, Travel, Lifestyle & Social Media." AspirantSG. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
• "Culture." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.

Definitive definition: Merriam Webster dictionary defines culture as "the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time".
My own definition of culture: religious values, traditional customs, languages, social forms of a society or a group that is descended from generation to generation
Culture of a group is characterized by its languages, religious beliefs, social structure, and cultural values
Differences in cultural values result in conflicts between cultural groups, including religious conflicts and ethnic conflicts.

The cultural conflicts in Middle East have lasted for centuries for several reasons. The religious conflict is the most severe among Israel, Jordan, and Syria who fight over the territorial claim over Jerusalem, a holy place for Islams, Catholics, Jewish, and Sunni Muslims. Oil is the most important resources to Middle East countries that depend mainly on the sales of natural resources to countries in Europe and North America. Oil is also an important energy source to fuel automobiles, airplanes and ships.

CULTURAL RESEARCH

• "Judaism 101: What Do Jews Believe?" Judaism 101: What Do Jews Believe? N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.

Characteristics
1.Jewish place of worship is a synagogue
2. Their religious leaders is a rabi
3. Hanukkah is the celebration of lights it is an eight day celebration around Christmas time
4. Most highly religious Jews have a yamach on their head.
Beliefs
1. God is external 2. God will reward the good and punish the evil.
3. Prayer is directed by God and no one else. 4. The Messiah will come.
Challenges
They face lots of prejudice in the Americas

LITERATURE AND CULTURE
Babauta, Leo. "31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing." Write to Done. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. .
Showalter, Gary. "The Difference between Literature and Life…." Gary's Space. N.p., 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. .
"Universal Themes in Literature." North Bergen School District, n.d. Web.

1. Literature serves as a form of expression. When someone has a message they want to convey, they may do so through literature. People often obtain ideas from their surroundings; after seeing something curious, they may be inspired to create literature based upon an aspect of the object of their observation.
“Every writer needs to find inspiration in order to produce inspired writing. And sometimes, it can come from the unlikeliest sources.”

2. Literature tends to follow a set pattern in regards to plot, with consistent themes. The details fit into the story and the ending. Life also has characters, a setting, and so on, but the events often don't seem to make sense and sometimes there is no conclusion.
Literature may make use of fictional items, ideas, and characters as part of the story. The events themselves are made-up, save for literature that attempts to accurately detail historical events.
“The Difference between Literature and Life…
...is that literature has to make sense.”

3. In literature, culture displays itself as details of the plot. The characters may be connected through a unique aspect of culture, and cultural values can play a role in defining the protagonist and antagonist as well as what is noble and heroic. The goal of the character/s can involve fulfilling some duty that this culture imposes upon them.
4. Through portrayal of a culture in literature, people tend to form an image of the values and behaviors that are standard and/or acceptable in such societies based of the characters and events of the story.

5. Universal themes are common in literature. They usually attempt to convey or suggest something about human nature.
“Frequently, a work of fiction implies a few ideas about the nature of all men and women or about the relationship of human beings to each other or to the universe.”

CULTURAL AWARENESS

• "Cultural Spanish Communication." Cultural Spanish Communication RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
• What Is Cultural Awareness and Why Is It Important?" What Is Cultural Awareness and Why Is It Important. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.

2. "Teachers must create a classroom culture where all students regardless of their cultural and linguistic background are welcomed and supported, and provided with the best opportunity to learn."
"Cultural awareness has a big impact on communication, and when not properly addressed, it leads to its breakdown."

3. If our society were to constantly discriminate against all other cultures our community would be a dangerous place. This is because there would be constant bickering, arguments, disagreements and hatred. We would not be able to work together and result in accurate solutions and come up with possible answers to serious problems. With the unending fights, everyone would take their anger out on eachother causing serious problems within the society. There is a lot at stake like economy, society bond, government, laws, deaths, money and much more that would be threatening to us if discrimation was an even bigger issue than it already is.