Critical Multiculturalism Perspective

Over the past nine weeks, I have seen a shift within myself. I don’t watch much TV, but when I do, I find myself thinking about how different races and cultural groups are displayed. When I read the newspaper, I find myself analyzing the role of their privilege in their perspective. During the gross amounts of time spend on social media, I find myself analyzing and rejecting information because it is purposely biased against a group of people. This change in my attention to multiculturalism around me is the biggest lesson I have learned in this class. Before this class, I aligned with a liberal multiculturalist viewpoint. I relished in the concept of natural equality and I just assumed that it existed; somewhere out there. Now, I feel I am …show more content…
My internship is within a short- and long-term rehabilitation facility which seeks to help people who need short-term help after an illness or injury as well as individuals who need 24/7 support to help live their lives. As a social worker, my job is to be an advocate and resource for all patients; to help determine their needs and the best way to address those needs. Within a critical multiculturalism perspective, I am now increasingly aware of my own whiteness. This awareness can help me to avoid treating and expecting other people to live up to standards of white behavior which are inappropriate for them. Critical multiculturalism will help me to step back and approach my clients based on their perspective as well as the power and domination which affect their lives. It is stepping back from myself and meeting others where they are while working to eliminate the power and dominance which occurs towards …show more content…
It can be easy as an advocate and ally of aging populations to assert my own thoughts and considerations onto their lives. For me, I hope to remember that while I am an ally and seek to support and change their marginalization; I want to do so and empower them to use their voice. My voice should never be the loudest because it is their experience which is important, not mine. The third concept I take away from this class is the concept of identity. At the beginning of this class, I presented a nesting doll as my cultural artifact. A nesting doll is comprised of various size dolls which can be separated out into individual dolls or combined together into one whole doll. Each layer of a nesting doll is important as an individual and as a whole. The concept of identity can be applied to individuals as well as this nesting doll. Kinchloe et al. (2006) states that identity emerges out of individuation from a collective. For an individual, there are groups which we all belong to which can include race, socioeconomic status, race, sexual orientation, and culture. For a nesting doll, these would be represented by the individual layers of the doll. Each of these layers exists; however there is a choice to be made about what the layers are and how to present