what is your cultural identity essay

Cultural Identity Essay

27 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author:  Elizabeth Brown

No matter where you study, composing essays of any type and complexity is a critical component in any studying program. Most likely, you have already been assigned the task to write a cultural identity essay, which is an essay that has to do a lot with your personality and cultural background. In essence, writing a cultural identity essay is fundamental for providing the reader with an understanding of who you are and which outlook you have. This may include the topics of religion, traditions, ethnicity, race, and so on. So, what shall you do to compose a winning cultural identity essay?

Cultural Identity Paper: Definitions, Goals & Topics 

Before starting off with a cultural identity essay, it is fundamental to uncover what is particular about this type of paper. First and foremost, it will be rather logical to begin with giving a general and straightforward definition of a cultural identity essay. In essence, cultural identity essay implies outlining the role of the culture in defining your outlook, shaping your personality, points of view regarding a multitude of matters, and forming your qualities and beliefs. Given a simpler definition, a cultural identity essay requires you to write about how culture has influenced your personality and yourself in general. So in this kind of essay you as a narrator need to give an understanding of who you are, which strengths you have, and what your solid life position is.

Yet, the goal of a cultural identity essay is not strictly limited to describing who you are and merely outlining your biography. Instead, this type of essay pursues specific objectives, achieving which is a perfect indicator of how high-quality your essay is. Initially, the primary goal implies outlining your cultural focus and why it makes you peculiar. For instance, if you are a french adolescent living in Canada, you may describe what is so special about it: traditions of the community, beliefs, opinions, approaches. Basically, you may talk about the principles of the society as well as its beliefs that made you become the person you are today.

So far, cultural identity is a rather broad topic, so you will likely have a multitude of fascinating ideas for your paper. For instance, some of the most attention-grabbing topics for a personal cultural identity essay are:

• Memorable traditions of your community
• A cultural event that has influenced your personality 
• Influential people in your community
• Locations and places that tell a lot about your culture and identity

Cultural Identity Essay Structure

As you might have already guessed, composing an essay on cultural identity might turn out to be fascinating but somewhat challenging. Even though the spectrum of topics is rather broad, the question of how to create the most appropriate and appealing structure remains open.

Like any other kind of an academic essay, a cultural identity essay must compose of three parts: introduction, body, and concluding remarks. Let’s take a more detailed look at each of the components:

Introduction 

Starting to write an essay is most likely one of the most time-consuming and mind-challenging procedures. Therefore, you can postpone writing your introduction and approach it right after you finish body paragraphs. Nevertheless, you should think of a suitable topic as well as come up with an explicit thesis. At the beginning of the introduction section, give some hints regarding the matter you are going to discuss. You have to mention your thesis statement after you have briefly guided the reader through the topic. You can also think of indicating some vital information about yourself, which is, of course, relevant to the topic you selected.

Your main body should reveal your ideas and arguments. Most likely, it will consist of 3-5 paragraphs that are more or less equal in size. What you have to keep in mind to compose a sound ‘my cultural identity essay’ is the argumentation. In particular, always remember to reveal an argument and back it up with evidence in each body paragraph. And, of course, try to stick to the topic and make sure that you answer the overall question that you stated in your topic. Besides, always keep your thesis statement in mind: make sure that none of its components is left without your attention and argumentation.

Conclusion 

Finally, after you are all finished with body paragraphs and introduction, briefly summarize all the points in your final remarks section. Paraphrase what you have already revealed in the main body, and make sure you logically lead the reader to the overall argument. Indicate your cultural identity once again and draw a bottom line regarding how your culture has influenced your personality.

Best Tips For Writing Cultural Identity Essay

Writing a ‘cultural identity essay about myself’ might be somewhat challenging at first. However, you will no longer struggle if you take a couple of plain tips into consideration. Following the tips below will give you some sound and reasonable cultural identity essay ideas as well as make the writing process much more pleasant:

• Start off by creating an outline. The reason why most students struggle with creating a cultural identity essay lies behind a weak structure. The best way to organize your ideas and let them flow logically is to come up with a helpful outline. Having a reference to build on is incredibly useful, and it allows your essay to look polished.
• Remember to write about yourself. The task of a cultural identity essay implies not focusing on your culture per se, but to talk about how it shaped your personality. So, switch your focus to describing who you are and what your attitudes and positions are. 
• Think of the most fundamental cultural aspects. Needless to say, you first need to come up with a couple of ideas to be based upon in your paper. So, brainstorm all the possible ideas and try to decide which of them deserve the most attention. In essence, try to determine which of the aspects affected your personality the most.
• Edit and proofread before submitting your paper. Of course, the content and the coherence of your essay’s structure play a crucial role. But the grammatical correctness matters a lot too. Even if you are a native speaker, you may still make accidental errors in the text. To avoid the situation when unintentional mistakes spoil the impression from your essay, always double check your cultural identity essay. 

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How to Write a Cultural Identity Essay With Tips and Examples

11 December 2023

last updated

Writing a cultural identity essay is an exciting academic exercise that allows students to develop and utilize critical thinking, reflective, and analytical skills. Unlike a standard essay, this type of paper requires learners to use first-person language throughout. In essence, a cultural identity essay is about writers and what makes them identify with a particular cultural orientation. When writing a cultural identity essay, authors should choose a specific identity and focus on it throughout their texts. Moreover, they should reflect and brainstorm, use the “show, not tell” method, utilize transitions to create a natural flow, and proofread their papers to eliminate mistakes and errors. Hence, students need to learn how to write a cultural identity essay to provide high-quality papers to their readers.

Definition of a Cultural Identity Essay

Students undertake different writing exercises in the learning environment to develop their critical thinking, reflective, and analytical skills. Basically, one of these exercises is academic writing , and among different types of essays that students write is a cultural identity essay. In this case, it is a type of essay where authors write about their culture, which entails exploring and explaining the significance of their cultural identity. Moreover, there are numerous topics that instructors may require students to write about in a cultural identity essay. For example, some of these essay topics fall under different disciplines, such as religion, socio-economic status, family, education, ethnicity, and business. In essence, the defining features of a cultural identity essay are what aspects make authors know that they are writing in this type of essay. In turn, these features include language, nationality, gender, history, upbringing, and religion, among many others.

Differences Between a Cultural Identity Essay and Other Papers

Generally, a cultural identity essay is similar to a standard essay regarding an essay structure and an essay outline . However, the point of difference is the topic. While standard essays, such as argumentative, persuasive, and informative essays, require learners to use third-person language, such a paper requires them to use first-person language. In this case, when writing a cultural identity essay, authors should use the word “I” throughout to show the audience that they are writing from their perspective. Indeed, this aspect is the primary objective of a cultural identity essay – to give the writer’s perspective concerning their culture. Besides, another point of difference between a cultural identity essay and other papers is that the former does not require writers to utilize external sources but to write from a personal viewpoint.

List of Possible Examples of Cultural Identity Essay Topics

1. cultural identity and socialization in a learning environment.

Here, a cultural identity essay prompt may require students to discuss the significance of culture in education, focusing on cultural identity and socialization. As such, this topic requires writers to reflect on how culture influences behavior in a learning environment.

2. The Impact of Culture Change on Family

Here, this prompt may require students to explore and discuss how culture impacts a family unit. Moreover, the theme is a family, and the students’ mission would be to explain how culture in all its dynamics affects families in diverse settings.

3. The Role of Language in Building a Cultural Identity

Here, instructions may require students to explore and explain the significance of language in cultural identity. Hence, writers should focus on explaining the place of culture in the sociology discipline, focusing on the connection between language and cultural identity.

4. The Significance of Culture in a Globalized Economy

Here, a cultural identity essay topic may require students to explore and discuss how culture affects individuals and businesses in today’s connected world. Also, the students’ task would be to explain how culture, in all its dynamics, such as language, is essential in business for individuals and enterprises.

5. How Culture Influences Relations in the Workplace

Here, an essay prompt may require students to explore and explain how culture, in all its dynamics, affects or influences social relations at the workplace. In turn, the task of writers, for example, would be to focus on how Human Resource (HR) departments can use culture to enrich workplace relations.

6. The Place of Culture in Individuals’ Self-Concept

Here, an analysis of a theme may require students to reflect on how their cultural orientation has affected their self-concept. Moreover, the student’s task would be to discuss how culture and its dynamics enable individuals to build a strong or weak understanding of themselves.

7. The Importance of Cultural Orientation in a Multicultural Environment

Here, assignment instructions may require students to explore and discuss how their cultural orientation enables them to operate in a culturally diverse environment, such as a school or workplace. In this case, the student’s task would be to explain how cultural characteristics, such as language and religion, facilitate or hamper social competency in a multicultural setting. 

8. How Global Conflicts Disturb Cultural Identity for Refugees

Here, this example of a cultural identity topic may require students to explore and explain how conflicts in today’s world, such as civil unrest, affect the cultural identity of those who flee to foreign countries. Also, the student’s task would be to explain how one’s culture is affected in a new environment with totally different cultural dynamics.

9. The Challenges of Acculturation

Here, a cultural identity essay prompt may require students to explore and explain the challenges that individuals face in identifying with the dominant culture. In particular, the student’s task would be to explain the significance of the dominant culture and what those from other cultures that try to identify with it must confront.

10. Host Country Culture and Multinational Enterprises

Here, this prompt sample may require students to explore and explain how a host country’s culture affects expatriates working for multinational corporations. Besides, the students’ task would be to show how one’s culture defines their behaviors and how that can be affected in a new environment with new cultural characteristics.

11. Compare and Contrast Native Culture and Dominant Culture in the United States

Here, such instructions require students to explain specific areas of similarity and difference between the Native culture and the dominant culture. In turn, the students’ task would be to define the Native culture and the dominant culture and help the audience to understand whether they mean the same thing. Hence, whether they do or do not, students should elaborate.

12. The Objective of Acculturation

Here, this example of a cultural identity essay topic requires students to explore and explain why people prefer to identify with the dominant culture. Moreover, the students’ task would be to note the advantages of the dominant culture over others and the opportunities that one may access to identify with this dominant culture.

13. The Challenges That the LGBTQ Community Faces in the Modern World

Here, essay prompt instructions require students to explore and discuss the challenges that lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people face in their normal day-to-day activities. In this case, the students’ task would be to explain the uniqueness of the LGBTQ community and how stereotyping makes their lives miserable in an environment where people are intolerant of different personalities and viewpoints.

14. Dangers of Cultural Intolerance in the Health Care System

Here, instructions may require students to explore and discuss how nurses that are intolerant to cultural differences may jeopardize patients’ lives.

15. Advantages and Disadvantages of Acculturation

Here, a cultural identity essay prompt requires students to discuss the pros and cons of identifying with the dominant culture.

How Students Know if They Write a Cultural Identity Essay

The defining features of a cultural identity essay give students the indication that they need to write this kind of essay. Basically, when learners read instructions regarding their essay topics they need to write about, they should identify one or several defining elements. In turn, these elements include language, nationality, religion, ethnicity, and gender.

Structure of a Cultural Identity Essay

As stated previously, the primary point of similarity between a cultural identity essay and standard papers is an essay structure and an essay outline. Basically, this structure and outline comprise of three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. Like in all other essays, writing a cultural identity essay requires students to address specific issues, which are, in essence, the defining characteristics of the essay’s structure and outline.

I. Introduction and Its Defining Characteristics

The introduction is the first paragraph of a cultural identity essay. Here, students introduce themselves to the audience, giving a brief background of their cultural identity. Moreover, rules of academic writing dictate that this part should not exceed 10 percent of the entire paper. In this case, writers should be brief and concise. Then, the most prominent component of this section is a thesis, a statement that appears at the end of an introduction paragraph and whose objective is to indicate the writer’s mission. In summary, the introduction part’s defining features are the writer’s background and thesis statement . In turn, the former gives a hint about a writer, and the latter provides the audience with insight into the writer’s objective in writing a cultural identity essay.

The body of a cultural identity essay is the most significant section of a paper and takes the largest part. Generally, writers use several paragraphs to advance different arguments to explain specific concepts. In a cultural identity essay, writers can use different paragraphs to explain important aspects of their cultural identity. Nonetheless, what determines the number of paragraphs and the content of each is a paper topic. Also, the most prominent defining features of a cultural identity essay’s body are paragraphs, with each advancing a unique concept about the writer’s cultural identity. In turn, paragraphs are where writers provide real-life experiences and other personal anecdotes that help the audience to develop a deeper understanding of authors from a cultural perspective.

III. Conclusion

The conclusion part is the last section of a cultural identity essay. In particular, writers restate a thesis statement and summarize the main points from body paragraphs. Moreover, authors provide concluding remarks about a topic, which is mostly an objective personal opinion. In summary, the conclusion part’s defining features are a restatement of a thesis, a summary of the main points, and the writer’s final thoughts about a topic.

Outline Template for a Cultural Identity Essay

I. Introduction

A. Hook statement/sentence. B. Background information. C. A thesis statement that covers the main ideas from 1 to X in one sentence.

II. Body Paragraphs

A. Idea 1 B. Idea 2 … X. Idea X

A. Restating a thesis statement. B. Summary of the main points from A to X. C. Final thoughts.

An Example of a Cultural Identity Essay

Topic: Identifying as a Naturalist

I. Introduction Sample in a Cultural Identity Essay

The period of birth marks the beginning of one’s identity, with culture playing a significant role. However, from the stage of adolescence going forward, individuals begin to recognize and understand their cultural makeup. In my case, I have come to discover my love for nature, an aspect that I believe has made me a naturalist both in belief and action.

II. Examples of Body Paragraphs in a Cultural Identity Essay

A. idea 1: parents.

Parents play a critical role in shaping the cultural and personal identity of their children. In my case, it is my mother who has instilled in me a love for nature. Although I may not say exactly when this love started, I can only reason that since it was ingrained in me since childhood, it has developed gradually.

B. Idea 2: Naturalism

Today, naturalism defines my interactions with people and the environment. In short, I can say it shapes my worldview. As a lover of nature herself, my mother had this habit of taking me outdoors when I was a toddler. I have seen family photographs of my mother walking through parks and forests holding my hand. What is noticeable in these pictures besides my mother and me is the tree cover that gives the setting such a lovely sight. Moreover, I can now understand why I seem more conversant with the names and species of flowers, trees, and birds than my siblings- my mother was the influence. In turn, my siblings and friends make a joke that I have developed a strong love for nature to the point of identifying myself with the environment. Hence, the basis for this argument is my love for the green color, where even my clothes and toys are mostly green.

III. Conclusion Sample of a Cultural Identity Essay

Naturally, human beings behave in line with their cultural background and orientation. Basically, this behavior is what determines or reflects their cultural identity. In turn, my intense love for nature underscores my naturalist identity. While I may not tell the stage in life when I assumed this identity, I know my mother has played a significant role in shaping it, and this is since childhood.

Summing Up on How to Write a Good Cultural Identity Essay

Like any standard paper, writing a cultural identity essay allows students to build essential skills, such as critical thinking, reflective, and analytical skills. In this case, the essence of a paper is to provide the writer’s cultural identity, background, or orientation. Therefore, in order to learn how to write a good cultural identity essay, students should master the following tips:

• Decide where to focus. Culture is a broad topic, and deciding what to focus on is essential in producing a cultural identity essay. For example, one may have several cultural identities, and addressing all may lead to inconclusive explanations.
• Reflect and brainstorm. Given the close link between one’s cultural identity and personal experiences, learners need to reflect on experiences that would provide the audience with an accurate picture of their cultural identity.
• Adopt the “Show, not tell” approach by providing vivid details about one’s experiences. Using personal anecdotes may be effective in accomplishing this objective.
• Use transitions , such as “therefore,” “thus,” ” additionally,” and “furthermore,” to enhance a natural and logical flow throughout the essay.
• Stay personal by using first-person language to describe one’s background and experiences.
• Proofread a cultural identity essay to eliminate spelling and grammatical mistakes and other notable errors, such as an inconsistent life storyline.

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Essays about Culture and Identity: 9 Examples And Prompts

Writing essays about culture and identity will help you explore your understanding of it. Here are examples that will give you inspiration for your next essay.

Culture can refer to customs, traditions, beliefs, lifestyles, laws, artistic expressions, and other elements that cultivate the collective identity. Different cultures are established across nations, regions, communities, and social groups. They are passed on from generation to generation while others evolve or are abolished to give way to modern beliefs and systems.

While our cultural identity begins at home, it changes as we involve ourselves with other groups (friends, educational institutions, social media communities, political groups, etc.) Culture is a very relatable subject as every person is part of a culture or at least can identify with one. Because it spans broad coverage, there are several interesting cultural subjects to write about.

Our culture and identity are dynamic. This is why you may find it challenging to write about it. To spark your inspiration, check out our picks of the best culture essays. 

1. Sweetness and Light by Matthew Arnolds

2. how auto-tune revolutionized the sound of popular music by simon reynolds, 3. how immigration changes language by john mcwhorter, 4. the comfort zone: growing up with charlie brown by jonathan franzen, 5. culture and identity definition by sandra graham, 6. how culture and surroundings influence identity by jeanette lucas, 7. how the food we eat reflects our culture and identity by sophia stephens, 8. identity and culture: my identity, culture, and identity by april casas, 9. how america hinders the cultural identity of their own citizens by seth luna, 1. answer the question, “who am i”, 2. causes of culture shock, 3. your thoughts on dystopia and utopia, 4. gender inequality from a global perspective, 5. the most interesting things you learned from other cultures, 6. the relationship between cultural identity and clothes, 7. describe your culture, 8. what is the importance of honoring your roots , 9. how can a person adapt to a new culture, 10. what artistic works best express your country’s culture, 11. how has social media influenced human interaction, 12. how do you protect the cultures of indigenous peoples, 13. are k-pop and k-drama sensations effectively promoting korea’s culture , 14. what is the importance of cultural diversity.

“… [A]nd when every man may say what he likes, our aspirations ought to be satisfied. But the aspirations of culture, which is the study of perfection, are not satisfied, unless what men say, when they may say what they like, is worth saying,—has good in it, and more good than bad.”

Arnolds compels a re-examination of values at a time when England is leading global industrialization and beginning to believe that greatness is founded on material progress. 

The author elaborates why culture, the strive for a standard of perfection, is not merely driven by scientific passions and, more so, by materialistic affluence. As he esteems religion as “that voice of the deepest human experience” to harmonize men in establishing that ideal society, Arnolds stresses that culture is the effort to “make reason and the will of God prevail” while humanizing gained knowledge to be society’s source of “sweetness and light.”

“Few innovations in sound production have been simultaneously so reviled and so revolutionary. Epoch-defining or epoch-defacing, Auto-Tune is indisputably the sound of the 21st century so far.”

Reynolds shows how Auto-Tune has shaped a pop music genre that has cut across cultures. The article maps out the music landscape Auto-Tune created and examines its impact on the culture of song productions and the modern taste for music. While the author debunks accusations that Auto-Tune destroyed the “natural” process of creating music, he also points out that the technology earned its reverence with big thanks to society’s current custom of using technology to hide blemishes and other imperfections.

Looking for more? Check out these essays about culture shock .

“… [T]he heavy immigration that countries like Italy are experiencing will almost certainly birth new kinds of Italian that are rich with slang, somewhat less elaborate than the standard, and… widely considered signs of linguistic deterioration, heralding a future where the “original” standard language no longer exists.”

American linguist McWhorter pacifies fears over the death of “standard” languages amid the wave of immigration to Europe. On the contrary, language is a vital expression of a culture, and for some, preserving is tantamount to upholding a cultural standard. 

However, instead of seeing the rise of new “multiethnolects” such as the Black English in America and Kiezdeutsch in Germany as threats to language and culture, McWhorter sees them as a new way to communicate and better understand the social groups that forayed these new languages.

“I wonder why “cartoonish” remains such a pejorative. It took me half my life to achieve seeing my parents as cartoons. And to become more perfectly a cartoon myself: what a victory that would be.”

This essay begins with a huge fight between Franzen’s brother and father to show how the cultural generation gap sweeping the 60s has hit closer to home. This generation gap, where young adults were rejecting the elders’ old ways in pursuit of a new and better culture, will also be the reason why his family ends up drifting apart. Throughout the essay, Franzen treads this difficult phase in his youth while narrating fondly how Peanuts, a pop culture icon at the time, was his source of escape. 

“…Culture is… your background… and Identity is formed where you belong to… Leopold Sedar Senghor and Shirley Geok-Lin Lim both talks about how culture and identity can impact… society…”

In this essay, Graham uses “To New York” by Senghor and “Learning To Love America” by Lim as two pieces of literature that effectively describe the role of culture and identity to traveling individuals. 

The author refers to Sengho’s reminder that people can adapt but must not forget their culture even if they go to a different place or country. On the other hand, Lim discusses immigrants’ struggle to have double identities.

“Culture is something that surrounds all of us and progress to shape our lives every day… Identity is illustrated as the state of mind in which someone or something distinguishes their own character traits that lead to determining who they really are, what they represent.”

Lucas is keen on giving examples of how his culture and surroundings influence an individual’s identity. She refers to Kothari’s “If you are what you eat, then what am I?” which discusses Kothari’s search for her identity depending on what food she eats. Food defines a person’s culture and identity, so Kothari believes that eating food from different countries will change his identity.

Lucas also refers to “Down These Mean Streets” by Piri Thomas, which argues how different cultural and environmental factors affect us. Because of what we encounter, there is a possibility that we will become someone who we are not. 

“What we grow is who we are. What we buy is who we are. What we eat is who we are.”

Stephens’ essay teaches its readers that the food we grow and eat defines us as a person. She explains that growing a crop and harvesting it takes a lot of effort, dedication, and patience, which mirrors our identity. 

Another metaphor she used is planting rice: it takes skills and knowledge to make it grow. Cooking rice is more accessible than cultivating it – you can quickly cook rice by boiling it in water. This reflects people rich in culture and tradition but who lives simpler life. 

“Every single one has their own unique identity and culture. Culture plays a big role in shaping your identity. Culture is what made me the person I am today and determines who or what I choose to associate myself with.”

Casas starts her piece by questioning who she is. In trying to learn and define who she is, she writes down and describes herself and her personality throughout the essay. Finally, she concludes that her culture is a big part of her identity, and she must understand it to understand herself.

“When it comes to these stereotypes we place on each other, a lot of the time, we succumb to the stereotypes given to us. And our cultural identity is shaped by these expectations and labels others give us. That is why negative stereotypes sometimes become true for a whole group or community.”

In this essay, Luna talks about how negative stereotyping in the United States led to moral distortion. For example, Americans are assumed to be ignorant of other countries’ cultures, making it difficult to understand other people’s cultures and lifestyles. 

She believes that stereotyping can significantly affect an individual or group’s identity. She suggests Americans should improve their intellectual competence by being sensitive to other people’s cultures.

14 Prompts on Essays about Culture and Identity

You can discuss many things on the subject of culture and identity. To give you a starting point, here are some prompts to help you write an exciting essay about culture. 

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips and our round-up of the best essay checkers .

Understanding your personality is vital since continuous interaction with others can affect your personality. Write about your culture and identity; what is your personality? How do you define yourself? Everyone is unique, so by writing an essay about who you are, you’ll be able to understand why you act a certain way and connect with readers who have the same values. 

Here’s a guide on writing a descriptive essay to effectively relay your experience to your readers.

Sometimes, people need to get out of their comfort zone and interact with other individuals with different cultures, beliefs, or traditions. This is to broaden one’s perspective about the world. Aside from discussing what you’ve learned in that journey, you can also focus on the bits that shocked you. 

You can talk about a tradition or value that you found so bizarre because it differs from your culture. Then add how you processed it and finally adapted to it.

Dystopia and Utopia are both imagined worlds. Dystopia is a world where people live in the worst or most unfavorable conditions, while Utopia is the opposite. 

You can write an essay about what you think a Dystopian or Utopian world may look like, how these societies will affect their citizens, etc. Then, consider what personality citizens of each world may have to depend on the two worlds’ cultures.

Today, more and more people are fighting for others to accept or at least respect the LGBTQ+ community. However, countries, territories, and religions still question their rights.

In your essay, you can talk about why these institutions react the way they do and how culture dictates someone’s identity in the wrong way. Before creating your own, feel free to read other essays and articles to learn more about the global gender inequality issue. 

The world has diverse cultures, traditions, and values. When you travel to a new place, learning and writing about your firsthand experiences with unique cultures and rituals will always be an interesting read.

In this prompt, you’ll research other cultures and how they shaped their group’s identity. Then, write about the most exciting aspects you’ve learned, why you found them fascinating, and how they differ from your culture.

Those proud of their culture will wear clothes inspired by them. Some wear the same clothes even if they aren’t from the same culture. The debate over cultural appropriation and culture appreciation is still a hot topic. 

In this essay, you may start with the traditions of your community or observances your family celebrates and gathers for. Then, elaborate on their origins and describe how your community or family is preserving these practices. 

Learning about your roots, ancestors, and family cultures can help strengthen your understanding of your identity and foster respect for other cultures. Explore this topic and offer examples of what others have learned. Has the journey always been a positive experience? Delve into this question for an engaging and interesting essay.

When a person moves country, it can be challenging to adapt to a new culture. If there are new people at work or school, you can interview them and ask how they are coping with their new environment. How different is this from what they have been used to, and what unique traditions do they find interesting?

Focus on an art piece that is a source of pride and identity to your country’s culture, much like the Tinikling of the Philippines or the Matryoshka dolls of Russia. Explore its origins and evolution up to its current manifestation and highlight efforts that are striving to protect and promote these artistic works.

The older generation did not have computers in their teen years. Ask about how they dated in their younger years and how they made friends. Contrast how the younger generation is building their social networks today. Write what culture of socialization works better for you and explain why.

Take in-depth navigation of existing policies that protect indigenous peoples. Are they sufficient to serve these communities needs, and are they being implemented effectively? There is also the challenge of balancing the protection of these traditions against the need to protect the environment, as some indigenous practices add to the carbon footprint. How is your government dealing with this challenge?

A large population is now riding the Hallyu or the Korean pop culture, with many falling in love with the artists and Korea’s food, language, and traditional events. Research how certain Korean films, TV series, or music have effectively attracted fans to experience Korea’s culture. Write about what countries can learn from Korea in promoting their own cultures.

Environments that embrace cultural diversity are productive and innovative. To start your essay, assess how diverse your workplace or school is. Then, write your personal experiences where working with co-workers or classmates from different cultures led to new and innovative ideas and projects. Combine this with the personal experiences of your boss or the principal to see how your environment benefits from hosting a melting pot of cultures.

If you aim for your article to effectively change readers’ perspectives and align with your opinion, read our guide to achieving persuasive writing . 

Aisling is an Irish journalist and content creator with a BA in Journalism & New Media. She has bylines in OK! Magazine, Metro, The Inquistr, and the Irish Examiner. She loves to read horror and YA. Find Aisling on LinkedIn .

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My Cultural Identity Essay: A Guide to Writing about Who You are

October 12, 2015

A cultural identity essay is a paper that you write exploring and explaining how your place of upbringing, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, and family dynamics among other factors created your identity as a person. Even facts such as what activities you took part in as a child can be part of your cultural identity. Your culture identity is ultimately the group of people that you feel that you identify with. The thought process behind this is known as cultural identity theory. To get a better idea of this, take a look at this single paragraph blurb of information that you might see in a culture identity essay. After reading, you can easily  write my paper  and feel comfortable getting grades as high as you can imagine.

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I was born in rural Missouri, but my family moved to St. Louis before I was a year old. My mother is 100 percent Irish and comes from a family that identifies very strongly with Irish culture. My father is Middle Eastern, but was adopted by an English family who moved to the United States when he was 5. We lived in a pretty big house in a subdivision. My parents had two more kids after me, they were both boys as well. My father wasn't religious, but my mom was a practicing Catholic. She went to mass every week. My brothers and I both had first communion and were confirmed, but stopped going to church as teenagers. We weren't really encouraged to play sports because our parents thought we should focus on our studies. They really emphasized math and science. I did well in these classes, but I didn't enjoy them. In high school, I became active in music and theater. Most of my friends were also into that as well. I earned a scholarship to study engineering on the East Coast, but I dropped out as a sophomore. I returned home to study music, needless to say my parents were disappointed. My brothers both pursued careers in technical fields. One is a mechanical engineer and the other is a software engineer. I am close with my family, but we do not have much in common. My circle of friends is fairly varied when it comes to race, ethnicity, religion, and economic background, but it consists almost entirely of people who are artists, musicians, writers, or people involved in those industries.

Keep in mind that your essay samples may look nothing like this. In our example, the writers choice of career, talents, and interests influenced his cultural identity more than his religious, ethnic background, or family values did. This may not be the case for you. Remember that when you are writing your paper there are no wrong answers. You just have to ask yourself insightful questions and keep the theory of cultural identity in mind as you write. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• How did the foods I ate as a child influence my identity
• Did I look different from the kids I went to school with? How did that impact me?
• Did birth order influence who I am as an adult?
• Does my life today match the life I was raised in?

While being committed to a number of charitable causes, like volunteering at special events or giving free art lessons to children, Marie doesn’t forget her vocation – writing. She can write about almost anything but has focused on time management, motivation, academic and business writing.

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What is a cultural identity essay, and how to write one?

Writing an essay is one of the most common assignments that students encounter in colleges and universities. Also, students need to write an essay during their admissions as the academic institution is much interested in knowing more about the student and the background that they come from. One of the essential types of essays in this sphere is a cultural identity essay. But what exactly is cultural identity?

Cultural identity refers to the factors like race, religious background, customs, traditions, etc., followed by a person. It is not only based on belonging to a certain background, but the cultural identity also influences the similarities that students might have with other group members, including habits, customs, beliefs, faith, etc. Now that we are clear with what cultural identity is let us look at how to essay it.

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The structure and goal of a cultural identity essay Like any other personal essay, a cultural identity essay will help you express your personality and demonstrate what kind of a person you are. It should reflect what makes you unique and should effectively demonstrate your strengths and academic potential. A cultural identity essay will also help to encompass your cultural influences and the driving philosophies and beliefs.

It helps the reader understand what makes you focused and unique. For example, when writing on being an Indian, the faith and traditions you grew up with and how they were responsible for shaping your personality should be discussed. Additionally, write about your religious beliefs and everything it entails discussing the prevalent traditions, rituals, and beliefs in your community.

The structure of a cultural identity essay The structure of such an essay follows the basic structure just like any other essay. The length depends on the information you wish to share. Typically, it should be around 5 paragraphs long; however, the length requirement is dependent on the school or university. It is an overview of the major elements of the essay.

• Introduction: The section should be used to introduce you to the reader. Tell the audience about your cultural background and how it has influenced you into becoming the person you are today. The introduction length is determined by the total length of the essay and should not be more than 10 per cent of the total word count. Ensure not to tell everything in this section and wait until the later sections to reveal more information.
• Thesis: It is technically the last sentence of the introduction section. However, due to its importance, it should be separated from the other sections. It will prove an argumentative point that you wish to prove and will reflect the purpose of the work. For example, is your focus based on being an African American? Use the thesis to mention it and how it has affected you.
• Body: The main section of the essay that you would want to use to disclose all the major information about your cultural background. Break it down into proper subsections for better organisation. The body paragraph should not extend more than 5 pages or 1500 words for a cultural identity essay. If your essay is a short one, the body section should have a minimum of one section. Provide logical connections between the different sections of the body paragraphs. Show how different beliefs and cultures have shaped your personality and their influence on you while growing up. Enhance better readability by introducing appropriate opening and closing sentences.
• Conclusion: Use this section to revise the major points mentioned in the essay and emphasise the thesis to express how it has shaped you while growing up.

Tips for writing an effective cultural identity essay: Here are some tips to keep in mind while writing your cultural identity essay and can be extremely helpful in writing an effective essay.

• Choosing focus: Before starting the essay, you need to understand your cultural identity and select a topic based on it. Ensure to pick a topic that resonates well with you. The more passionate you are about the topic, the more compelling your essay will be.
• Brainstorming ideas: Contrary to popular belief, figuring out what has influenced your personality requires a lot of thought. It is an important step that you cannot afford to miss. It will help you list out all the essential aspects of your cultural identity, helping you to outline them when writing the essay properly.
• Create an outline: Before you start writing, ensure to develop a rough outline to figure out the logical placement of information. It is very useful since it helps you remember every key point that needs to be added to the different sections of the cultural identity essay. Stick to the outline when writing the essay to have a cohesive essay.
• Describe: Use personal experiences to describe their effects on your personality. It will help the readers to correlate your experiences with your background strongly. When starting a unique ethnic identity, simply stating it is not enough; you will need to provide as many details as you can recall.
• Use transition words: Transition words help to maintain the logical flow of your essay. Use the proper opening and closing sentences in each paragraph to enhance readability. Use transition words to bridge the gap between your ideas to give them a logical and semantic flow. Do not randomly present facts and instead use a logical sequence. Use different paragraphs to focus on different ideas to make the essay flow smoothly.
• Stay personal: With cultural identity essays, the main focus is on you and therefore, you need to be as personal as possible to give the best insight into who you are. Do not shy away from expressing personal experiences with the reader to develop a deeper connection.
• Proofread: Just like any other essay, proofreading is a crucial step that you cannot avoid. Take your time to revise the essay and spot any mistakes with spelling or grammar. Ensure to remove all errors before you submit the essay.

Cultural identity essays: Common points of focus There are several aspects of your cultural background that you can choose to focus on in your essay. For example, you can write about your gender and how it influenced your experiences while growing up. Religion can also be chosen as a point of focus. You can also choose to focus on language and customs that have shaped your growing years, and focusing on language can be a great idea if you speak more than one language. Choose any powerful experience to share in your cultural identity essay.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a cultural identity essay.

A cultural identity essay is a personal statement essay that explores the student’s cultural backgrounds and their effect on their personality.

When do you need to write a cultural identity essay?

Cultural identity essays are an important part of college or university admission processes that help the board understand the candidate’s personality.

What is the basic structure of a cultural identity essay?

Just like other academic essays, a cultural identity essay can be divided into four distinct parts. These include the introduction, thesis, body and conclusion.

How long should the cultural identity essay introduction section be?

The introduction section of a cultural identity essay should be limited to around 10 per cent of the total word count.

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Electrifying guide to a cultural identity essay.

“The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of its people.” A simple statement but carrying worth centuries and decades of wisdom. In layman’s language, the account would mean that without diversity, then the world would be one boring place to stay.

Imagine the world with only men, or women, or even animals from one place alone. It wouldn’t have been impressive as it is now with people from all walks of life. And robots are also joining the community, adding to the diversity of this blooming planet, earth. 

So, what is culture? Simply put, it denotes the ways of life of different people. It can be in various aspects, such as the following:

• Social relations

These are just but a few of how different people differ from each other. Now, to what brought you here, what is a cultural identity essay?

Definition of a Cultural Identity Essay

A cultural identity paper is one that brings out the identity of a person concerning the place where they grew up, religion, economic, or family status. Cultural identity, therefore, means a group of people that one can identify within his/her essay. But wait, there’s more!

Structure of a Cultural Identity Essay

Essays about cultural identity take the same format as other types of academic essay assignments. So, what’s the catch?

The main difference between a cultural identity essay and the other types is that it, unlike the others, it uses the first-person pronoun (I and We). 

To add on that, hardly will students be required to do citations of sources because this paper is more of personal experiences. Students will, therefore, need to have substantial background information to come up with an outstanding cultural identity paper.

The MLA formatting style takes center stage in this type of essay. One would need to be creative enough and have sufficient information to convince the reader. Here are some sources you could use for your cultural identity essay:

• Your parents (preferably the grandparents)
• Television documentaries on culture
• History books in libraries

Bear in mind that all these sources should be operating or found in your national or locality. Let me tell you why.

People who are from a particular area understand their culture and heritage than those from outside. Can a visitor to come to your house for the first time and know what is under your bed? I bet no. 

The crucial differences which distinguish human societies and human beings are not biological. They are cultural. Ruth Benedict.

Are you ready for some cultural identity essay ideas? Then, move that scroll wheel downwards.

Cultural Identity Essay Ideas for You!

The ideas are so many ideas that you can choose from for your essay on cultural identity. A starting point would be asking yourself, “What is my cultural identity?”. You can consider the following ideas:

• An experience that you went through
• The story behind a specific famous locality
• The impact of a particular culture
• A common practice among people and where it originated from
• Think of one particular language and trace its roots
• How have the people around you influenced you?
• What kinds of food do you eat differently from others, and why?
• How do you feel when sited with a person of a different race?
• How do you dress, and why?
• The impact your religion has had on you
• What activities did you engage in as a child?

Again the ideas are not limited to what I have listed above. Have you ever watched a football derby, let’s say between Barcelona and Real Madrid? Do you see the number of spectators in attendance? Well, the ideas for essays about identity are more than that.

You may also make use of the numerous cultural identity essay examples found on the internet to generate more ideas. We advise you to take a look at racism essay topics .

And as if that’s not enough, let me share some tips that will help a long way in cranking up your next cultural identity essay.

Great Tips for an Excellent Essay on Cultural Identity

Let’s get down to them right away.

• Significant on personal experiences unless stated otherwise
• Make use of linking words
• Use vivid description
• MLA formatting
• Don’t assume, every detail matters

Although these are general tips, their application in your essay will make a high impact on your grades. Now, this is important.

How Would you Describe your Cultural Identity?

A vivid description of the use of personal experiences is the most recommended way that you can use.

What Are Examples of Cultural Identity?

They include nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, and locality, just but a few to mention.

Why is Having a Cultural Identity Important?

It gives people a sense of belonging to a particular social or ethnic group. Cultural identity also contributes to acknowledging and balancing the beliefs and values of other people and their cultures.

Difference Between Culture and Identity?

Culture is a way of life of a particular group of people, whereas identity is the knowledge of who you are as a person. 

It is as simple and straightforward as that. A cultural identity essay would not take you more than an hour to complete with the tips and outline given above. Take one of the recommended ideas above and start writing an essay on it. You will be amazed at how far you’ve improved your skills in cultural identity essays.

We know that writing an essay for your college assignment would prove tough for you, especially without an excellent writing service . Dubious websites would lure you into giving them your work and later disappoint you with low quality work at high rates. However, with us, we offer professional writers with years of expertise and a proven track record from our thousands of clients.

• Cultural Identity Essay: Exhaustive Writing...

Cultural Identity Essay: Exhaustive Writing Guide, Topic Ideas, Examples

Are you required to submit an identity essay as part of your college or university admission application? Cultural identity essay is an academic assignment not just for students who want to start higher education but also for those in their first, second, or even third year.  It’s an essay that can be assigned at any academic level. This academic paper is popular because professors want to know more about the student’s personal life to build rapport. Before you start writing the essay, it’s essential first to understand the definition of cultural identity.

What is Cultural Identity?

It’s what you identify with or feel most that you belong to based on heritage, religion, traditions, language, rituals, ethnicity, social class, and other community norms. Your cultural identity can influence how you react or interpret the world around you and give you a sense of belonging. Therefore, before you embark on the writing process, first ask yourself, “what is my cultural identity?” or what is cultural identity in your own words? Your answers will go a long way in helping you learn more about your roots, strength, strong beliefs, and influences that have shaped who you are today. Besides, thinking through the answers to those two questions helps you to come up with main points to use in an essay and share your identity perceptions. 

What is a Cultural Identity Essay?

A well-written cultural identity essay tells the reader how your culture has shaped who you are, your personality, beliefs, outlook, background, and point of view. It’s more like a mini-biography but focuses more on your culture and its peculiarities.  Since cultural identity is a broad topic, there are numerous angles you can focus on to make your essay fascinating from start to finish. For example, you can talk about rituals or unique cultural events that have influenced your personality, a special location, influential people in your community, or racial stereotypes in the USA.

 Cultural Identity Essay Structure

Like any other academic paper, a cultural identity essay structure will be composed of three crucial components: introduction, body, and conclusion. Writing in the first person is recommended, especially when including emotions, feelings, and personal experience. However, if you’re writing a short story or analyzing Jane Collier and Milt Thomas's theory, you can write the essay in the third person.

How to Write a Cultural Identity Essay

If it’s your first time writing a cultural identity essay, you might have difficulties writing text that meets academic standards. The wide array of information available online can be confusing. However, a well-written cultural identity essay example from our writer and the information provided in this post can be an excellent guide. Hers how to write a good cultural identity essay.

Start with Topic Selection

How do you start a cultural identity essay? The first step to writing a quality cultural identity paper is to choose a specific focus area. If you intend to talk about your culture, then good topic examples would be:

• Influential people in your community
• Habits that are inherent only to your culture
• Specific cuisine that tells about your culture
• How cultural orientation has affected your self-concept
• A place of significance that tells about your culture
• Cultural significance in art and how it influenced your personality
• Self-awareness and cultural identity
• Specific ingredients and traditional foods from your region
• A specific cultural event that influenced your personality
• How your cultural orientation and characteristics facilitate or hinder social competency in a multicultural setting

In case you don’t want to write about yourself, you can focus on how culture relates to education, politics, ethnicity, nationality, religion, social status, or any other unique factor. Some topic examples include:

• Cultural identity and health equity
• Cultural identity in a learning environment
• Evaluating Cultural Identity Using Caryl Phillips Cambridge
• Cultural identity and globalization
• The role of language in building cultural identity
• The position of cultural identity in society
• Racial stereotypes in America
• Cultural identity development in ethnic minority
• Sexuality, gender, and cultural identity
• Cultural difference between America and China
• Impact of culture identity change on family

 After getting a good topic, the next step is to develop a thesis statement that focuses on the paper. Next, create an outline. This involves coming up with several main points that you will include in your essay. Ensure they are relevant to the topic. Then assign each point to a specific paragraph.

Write the Introduction

Start with a sentence that will catch the reader’s attention (hook). Follow that up with background information on the topic, then end the introduction with a thesis statement. The first paragraph is a vital part of your cultural identity essay since it tells the reader why that topic is important to you and how it made you the person you are today. Remember, the introduction is only meant to introduce the topic and not really everything. So keep it brief; not more than 10% of the maximum word count. 

Main Body of a Cultural Identity Essay

Present your analysis in this part of the essay. Since this will be the bulky part of your paper, use it to prove your thesis by showing how the events or what you are talking about shaped your cultural identity. Don’t forget to start each paragraph with a topic sentence and show instead of telling. Present the evidence while keeping the thesis statement in mind. 

Remember the main points you used to create an outline, summarize them, and then paraphrase the thesis to wrap up the essay. Remind the reader how your culture has influenced your personality. Use words that express the emotions you have about your cultural identity. Overall, the last paragraph of a cultural identity essay should paraphrase the meaning of cultural identity in your own words and its impact on you. 

Bottom Line

Are you still having trouble coming up with a good topic to write about? If you have been staring at a blank page for hours wondering, “How can I explain my cultural identity?” there is a solution. Acemyhomework has subject experts that are ready to assist you. 

Just give the writer the information to incorporate, and you shall have a high-quality cultural identity essay within the agreed deadline. Students from all academic levels have benefited immensely from our service and reading our identity essay examples. Contact us now and let us create a paper that will boost your academic performance.

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What It Takes to Write A Powerful Cultural Identity Essay And Express Yourself

What One May Need A Cultural Identity Essay For

Knowing how to write a proper cultural identity essay may be beneficial even if you never get assigned this specific type of a paper. Since this is basically a personal essay , this may be a perfect topic to rely on when, say, submitting papers to a college or university. This will surely make an impression on the application committee and let you present yourself in a memorable way.

Perhaps, your teacher or a professor gave you a free choice on your next essay topic, then this is a great opportunity to explore your cultural identity while writing a paper. After all, you will be writing about yourself, and it’s possible to complete this task without carrying out any extensive research. Depending on the identifying factor you choose, it may be possible to start writing it right away.

However, before you go looking for a cultural identity essay example to write your own paper, we urge you to stick around and dedicate some time to learning some essential information that you will only benefit from. It would be a great mistake to assume that you can quickly write an essay about cultural identity without finding out more about.

You can also choose to order such an essay from our experienced writers and save your time on reading instructions and writing a paper . Otherwise, let’s start by making sure you understand what an identity essay is and what it is exactly you are required to write about.

What Is Cultural Identity? Do You Have It?

Understanding what cultural identity is should give you a clear idea of what exactly your topic for cultural identity essay should be. Basically, it’s feeling that you are a part of some group or several groups whose members are united by some factor and share the same culture. Despite what one might think, there are much more things that can be a basis for such a group than those that first come to mind like race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or location. So, you might find writing an identity essay more interesting than you initially imagined.

The great thing is that there is no limit to the number of groups you can identify and come up with. The point is, it has to be something that you perceive as an indispensable part of who you are. Perhaps, you’re a sports fan or an active player yourself, maybe you’re into a specific genre of music, or there may be a fandom you cannot see yourself without. It can be just about anything, so before you get to the specifics of how to write an essay itself, a cultural analysis of yourself is necessary.

In case there are several major groups that instantly spring to your mind or, which is equally possible for some people, not a single one you can be related to, good old brainstorming should be the first step towards an essay on cultural distinctions. Spend some time dotting down the possible topics to figure out your own cultural identity that stands out the most. That way, you will make sure that you have a strong subject to write about, but also one that will be interesting to others and serve for a compelling essay about cultural identity.

Here is a list of some cultural suggestions that you could write about, use it to determine what’s relevant in your case. Remember, it’s in no way complete and could never be, but it should give you a sense of what your identity essay can be centered around.

• Nationality
• Political views
• Religious beliefs
• Artistic movement
• Social class
• Food preferences
• Family history
• Aesthetic taste

A Cultural Identity Essay Example of Structure

The size of an identity essay may vary, it can be the standard five paragraphs or more, so you should check the requirements you get for it. Nevertheless, its structure will be the same in all cases, and your paper should be organized in the same manner as pretty much any other essay. The only difference will be the content of these structural elements, and their proportions will depend on the required length of an essay. Unless this is your first essay ever, you will be familiar with these compositional elements, now just see what they should be about.

Introduction

It is crucial that you do not underestimate the importance of a culture essay introduction, which is usually confined to the first paragraph. This is where you state who you identify yourself as and what impact it had on your life. It should be kept pretty short and concise so that your reader does not lose interest before getting further. While you need to provide some major details about yourself and present the topic, do not try to reveal everything in this paragraph, there’s a whole essay ahead to do that.

A thesis statement isn’t a standalone element but is a part of the culture essay introduction, as you might already know. Typically, this is the last sentence in this paragraph, and it concludes the phase of making a reader familiar with the topic and the nature of the essay. Nevertheless, it’s not easily crafted and requires extra effort. What you write in your thesis statement sets up the tone of what comes later. In the case of this type of essay, the usual way about it would be to state what influence your cultural identity had on your life, what it taught you, or, perhaps, how you came to accept it and what that meant for you. Find and check a cultural identity essay example if you are not sure how a thesis should look like and how it should play out into the rest of an essay.

This is the lengthiest part of your essay, and the number of body paragraphs will depend on the general requirements. In any case, use this space to continue the trail of thought you presented in your thesis statement. Elaborate on it and provide examples to show the connection between your cultural identity and the effect it had on your life. If it’s a short essay on culture that you identify with, you may only have one or two paragraphs to present your analysis. Most likely, you will need to perform no additional research or fact-checking as you will be writing about yourself, but that is no reason to relax. Your essay must still be cohesive, engrossing, and without ever losing focus.

This is once again an essay part that is usually no longer than a paragraph or two, and it’s meant to recap all the main arguments and sum up the results in a brief manner. No new information should be brought out here other than the conclusion of what you set up in your introduction and explored over the course of the body paragraphs.

Make sure to restate your thesis statement that informed about culture of the group that you consider an integral part of your existence before providing the conclusions. That way, you will finally make your essay complete. However, the work on it is still not over, so don’t go writing it just yet even if you have a great cultural identity essay example to look at.

Valuable Insights on How to Write Cultural Identity Essay

Now, following the structure is important, but that is far from only actions that will satisfy you a high grade or positive reception. As they say, there is no limit to perfection, but that doesn’t mean you should stop trying. The following suggestions will make the process of writing your essay on cultural identity smoother and improve the end result overall.

First of all, just a reminder, don’t hurry with fixating on the particular cultural identity after discovering some of the major influences you’ve had. It’s best not to skip the brainstorming stage so that you have the best topic and one that resonates with you the most.

Most often, an essay about cultural identity will deal with your own experience, so make sure to think of the best stories and examples from your life to illustrate the case. Your passion when talking about these instances of the cultural awakening is most likely to show on paper, but don’t get too carried away. Stay to the point and only provide those details which are relevant to the topic and thesis statement.

Although no additional research and citations are necessary when it’s your own cultural identity essay, it will be a great plus if you do include those in your paper. So, rather than carrying out extensive research, look for some articles or quotes of some famous people, for example, who have a say on the cultural identity you are writing about. Perhaps, you may want to get back and revisit someone’s words, some written piece, or a film that made you realize the cultural influences on your life.

Finally, do not just run your essay about cultural identity through a grammar checker  and submit it. Proofreading should never be dismissed if you do not want to sabotage all the work leading up to it. There are things no program or app can catch, but the professor or an application committee member will. You may notice, for example, that some paragraphs or sentences lack proper linking between them. Missing or repeating words will also hurt the overall impression. So, plan everything to have enough time to read it again with a clear mind. Maybe even let someone else read it as we often keep overlooking our own mistakes, but they will be instantly spotted by another person.

One More Solution for Your Cultural Identity Paper

A cultural identity essay may not be the toughest assignment you’ve ever had, but there can still be enough reasons preventing you from doing a good job. One of the most common and trivial explanations is the lack of time for whatever reason. And sometimes, you just can’t set your mind to writing that essay, another perfectly understandable situation, not by your professor, though. The rules are the same for everyone, and you are expected to hand in that essay as expected.

Well, you could find a cultural identity essay example and rewrite it, adding some personal details to make it about you, but that may prove to be even more work without guaranteed results. Instead, you could just order a custom-written essay from our service and solve that issue in a matter of minutes. Just provide the available essay requirements, tell us the topic, and a couple of sentences if you want that identity essay to be really about you. Our expert writer will do the rest and shape it into a great paper for you, so consider this offer and do what you must.

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5.8: Strategies for Starting Your Cultural Identity Paper

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This chapter summarizes a range of different ideas about literature that all center on the identity of authors, their characters, and (in part) their readers. In each paper we find a close consideration of the way different groups interact: how they perceive and represent each other, how they talk to and about each other, and how they exert power against each other. Whether discussing the effects of colonialism in nineteenth-century Africa, the perils of assimilation for Native Americans in the early twentieth-century United States, or the economic parallels between slavery and whaling in nineteenth-century America, each paper takes seriously the cultural and political realities that underlie the creation of literature, and each sees literature as a force that can shape those cultural and political realities. When reading literary works, you should be attentive to issues of identity, power, assimilation, and/or prejudice.

If you follow these steps, you’ll be well on your way to writing a compelling paper on racial, ethnic, or cultural themes:

• Consider the racial, ethnic, or cultural background of the author. Do the characters in the work come from a similar background? Does the author come from a colonized or minority population? Conversely, does the author come from an imperial or majority population? Does the work seem intended to address issues particular to the author’s background?
• Consider the history of the work’s setting and/or composition. What were the major political realities of the day? Were there major conflicts, settlements, or economic realities that would have shaped the author’s or his or her contemporary readers’ worldviews? Are the settings in the work familiar to the author’s experience, or are they “other” or exotic settings? How might the politics of the day shape the work’s themes, images, settings, or characters?
• Research the reactions of previous critics to the work. Have they noticed particular attitudes toward race, ethnicity, or culture in the text? Do you agree with their assessment, or do you see ideas they have missed? Can you extend, modify, or correct their arguments?
• Consider the possible readers of the work. How do you think members of the groups represented in the work would feel about the way their race, ethnicity, or culture is represented? If you come from a group depicted in the work you’ve chosen, how does that depiction make you feel?

In short, you want to ask how the work you are studying represents the identities of the groups it depicts. If you can begin to answer these questions, you’ll be well on your way to a cultural analysis of a literary text. Remember that you can write a cultural analysis in many modes: you can celebrate a work’s progressive representation of race or you can critique a work’s problematic complicity in negative social attitudes. Either way, you can write a compelling argument about race, culture, and ethnicity in literature.

Excellent essay writing blog for students seeking help with paper writing. We provide exclusive tips and ideas that can help create the best essay possible.

Writing An Excellent Cultural Identity Essay For All Levels

Before starting an identity essay, it’s important that you first consider what the assignment prompt is asking you to do. This kind of writing is closely associated with narrative writing because it can be quite personal, but sometimes you will need to write about others. In the latter case, you should refer to some cultural identity essay examples to learn how to talk about a cultural group you may not feel a part of without causing any offense. An identity essay can be tricky if you don’t fully understand the definition, so we will discuss it a bit in this article as well as give you a few ideas on the subject worth your consideration.

What is Cultural Identity?

The widely accepted definition of cultural identity is that it is the concept or belief of belonging to a specific group of people. This is, of course, filled with many sub-factors and is debatable because of the various cultural, historical, and generational characteristics (among others) that one can use to classify oneself or a group. It can be a bit complicated and many experts suggest that is no absolute definition since the characteristics one chooses to use often expand to overlap with others.

Students may find themselves having to write an essay response for an application or a personal narrative that asks them to answer the question “What is my cultural identity?” and not have a clear idea of where to begin. In such cases, it’s probably best for students to review an identity essay example to develop a better understanding of the best method for defining and writing a logical response. With a little bit of practice, students will get a full grasp of what readers are looking for when dealing with this subject. As for the structure and format, you can follow a typical five-paragraph essay outline.

12 Essay Topics on Identity Issues

The following 12 topics deal with a variety of areas appropriate for an identity paper assignment for high school, college, and graduate school courses. We encourage students to consider each one carefully and thoroughly, and then to apply their own twist to the ideas presented in order to make the subject truly personal:

• Language is an essential piece of what makes us who we are culturally speaking. But many people take their families traditional forms of communicating for granted and instead adopt a new language to fit in with their surroundings. Write a cultural identity essay about myself where you discuss being bi-lingual.
• Describe a real-life experience that helped you connect with a group in a self-identity essay. This can be a connection you felt with family, friends, or strangers. It should be something that you believe has influenced you to become the person you are today.
• How did the foods that you ate and the language that you spoke at home when growing up, affect the way you identify? Write a culture and identity essay focused on your family and upbringing. Consider how things were different from you than others in your neighborhood.
• Do you identify as an American or do you hold on to another country’s culture? Write an American identity essay where you explore what it means to be an American and whether or not the blinds between being single or multi-cultural is still relevant today.
• How does the way we communicate with family, friends, and strangers influence the way we think about identity? How are these two things linked and how important is the former to the latter? Write a language and identity essay exploring this relationship, and consider using personal examples.
• Write an ethnic identity essay comparing and contrasting two different groups of people that are often combined in generalized discussions. For instance, Chinese and Japanese, Mexican and Salvadorians, or English and Scottish, etc. How are these generalizations offensive and why are they still prevalent in media and the way people perceive them?
• With so many people conducting various day-to-day activities, are we to blame for being victims to cyber-crimes? Give an example of such a crime in an identity theft essay that examines cause and effect – and take an unbiased approach towards casting blame.
• Examine how American Literature of the 20th century lends itself to common beliefs about ethnicity and equality in a racial identity essay. Do writers set racial boundaries that are encouraged or promoted in today’s society or do they aim to bring down such boundaries by citing the existence of such barriers?
• Give an explanation behind the personal identity definition. For instance, how does one’s personal identity change over time as a result of environmental and social factors that have a great influence on the way one may view him or herself?
• Write an essay about identity in the 21st century. Consider the different ways in which people are generally more inclined to be untruthful when it comes to stating beliefs over the internet as a result of anonymity without checks. Does this strengthen people’s perception of their own identity or does it take them further away from reality?
• Write an essay about identity in a world where social media communication has become the primary way for people to communicate with masses who they don’t know personally. Think of followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and a user’s quest to reach out to more people and increase followers and fans.
• Describe how an identity essay introduction for something like a university admission or scholarship application can give the wrong impression if it is poorly written. What are the most important qualities that should be expressed in the opening paragraph?

Finding High-Quality Writing Assistance on the Web

In order to learn more about proper structure and format for a personal identity essay, students are encouraged to visit a professional academic writing service online. There they will find a variety of resources, including identity essay examples, custom-written templates, and original topics to fit specific assignment prompts. For an affordable price, students can also hire a professional to write, review, edit, or proofread a cultural identity essay to ensure they hand in an assignment that meets the highest standards of academic quality at any grade level.

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What is Cultural Identity and Why is it Important?

• by Victoria Wilson

If you have ever found yourself baffled by someone’s response to a situation, you have seen the effects of cultural identity. This can be especially perplexing when the situation seems benign to you, but the other person has an extremely negative or positive response. But what is cultural identity and why does it matter?

Culture, in this context, refers to the beliefs, norms, behaviors, and values that a given group of people deem acceptable. Whereas identity is about knowing what is acceptable and true for yourself. We form a cultural identity when we subconsciously interpret and incorporate signals from the world around us into our own identity so we can belong. Therefore:

Your cultural identity is a critical piece of your personal identity (and worldview) that develops as you absorb, interpret, and adopt (or reject) the beliefs, values, behaviors, and norms of the communities in your life.

Our cultural identity can evolve, as culture is ever-evolving and dynamic. And while there are people who progress through life without ever thinking about their cultural identity, it is something we tend to become aware of when it’s challenged. This typically happens when we find ourselves in parts of the world or among groups with different cultural norms. Our cultural identity is important because it influences how we interpret and react to such situations, which can affect how successful we are in life.

What Defines and Shapes a Person’s Cultural Identity?

Anytime a group of people unites toward a common objective, a culture begins to form. No matter how large or small the group, there are beliefs, norms, values, and behaviors that emerge. 

What makes culture complicated is that many of these defining characteristics go unspoken. The group unconsciously develops certain standards for what is normal and acceptable based on social cues. Then, through our continual exposure to the group, we begin to accept these standards as part of our cultural identity. 

Important parts of your cultural identity are shaped due to your affiliation with any number of groups or cultural patterns, some of which we (as a culture) assign to you at birth, such as your:

• family of origin 
• local community
• physical ability
• nationality

Other contributions to your cultural identity occur as you navigate your life and the social constructs (aka social constructions) around you. As you have experiences or develop skills and interests, you join and leave certain communities because you have or lack commonality with their group members. As your life unfolds, you may become involved with many groups including:

• educational institutions
• professional organizations
• social clubs
• online communities
• political or special interest groups
• support groups 

To complicate matters further, certain situations and contexts provide an additional filter that allows unique elements of your cultural identity to emerge. For example, if you were born to a family that encouraged you to go to college and pursue a career in science, you might accept this path, join the physics club, and absorb the standards of that group into your own identity. This is completely normal. Humans are social animals, which means we depend on each other for survival. It’s natural, even necessary , for us to seek a sense of belonging and to look for cultural groups who will accept us for who we are. The challenge arises when we become so fixated on gaining status with our groups that we fail to notice when they aren’t serving us or resist opportunities that arise. 

Myths Around Cultural Identity

I often encounter three big myths about cultural identity in my work with clients. And I find that it is critical that we identify and address these myths before my client is ready to move forward. 

The first myth is that our cultural identity is fixed, which simply isn’t true. It is dynamic and it evolves as we affiliate ourselves with different groups. Think about some of the beliefs you had as a child that have since changed. This happens due to our exposure to new ways of thinking and as we absorb whatever resonates for us into our cultural identity.

The second myth I often hear is that some of us don’t have a cultural identity at all. The reality is that everyone has one. However, many of us are unaware of our own cultural identity and how it influences every single aspect of our life.  

The final, and perhaps most dangerous myth, is that our own cultural identity is mainstream, i.e., many of us believe we interpret situations the same way others do. When this is the case, our desire to understand the world can result in the creation of mental shortcuts that influence how we interact with someone who has a cultural identity that’s different from ours. 

The danger of these shortcuts is that they can lead to generalizing and stereotyping. When this occurs, we prejudge people as “friend or foe,” the latter of which can trigger a “fight or flight” response and cripple our ability to have meaningful, healthy, and productive interactions.

When I work with clients, I help them unravel their assumptions about what is normal, right, and true for them. But before we can get to work, it’s important that they understand the strength of cultural influences and how they shape our worldview so they can begin to recognize them in their own life and challenge them as they make decisions about their futures.

Why is Cultural Identity Important? 

Our cultural identity influences how we interpret and react to situations, so it is important that we become aware of our own identity in relation to the world around us. Since we have an innate craving to feel a sense of belonging to a group, when we are under stress we tend to subconsciously revert to whatever behaviors make us “feel” safe and accepted. In doing so, we set up invisible barriers within ourselves and between ourselves and others that impact personal interactions, professional performance, and organizational success . 

In my professional life, I’ve seen conflicts arise due to fundamentally different viewpoints and a  lack of understanding about the effect of cultural identities. When we develop an awareness of how our identities can act as a catalyst or barrier for growth, we unlock our true potential.

There may also be times in our lives when our own cultural identity comes into conflict with what we encounter in the world around us or what we feel within ourselves to be true. For instance, the person who pursued a career in science (from our example earlier) might eventually have this experience because instead of finding a career path that felt right to them , they did what their family expected of them. This tension, which is often called a cultural identity crisis, can create discomfort and even distress. 

How to Cope With a Cultural Identity Crisis 

Should you experience a cultural identity crisis, you may feel a natural tendency to ignore or blame other factors for the conflict. However, it is important to pay attention to yourself and to examine the cultural conditioning that formed your cultural identity in the first place. Here are three things you can do to begin this process:

• Pause and begin building your awareness around your own cultural identity. Our Identifying Your Cultural Contributors worksheet can help you get started.
• How has my cultural identity affected my reaction to this situation? 
• What influencers have contributed to building my identity in relation to this situation? 
• Does my cultural identity truly reflect the person I want to be going forward? 
• If the tension is with another person, try looking at things from their perspective. What influencers and cultural contributors might have impacted the way the other person is approaching the situation?
• Finally, come up with 1-2 actionable steps to address the situation, then commit to reflecting on your own identity regularly. This could be as simple as taking 5-10 minutes each month to revisit the worksheets listed above and considering how any new groups in your life (such as new social groups or a change in employment) are contributing to the growth and evolution of your identity. 

The Bottom Line

Your cultural identity is critical to your success because it influences the way you interpret and react to the world around you. Building an awareness of your identity can help you gain a better understanding of the unique contributions you have to offer, both personally and professionally while shedding light on your blind spots. For additional insight, we’d invite you to visit our resources page for more exercises.

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About the author.

Victoria Shiroma Wilson, Ed.D., P.C.C.

Victoria Shiroma Wilson, Ed.D., P.C.C., is the founder of Exceptional Futures, a provider of frameworks that help people tap into the power of their cultural identities to answer some of life’s biggest questions. Victoria is on the teaching faculty at Duke University and earned her doctoral degree in Global Leadership from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in Psychology from Santa Clara University, and a master’s degree in Asian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Cultural Identity Essay

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Cultural   Identity  can be most basically described as a sense of belonging within a group. It is formed due to companionship based on the same traditions, beliefs, social structures and languages.  Cultural   identity  is specific for every person and isn’t universally the same. In conjunction with this when an individual migrates or is removed from a community a person’s mental and physical health can be negatively affected due to a lost sense of self and belonging. These concepts are depicted in the documentary ‘Crossing the Line’ as a consequence of the Aboriginal People’s loss of  cultural  norms, religious customs and having to adjust to a new culture, thus changing their sense of self and  identity .  Cultural   identity  is an important factor for health care professionals to consider as culturally sensitive practices need to be carried out to ensure every individual is attended to appropriately, continues to seek support and is encouraged to maintain good health.

Sensitivity and understanding of an individual’s  cultural   identity  is crucial when working as a health care professional. Despite the typical socio-economic problems involved in health inequalities the impact of a lack of understanding and sensitivity towards a person’s  cultural   identity  and health need to be considered also. This issue is presented in ‘Crossing the Line’ when one of the medicine students, Paul attempted to talk to a group of Aboriginal students about mental health and suicide. However traditionally it isn’t culturally like the Aboriginal’s to discuss health as their health is more connected to their land. His supervisor then confronts Paul, as he wasn’t aware that discussions based around mental health aren’t encouraged in aboriginal communities. I believe his naïve actions made him look insensitive and somewhat ignorant towards the Aboriginal people’s  cultural  norms although he thought he was helping because discussion about mental health is encouraged in his culture. When working as a health professional  cultural  sensitivity and awareness is needed, as healthcare in relation to  cultural   identity  isn’t the same for everyone. Likewise despite the students in the documentary feeling the circumstances in which the Aboriginal People’s lived in to be unlivable these conditions are significant to their  cultural   identity  and removing them from their land may have a negative impact on their wellbeing. This is due to a lost sense of self and belonging. If I found myself in a similar situation as a health professional where I wasn’t used to the living situation’s of my patients I would ensure that I become properly educated on the  cultural  behaviours of the people I am dealing with and respect these aspects to ensure they feel safe and connected to.

In addition to sensitivity and understanding of an individual’s  cultural   identity , a loss of  cultural   identity  is depicted in the documentary. During European settlement many Aboriginal people had their  cultural  identities distorted and replaced with a more Western  identity  introduced by the missions. In the documentary an Aboriginal Elder discusses the influence of living in the missionaries after European settlement. The woman talks about believing in God, an aspect of her  cultural   identity passed on by the missionaries. This shows that being brought up i

In addition to sensitivity and understanding of an individual’s  cultural   identity , a loss of  cultural   identity  is depicted in the documentary. During European settlement many Aboriginal people had their  cultural  identities distorted and replaced with a more Western  identity  introduced by the missions. In the documentary an Aboriginal Elder discusses the influence of living in the missionaries after European settlement. The woman talks about believing in God, an aspect of her  cultural   identity passed on by the missionaries. This shows that being brought up in the Missions was crucial in shaping her  cultural   identity  as her initial  cultural   identity  was disrupted. She also discusses the impact of not having the Missionaries in the community anymore. As the original  cultural  identities and social norms were replaced once the missions left no one was able to provide structure and help continue to shape the younger generations of Aboriginal people’s identities. In support of this the elder states “These days without a mission, parents can’t take care of their kids”. I think this is shown to influence the health of the Aboriginal children particularly as they are often wounded or ill and needing to by attended to by the health professionals as they receive minimal care at home., Evidently there is a link between positive  cultural   identity  and surrounding support systems and the maintenance of good health. When working as a health professional understanding that some Aboriginal people in particular may have a loss of  cultural   identity  is essential as it can be an underlying reason for poor health maintenance.

To conclude  cultural   identity  is a crucial element to a person’s health. This is because a person’s religious views, social behaviours and traditions often influence their approach to health and healthcare. Prior to watching ‘Crossing the line’ I was unaware that  cultural   identity  influenced people’s attitudes towards health, an example of this being the differences in approaches to mental health between the medical student and the Aboriginal Australians. I am conscious now that health care is not a “one size fits all” subject and health professionals need to be sensitive to each individual’s  cultural   identity  and specific needs regarding it.

n the Missions was crucial in shaping her  cultural   identity  as her initial  cultural   identity  was disrupted. She also discusses the impact of not having the Missionaries in the community anymore. As the original  cultural  identities and social norms were replaced once the missions left no one was able to provide structure and help continue to shape the younger generations of Aboriginal people’s identities. In support of this the elder states “These days without a mission, parents can’t take care of their kids”. I think this is shown to influence the health of the Aboriginal children particularly as they are often wounded or ill and needing to by attended to by the health professionals as they receive minimal care at home., Evidently there is a link between positive  cultural   identity  and surrounding support systems and the maintenance of good health. When working as a health professional understanding that some Aboriginal people in particular may have a loss of  cultural   identity  is essential as it can be an underlying reason for poor health maintenance.

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How to Write Cultural Identity Essay –From Introduction to Conclusion

What is a cultural identity essay.

A cultural identity essay, also known as an identity essay is a piece of writing where you make people know how your place of birth, religion, ethnicity among other things contributed to your personality. Things like the activities you engaged yourself in while you were still a child are also part of your cultural identity. After reading this post, you will be able to understand what is a culture essay. Just keep reading.

Elements of a culture essay

A culture essay enlightens a human of identification with particular people, customs, and societies. The essay should talk about the following elements:

• Place of birth
• Country of birth

The essay follows a structure similar to other academic essays; the only distinction is the topic. Also, you need to write it in the first person which is slightly different from other basic types of academic writing like argumentative or persuasive essays. There are no sources required for this type of essay. You need to tell about your own experience, skills emotions, and your knowledge when writing essays on cultures. It’s easy to write such an essay since you don’t have to research unless you are not knowledgeable when it comes to the formatting.

The accepted format us MLA since an identity essay forms part of the English Language and Literature lessons, which should adhere to the MLA formatting. In most cases, you may need to include some in-text citations to demonstrate your country of origin. It is also good to include sources of famous writers explaining the art, music, literature, and traditions of your native land. You may or may not need to include citations and references as well.

Examples of Ideas to Talk About When Writing a Culture Essay

When writing a culture essay, the subject to write about may not be broad. Ideally, you can select 5 things when writing the essay which can be:

• Unforgettable tradition
• A place of interest
• Your life experience
• A prominent figure
• A place you memories can associate with and more.

You can explain the gratitude of your community towards your participation in safeguarding the rights of uncommon creatures. Also, you may decide to talk about your experience you got after attending a national holiday. You can also talk about place where you were educated about the local meals and describe how to cook the meals and prepare the table.

Culture Identity Essay: The Introduction

A culture identity essay may be intricate or simple and many a time, you will be asked to write such an essay. This is crucial as it is the way you can gauge your skills or research, explanation and also a demonstration of what you are knowledgeable about. This is where you can also express yourself personally or professionally. In this case, you will be required to write an essay.

This is the right time to demonstrate your skills when it comes to research, explanation, and presentation. The first thing is to pick the right topic to write about. This is where you will need to pick a topic that you understand can write well about it. This way, you will be able to flow with the structure and present ideas clearly. Research is necessary at this stage and the topic is selected by teachers. Another important aspect is to establish the ideas.

At this stage, brainstorming and research of the content gathered on the topic comes in handy. To enable you to express an augment to your readers in a better way, you will need to have a thesis statement. A thesis is a statement that is expressed as an augment that follows the introduction.

You will need to come up with the thesis during the planning stage since it forms the basis of the direction you should follow when writing the essay. The thesis helps you to establish what should or should not be included in the essay, from the information you’ve gathered. Once you are done refining what should be in your essay and establish how you will present argument, you can now start writing it. Note that when writing essays about identity the thesis statement can be extensive.

Cultural Identity Essay: The Boy

The body paragraphs of a culture identity essay can be lengthy or short. In fact, this is the bulkiest part of the paper. The body of the essay needs to have 5 paragraphs and different paragraphs should present a different idea. If possible, when the first paragraph has 5 sentences the second paragraph should also contain the same number of sentences.

If you decide to write paragraphs of different lengths, ensure to include some elements that are similar to make it uniform. At this stage, you will need to be very brief so that no paragraphs appears too large than the others. When writing the paragraphs in the body section of the identity essay, remember the following:

• A paragraph should begin with a solid argument.
• Present some evidence from your real-life experiences or sources
• Link the ideas to appear as one by use of transitions.

Note that you need to include a topic sentence in every paragraph to help the reader to know what to expect.

Identity Essays: How to Write the Conclusion

At the conclusion part of an identity essay, you will need to remember that you are summarizing what you’ve already written in the body section. You are only required to pick the main points in the essay or the argument. A reader who bumps into your conclusion should be able to tell what your essay was all about. You should also talk about things that will need to be discussed in the future.

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Expository Essay: What Is Your Cultural Identity Made Up From?

People seem to have a tendency to lump cultural identity in with race or the country a person comes from, but there is more to it than that. In my essay, I show five elements of cultural identity that most agree run in line with what we believe cultural identity to be. It is not a comprehensive list of the elements that make up cultural identity.

Where a person comes from has an effect on his or her cultural identity. Even if a person is of another race and language, the country in which they are born, or the country in which they are now a resident will have an effect on that person’s cultural identity.

People have different genes based on those of their parents, and those genes have markers in them that set people into races. People have evolved certain traits that are still present today. Such traits will eventually become obsolete in a few hundred years when all races have merged, but until that point, a person’s race (aka genetic traits and markers) will make up part of their cultural identity.

What religion a person follows or doesn’t follow may make up his or her cultural identity. This also includes secular (atheist) people, who are just as arrogant in their beliefs as those that believe in a creator and/or organized religion, and it includes thoughtful agnostic people that are smart enough to realize they will never be smart enough to comprehend the mysteries of the universe.

The first language a person speaks will also make up his or her cultural identity. This also includes people who learn another language, even if they speak it poorly. Cultural identity also has something to do with the accent a person has, especially when such accents are tied into cultural stereotypes, such as the hick southerner, or the posh English person.

Putting aside genetic traits, there are some physical traits that make up part of a person’s cultural identity. For example, people that are born with dwarfism will tend to adopt a cultural identity of their own and will often join with other people that have the same conditions. There are also people that are born with certain traits that seem to affect their cultural identity through cultural stereotypes. For example, the bright blonde haired woman that is both beautiful and has big breasts is less likely to become a chemical engineer because of the cultural identity thrust upon her.

All five elements listed in my essay are what make up people’s cultural identity by its broadest and most understood definition. However, the list is not comprehensive because numerous other things can separate people in these groups even further. For example, in religion alone a person may be Christian, but also a hard-core Roman Catholic that lives by different rules to people such as 7th Day Adventists, Protestants and such. The elements I have listed are broad umbrella elements that include more people than they exclude.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Cultural Identity — I Am Proud of My Cultural Identity

I Am Proud of My Cultural Identity

• Categories: Cultural Identity

About this sample

Words: 1139 |

Updated: 7 November, 2023

Words: 1139 | Page: 1 | 6 min read

• Chen, K., Shao, A., Jin, Y., & Ng, A. (2020). I Am Proud of My National Identity and I Am superior to You: The Role of Nationalism in Knowledge and Misinformation. Available at SSRN 3758287. (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3758287)
• Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., & Weisskirch, R. S. (2008). Broadening the study of the self: Integrating the study of personal identity and cultural identity. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2(2), 635-651. (https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00077.x)
• Smolicz, J. (1981). Core values and cultural identity. Ethnic and racial studies, 4(1), 75-90. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01419870.1981.9993325?journalCode=rers20)
• Hall, S., & Du Gay, P. (Eds.). (1996). Questions of cultural identity: SAGE Publications. Sage. (https://sk.sagepub.com/books/questions-of-cultural-identity)
• Lucy, S. (2007). Ethnic and cultural identities. In Archaeology of Identity (pp. 96-119). Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203087572-10/ethnic-cultural-identities-sam-lucy)

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How Does Culture Affect the Self Identity Personal Essay

Introduction, culture influence on personality identity, chinese – indonesians’ culture in relation to personal identity, how am i shaped and influenced by culture.

Culture or the way of life is attributed to the personality of an individual and makes them who they really are. Self awareness emphasizes the significance of an individual to exist and is attributed to social views and practices. It defines individual characteristics and contributes to the diversity of people in the world and this makes life interesting.

Culture and personal identity relate closely and are dependent on each other. Construction of identities is within individual in relation to a particular historical background and organization. This paper shall explore the personality trait explained above and explain the contribution that culture has made.

The vibrant Indonesian culture is ethnic and is also being influenced by countries such as China and India which neighbor it. Cultural identity is marked by the influence from the family, regional, and religious aspects. For instance, am a mixture of Chinese and Indonesian, born in Indonesia and have lived there my entire life.

My family background is relatively humble although my parents provide for my basic needs. However, Luxuries are not always present when needed. With hard work, the family is better than before since the parents have worked extra hard to make ends meet. Nevertheless, the initial financial constrains that my family experienced contributed to my personality.

I have come to be known as a girl of low profile since my cultural background has dictated so. I have learnt to save money and use it on important things only. In addition, I’ve learnt to share with others and not to become self-engrossed, an image that I always portray not only to my parents and friends but also to the society at large. This has made me and the whole family relate well with others.

Chinese- Indonesians are an ethnic minority whose culture is heterogeneous. They have been categorized into totok and peranakan. Since peranakan have their birthplace as Indonesia, they are identified with the ethnic regions of Indonesia and they disregard their Chinese origin.

In contrast, the totok has a lesser Indonesian orientation instead, are more of Chinese since them or their parents have been born in china (Aimee 77).

Another distinction is in the commercial activities undertaken by the groups. Totok group are geared on achieving business success and accumulate wealth. Thus, this is reflected in their self-reliance, investment approach, and prowess which are aspects that have greatly influenced my identity.

As a totok I practice a significant cultural value known as the guanxi . It is a concept which points out that for one to succeed, he or she should relate with people who matter and one must harmonize with the environment instead of altering it.

“For instance, through his personal and financial connections with government officials, particularly Suharto, whom he befriended long before he became Indonesia’s president, Liem Sioe Liong amassed a multibillion dollar importer that encompassed the manufacturing of cement and steel, automobile distribution …” (Aimee 78).

The example emphasizes the aggressiveness of the totok which in turn has taught me to avoid being self-centered but instead count on others in every activity I undertake in life.

On the other hand, the peranakan base their engagements on merit hence are not very successful in the Indonesian commercialism. Therefore, being a totok means that the culture has dictated my hardworking nature and most significantly, my networking and social nature. This has in turn affected my personality of being considerate of others and avoiding being self-centered.

Religious aspects, social environment, and distinct originality have had a strong effect on my identity. Being a Chinese- Indonesian I have learnt proper use of money and resources in order to become successful in life contribute to my identity of being low profile.

The family is a very important institution based on the cultural values if Chinese-Indonesians. Family ties are maintained and preserved by practice of norms such as marriage which ensures solidarity among members (Aimee 74).

It is the role of the parents to teach their children proper manners in life and this has been properly implemented by both of my parents in a strict way which has enabled me to follow the rules and regulations set in various areas quite easily. The family union is relevant to set a good example to the children and ensure happiness in marriage. Marriage is one cultural value that is highly regarded by Chinese-Indonesians.

Indonesian culture is very categorical on religious morals which are elements that are reflected in the entire society and more specifically by my trait of putting others ahead of me and sharing my resources with them. I believe that Sex before marriage is a vice that is forbidden by my culture which helps maintain an environment where children can grow well, become educated, and attain a high degree of moral standards.

Being a Muslim country it is also under the influence of other religions such as Buddhism as well as Hinduism which may as well have played a part on my personal identity. Its cultural, richness is depicted in the country’s art and theatre work such as dances and music.

The economic background, family relations and ethnic distinctions have contributed significantly to the personality trait of being a low profile person who is considerate of others. Moreover, belonging to a Chinese-Indonesian ethnicity means that I have interacted with several cultures.

A multicultural interaction may have similar or contradicting effects on personal identity which is reflected in my personality making it hard to evaluate specifically whether I am of totok o r peranakan origin.

Nevertheless the role played by my immediate family has guided me as I interact with the social environment around me. The culture has enabled me be identified in the society as a low profile woman. This does not only help to deliberately avoid undue prominence but also to exercise personal freedom and acceptance.

Aimee, Dawis. The Chinese of Indonesia and their Search For Identity: The Relationship Between Collective Memory and the Media . New York: Cambria Press. 2009. Print.

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Race Is Central to Identity for Black Americans and Affects How They Connect With Each Other

Many learn about ancestors, u.s. black history from family, table of contents.

• The importance of being Black for connections with other Black people
• The importance of Blackness for knowing family history and U.S. Black history
• Younger Black people are less likely to speak to relatives about ancestors
• Black Americans differ by party on measures of identity and connection
• The importance of race, ancestry and place to personal identity
• The importance of gender and sexuality to personal identity
• Black Americans and connectedness to other Black people
• Intra-racial connections locally, nationally and globally
• How Black Americans learn about their family history
• Most Black adults say their ancestors were enslaved, but some are not sure
• Most Black adults are at least somewhat informed about U.S. Black history
• For many Black adults, where they live shapes how they think about themselves
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand the rich diversity of Black people in the United States and their views of Black identity. This in-depth, robust survey explores differences among Black Americans in views of identity such as between U.S.-born Black people and Black immigrants; Black people living in different regions of the country; and between Black people of different ethnicities, political party affiliations, ages and income levels. The analysis is the latest in the Center’s series of in-depth surveys of public opinion among Black Americans (read the first, “ Faith Among Black Americans ”).

The online survey of 3,912 Black U.S. adults was conducted Oct. 4-17, 2021. The survey includes 1,025 Black adults on Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP) and 2,887 Black adults on Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel. Respondents on both panels are recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses.

Recruiting panelists by phone or mail ensures that nearly all U.S. Black adults have a chance of selection. This gives us confidence that any sample can represent the whole population (see our Methods 101 explainer on random sampling). Here are the questions used for the survey of Black adults , along with its responses and methodology .

The terms “Black Americans” , “Black people” and “Black adults” are used interchangeably throughout this report to refer to U.S. adults who self-identify as Black, either alone or in combination with other races or Hispanic identity.

Throughout this report, “Black, non-Hispanic” respondents are those who identify as single-race Black and say they have no Hispanic background. “Black Hispanic” respondents are those who identify as Black and say they have Hispanic background. We use the terms “Black Hispanic” and “Hispanic Black” interchangeably. “Multiracial” respondents are those who indicate two or more racial backgrounds (one of which is Black) and say they are not Hispanic.

Respondents were asked a question about how important being Black was to how they think about themselves. In this report, we use the terms “being Black” and “Blackness” interchangeably when referencing responses to this question.

In this report, “immigrant” refers to people who were not U.S. citizens at birth – in other words, those born outside the U.S., Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories to parents who were not U.S. citizens. We use the terms “immigrant” and “foreign-born” interchangeably.

Throughout this report, “Democrat and Democratic leaners” refers to respondents who say in they identify politically with the Democratic Party or are independent but lean toward the Democratic Party. “ Republican and Republican leaners” refers to respondents who identify politically with the Republican Party or are independent but lean toward the Republican Party.

To create the upper-, middle- and lower-income tiers, respondents’ 2020 family incomes were adjusted for differences in purchasing power by geographic region and household size. Respondents were then placed into income tiers: “Middle income” is defined as two-thirds to double the median annual income for the entire survey sample. “Lower income” falls below that range, and “upper income” lies above it. For more information about how the income tiers were created, read the methodology .

No matter where they are from, who they are, their economic circumstances or educational backgrounds, significant majorities of Black Americans say being Black is extremely or very important to how they think about themselves, with about three-quarters (76%) overall saying so.   

A significant share of Black Americans also say that when something happens to Black people in their local communities, across the nation or around the globe, it affects what happens in their own lives, highlighting a sense of connectedness. Black Americans say this even as they have diverse experiences and come from an array of backgrounds.

Even so, Black adults who say being Black is important to their sense of self are more likely than other Black adults to feel connected to other groups of Black people. They are also more likely to feel that what happens to Black people inside and outside the United States affects what happens in their own lives. These findings emerge from an extensive new survey of Black U.S. adults conducted by Pew Research Center.

A majority of non-Hispanic Black Americans (78%) say being Black is very or extremely important to how they think about themselves. This racial group is the largest among Black adults , accounting for 87% of the adult population, according to 2019 Census Bureau estimates. But among other Black Americans, roughly six-in-ten multiracial (57%) and Hispanic (58%) Black adults say this.

Black Americans also differ in key ways in their views about the importance of being Black to personal identity. While majorities of all age groups of Black people say being Black shapes how they think about themselves, younger Black Americans are less likely to say this – Black adults ages 50 and older are more likely than Black adults ages 18 to 29 to say that being Black is very or extremely important to how they think of themselves. Specifically, 76% of Black adults ages 30 to 49, 80% of those 50 to 64 and 83% of those 65 and older hold this view, while only 63% of those under 30 do.

Black adults who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party are more likely than those who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party to say being Black is important to how they see themselves – 86% vs. 58%. And Black women (80%) are more likely than Black men (72%) to say being Black is important to how they see themselves.

Still, some subgroups of Black Americans are about as likely as others to say that being Black is very or extremely important to how they think about themselves. For example, U.S.-born and immigrant Black adults are about as likely to say being Black is important to how they see their identity. However, not all Black Americans feel the same about the importance of being Black to their identity – 14% say it is only somewhat important to how they see themselves while 9% say it has little or no impact on their personal identity, reflecting the diversity of views about identity among Black Americans.

Beyond the personal importance of Blackness – that is, the importance of being Black to personal identity – many Black Americans feel connected to each other. About five-in-ten (52%) say everything or most things that happen to Black people in the United States affect what happens in their own lives, with another 30% saying some things that happen nationally to Black people have a personal impact. And 43% say all or most things that happen to Black people in their local community affect what happens in their own lives, while another 35% say only some things in their lives are affected by these events. About four-in-ten Black adults in the U.S. (41%) say they feel their fates are strongly linked to Black people around the world, with 36% indicating that some things that happen to Black people around the world affect what happens in their own lives.

The survey also asked respondents how much they have in common with different groups of Black Americans. Some 17% of Black adults say they have everything or most things in common with Black people who are immigrants. But this sense of commonality differs sharply by nativity: 14% of U.S.-born Black adults say they have everything or most things in common with Black immigrants, while 43% of Black immigrants say the same. Conversely, only about one-in-four Black immigrants (26%) say they have everything or most things in common with U.S.-born Black people, a share that rises to 56% among U.S.-born Black people themselves.

About one-third of Black Americans (34%) say they have everything or most things in common with Black people who are poor, though smaller shares say the same about Black people who are wealthy (12%). Relatively few Black Americans (14%) say they have everything or most things in common with Black people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ). However, a larger share of Black Americans (25%) say they have at least some things in common with Black people who identify as LGBTQ. All these findings highlight the diversity of the U.S. Black population and how much Black people feel connected to each other.

These are among the key findings from a recent Pew Research Center survey of 3,912 Black Americans conducted online Oct. 4-17, 2021. This report is the latest in a series of Pew Research Center studies focused on describing the rich diversity of Black people in the United States.

The nation’s Black population stood at 47 million in 2020 , making up 14% of the U.S. population – up from 13% in 2000. While the vast majority of Black Americans say their racial background is Black alone (88% in 2020), growing numbers are also multiracial or Hispanic. Most were born in the U.S. and trace their roots back several generations in the country, but a growing share are immigrants (12%) or the U.S.-born children of immigrant parents (9%). Geographically, while 56% of Black Americans live in the nation’s South , the national Black population has also dispersed widely across the country.

It is this diversity – among U.S.-born Black people and Black immigrants; between Black people who live in different regions; and across different ethnicities, party affiliations, ages and income levels – that this report explores. The survey also provides a robust opportunity to examine the importance of race to Black Americans’ sense of self and their connections to other Black people.

The importance of being Black to personal identity is a significant factor in how connected Black Americans feel toward each other. Those who say that being Black is a very or extremely important part of their personal identity are more likely than those for whom Blackness is relatively less important to express a sense of common fate with Black people in their local communities (50% vs. 17%), in the United States overall (62% vs. 21%), and even around the world (48% vs. 18%).

They are also more likely to say that they have everything or most things in common with Black people who are poor (37% vs. 23%) and Black immigrants (19% vs. 9%). Even so, fewer than half of Black Americans, no matter how important Blackness is to their personal identity, say they have everything or most things in common with Black people who are poor, immigrants or LGBTQ.

The new survey also explores Black Americans’ knowledge about their family histories and the history of Black people in the United States, with the importance of Blackness linked to greater knowledge. 

Nearly six-in-ten Black adults (57%) say their ancestors were enslaved either in the U.S. or another country, with nearly all who say so (52% of the Black adults surveyed) saying it was in the U.S., either in whole or in part. Black adults who say that being Black is a very or extremely important part of how they see themselves (61%) are more likely than those for whom being Black is less important (45%) to say that their ancestors were enslaved. In fact, Black adults for whom Blackness is very or extremely important (31%) are less likely than their counterparts (42%) to say that they are not sure if their ancestors were enslaved at all.

When it comes to learning more about their family histories, Black adults for whom Blackness is very or extremely important (81%) are more likely than those for whom Blackness is less important (59%) to have spoken to their relatives. They are about as likely to have researched their family’s history online (36% and 30%, respectively) and to have used a mail-in DNA service such as AncestryDNA or 23andMe (15% and 16%) to learn more about their ancestry.

The importance of Blackness also figures prominently into how informed Black Americans feel about U.S. Black history. Black adults who say Blackness is a significant part of their personal identity are more likely than those for whom Blackness is less important to say that they feel very or extremely informed about U.S. Black history (57% vs. 29%). Overall, about half of Black Americans say they feel very or extremely informed about the history of Black people in the United States.

Among Black adults who feel at least a little informed about U.S. Black history, the sources of their knowledge also differ by the importance of Blackness to personal identity. Nearly half of Black adults for whom Blackness is very or extremely important (48%) say they learned about Black history from their families and friends, making them more likely to say so than Black adults for whom Blackness is less important (30%). Similarly, those who say being Black is important to their identity are more likely than those who did not say this to have learned about Black history from nearly every source they were asked about, be it media (33% vs. 22%), the internet (30% vs. 18%) or college, if they attended (26% vs. 14%). The only source for which both groups were about equally likely to say they learned about Black history was their K-12 schools (24% and 21%, respectively).

Overall, among Black Americans who feel at least a little informed about U.S. Black history, 43% say they learned about it from their relatives and friends, 30% say they learned about it from the media, 27% from the internet, and 24% from college (if they attended) and 23% from K-12 school.

Black adults under 30 years old differ significantly from older Black adults in their views on the importance of Blackness to their personal identity. However, Black adults also differ by age in how they pursue knowledge of family history, how informed they feel about U.S. Black history, and their sense of connectedness to other Black people.

Black adults under 30 (50%) are less likely than those 65 and older (64%) to say their ancestors were enslaved. In fact, 40% of Black adults under 30 say that they are not sure whether their ancestors were enslaved. Black adults in the youngest age group (59%) are less likely than the oldest (87%) to have spoken to their relatives about family history or to have used a mail-in DNA service to learn about their ancestors (11% vs. 21%). They are only slightly less likely to have conducted research on their families online (26% vs. 39%).

Black adults under 30 have the lowest share who say they feel very or extremely informed about the history of Black people in the United States (40%), compared with 60% of Black adults 65 and older and about half each of Black adults 50 to 64 (53%) and 30 to 49 (51%). In fact, Black adults under 30 are more likely than those 50 and older to say they feel a little or not at all informed about Black history. While Black adults are generally most likely to cite family and friends as their source for learning about Black history, the share under 30 (38%) who also cite the internet as a source of information is higher than the shares ages 50 to 64 (22%) and 65 and older (14%) who say this.

These age differences persist in the sense of connectedness that Black Americans have with other Black people. Black adults under 30 are less likely than those 65 and older to say that everything or most things that happen to Black people in the United States will affect their own lives. This youngest group is also less likely than the oldest to have this sense of common fate with Black people in their local community. One exception to this pattern occurs when Black adults were asked how much they had in common with Black people who identify as LGBTQ. Black adults under 30 (21%) were considerably more likely than those 65 and older (10%) to say they have everything or most things in common with Black people who identify as LGBTQ.

Black Democrats and Republicans differ on how important Blackness is to their personal identities. However, there are also partisan gaps when it comes to their connectedness to other Black people. 1

Black Democrats and those who lean to the Democratic Party are more likely than Black Republicans and Republican leaners to say that everything or most things that happen to Black people in the United States (57% vs. 39%) and their local communities (46% vs. 30%) affect what happens in their own lives. However, Black Republicans (24%) are more likely than Black Democrats (14%) to say that they have everything or most things in common with Black people who are LGBTQ. They are also more likely than Black Democrats to say they have everything or most things in common with Black people who are wealthy (25% vs. 11%).

When it comes to knowledge of family and racial histories, Black Democrats and Republicans do not differ. Democrats (59%) are just as likely as Republicans (54%) to know that their ancestors were enslaved. Nearly 80% of Black adults from both partisan coalitions say they have spoken to their relatives about their family history. Similar shares have also researched their family histories online and used mail-in DNA services.

Black Democrats are also not significantly more likely than Black Republicans to say they feel very or extremely informed about U.S. Black history (53% vs. 45%). And among those who feel at least a little informed about U.S. Black history, Democrats and Republicans are about equally likely to say they learned it from family and friends (45% vs. 38%).

Place is a key part of Black Americans’ personal identities

The majority of Black adults who live in the United States were born there, but an increasing portion of the population is comprised of immigrants. Of those immigrants, nearly 90% were born in the Caribbean or Africa . Regardless of their region of birth, 58% of Black adults say the country they were born in is very or extremely important to how they think about themselves. A smaller share say the same about the places where they grew up (46%).

Black adults also feel strongly about their current communities. About half of Black adults (52%) say that where they currently live is very or extremely important to how they think about themselves. And when it comes to the quality of their neighborhoods, 76% of Black adults rate them as at least good places to live, including 41% who say the quality of their community is very good or excellent.

Still, Black adults say there are concerning issues in the communities they live in. When asked in an open-ended question to list the issue that was most important in their neighborhoods, nearly one-in-five Black adults listed issues related to violence or crime (17%). Smaller shares listed other points of concern such as economic issues like poverty and homelessness (11%), housing (7%), COVID-19 and public health (6%), or infrastructure issues such as the availability of public transportation and the conditions of roads (5%).

While nearly one-in-five Black Americans (17%) say that individual people like themselves should be responsible for solving these problems, they are most likely to say that local community leaders should address these issues (48%). Smaller shares say the U.S. Congress (12%), the U.S. president (8%) or civil rights organizations (2%) bear responsibility.

• According to the survey, 80% of Black adults say they identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, 10% say the same of the Republican Party and 10% did not answer the question or indicated that they did not affiliate with either party. Among Black registered voters, the survey finds 85% identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, 10% identify with or lean toward the Republican Party and 5% did not answer the question or indicated that they did not affiliate with either party. ↩

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A Nonmaterial Culture in the United States

This essay about nonmaterial culture in the United States explores how beliefs, values, norms, and symbols uniquely shape American identity. It highlights the role of individualism and community, the influence of religion, and the unifying power of language across diverse landscapes. Symbols and rituals also play crucial roles in illustrating American ideals. The text underscores how nonmaterial culture adapts in response to social changes and continues to mold the evolving American narrative.

How it works

In the vibrant landscape of American society, where diversity intertwines with heritage and progress, there lies a subtle yet powerful domain: nonmaterial culture. This quiet orchestrator shapes the American identity, knitting together a complex array of beliefs, values, norms, and symbols that form a fabric as varied and intricate as the nation itself.

Central to the United States’ nonmaterial culture is the powerful theme of individualism, a continuous echo of the country’s founding principles. This celebration of personal freedom and autonomy is deeply woven into the nation’s historical narrative, infusing American culture with a spirit of tenacity and self-reliance.

Yet, this narrative of self includes a strong motif of community. From the energetic urban centers to tranquil rural communities, Americans are bonded by strong ties of kinship and friendship. It is within these shared rituals, passed-down traditions, and collective festivities that the true essence of American society is nurtured.

Religion plays a significant role, contributing diverse melodies to the complex composition of nonmaterial culture. Spanning from expansive Christian cathedrals to serene Buddhist temples, these religious spaces offer moral orientation and a haven for spiritual retreat, helping to steer the societal moral compass.

Language serves as the rhythmic conduit of connection, linking Americans across diverse cultural and geographical landscapes. From the Southern drawl to the Midwestern twang, these unique dialects and accents celebrate the linguistic diversity that enriches the American narrative.

Symbols and rituals, like masterful strokes on a canvas, illustrate vivid representations of American identity. The stars and stripes of the flag, the reflective observance of Memorial Day, and the festive fireworks of the Fourth of July—each element enriches the collective American consciousness.

As nonmaterial culture continuously sculpts American identity, it also adapts, responding to the ever-changing currents of social change and cultural evolution. In times of cultural upheaval, new voices emerge, challenging established norms and expanding the definitions of community and inclusion.

In the elaborate drama of American life, nonmaterial culture claims a central role, its invisible force directing the historical narrative and shaping the nation’s future. As the story of America unfolds, the evolving melody of its identity persists, a lasting symphony of diversity, resilience, and hope.

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