For the Midterm essay you must interview a person who is: From a culture different than your own, Accessible to you for an interview or two, Willing to speak with you about their experiences and...

For the Midterm essay you must interview a person who is:

• From a culture different than your own,


• Accessible to you for an interview or two,


• Willing to speak with you about their experiences and perceptions, and


• Has a strong connection to a specific culture that you will focus on.

Requirements:

• 3+ pages of text (1200 words)


• Include at least four quality sources. Quote from your sources at least twice on each page. Wikipedia is not a source but can be a great place to find sources and key words for your searches.


• Get a story/anecdote from your interviewee that demonstrates cultural characteristics.


• Include your sources in a bibliography.


• Explain at least one cultural characteristic (for example: individualism, power distance, value systems, etc.)


• Explain at least two specific features (for ex: built environment, sounds and language, appearance and clothing, etc.).

Your paper will be judged on how well it conforms to the assignment (course terminology and concepts), the technical writing (grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.), expression (how well you explain yourself and how clearly you articulate your positions), and how well you quote from your sources and provide a bibliography in MLA or APA style.

Considerations:

• Avoid "I" and focus on the person, not on you and your experiences with the person. So, "Victoria grew up in Paris..." rather than "When I interviewed Victoria, she told me she grew up in Paris..." Say "This demonstrates..." rather than "I believe this demonstrates..."


• Avoid making your interviewee the icon or proof of a culture. So write, "Marco values loyalty to his family and would do just about anything to avoid hurting them, a common perspective in his highly collectivistic culture" rather than "Marco values... so we can so that this culture is highly collectivistic." Show the person and how they are demonstrating, or diverging from, their primary ethnic culture.


• This is not a comparison of cultures (one is better or worse) but an explanation of one person's experience within their culture.

The example below is short (under 1000 words) but can provide a strong guide.