Sociology: Developing Cultural Competence Assignment - Semester 1

This sociology assignment explores the concept of developing cultural competence through a student's personal experiences and case studies. The assignment begins by examining the student's microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem, identifying the key influences and factors that have shaped their cultural understanding. The student then delves into a case study of Turkish culture, highlighting its flexibility, diversity, and the blend of traditional and modern values. The assignment also addresses the impact of colonialism, specifically focusing on the Australian Aboriginal experience, and the devastating consequences of cultural imposition and loss of indigenous rights. The student references relevant academic sources to support their analysis, providing a comprehensive overview of cultural competence and its complexities.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY: DEVELOPING CULTURAL COMPETENCE
SOCIOLOGY: DEVELOPING CULTURAL COMPETENCE
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

1SOCIOLOGY: DEVELOPING CULTURAL COMPETENCE
Question 1
Microsystem: While the time I grew up, people who influenced me the most were my
primary school teachers, my middle school and high school tutors and my college mentors. They
have made me what I am now today through their effective teaching and coaching.
Question 2
Mesosystem: In my life, my parents, my local guardian, my greater family and my school
professors who coached me in my studies were present in my life and helped me to cope with all
the ups and downs of my life.
Question 3
They have tried to instill in me a blend of traditional and modern Turkish Islamic culture
and values. Through them, I have learnt to respect elders, maintain decency and modesty in my
code of conduct, be true to myself and everyone, be dutiful and also be charitable towards the
needy and helpless. They have instilled in me love for education, academics and career at the
same time not neglecting my family duties and responsibilities as a woman.
Question 4
Exosystem: The socio- economic factors that affected and influenced my upbringing
were my family income, my mother’s educational qualification and economic independence, fees
and educational quality of the Turkish schools and colleges and the tuitions that I took
throughout my academic life from various teachers. I belong to a middle class Turkish family
with my mother being fairly educated and independent. Turkish schools and colleges are known
for their low fares and premium pro- student curriculum. Apart from that, tuition fees in Turkey

2SOCIOLOGY: DEVELOPING CULTURAL COMPETENCE
from separate mentors are fairly affordable and premium. Therefore, such factors have
contributed in my growth as an individual.
Question 5
Macrosystem: A blend of traditional and modern Turkish Islamic culture has forever
dominated my life till now. Turkish culture is vibrant and also dutiful at the same time. Turkish
culture provides separate duties for men and women which are equally important to maintain a
perfect balance and harmony in a society. Even though Turkish culture is inherently patriarchal,
women have special place for themselves. I have been taught that being a woman, my duties
would be respect elders, maintain decency and modesty in my code of conduct, be true to myself
and everyone, be dutiful and also be charitable towards the needy and helpless. While education
of women is always highlighted in our culture, it is also important for us to have a balance
between our career and personal life.
B: Case study
Turkish culture is a culture which is highly flexible and always accepts diversity. A
culture that tends to remain homogenous, xenophobic and does not accept diversity is not a
prolific or productive culture (Longhi 2014). Turkish culture has gone through profound changes
since the last century. Now, Turkish culture has provided equal platform to both the sexes, men
and women. Turkish people are thinking beyond their religious boundaries. They are embracing
the modern concepts of West and also blending them with their eastern antiquity. I believe that
even though in certain cases Turkish culture is baised, it is changing for good.

3SOCIOLOGY: DEVELOPING CULTURAL COMPETENCE
C: Colonialism
Colonialism of Australian aboriginals was considered a blot to the humanity and a crime
against the indigenous people. The Europeans viewed aboriginals as “uncivilized, uncultured and
uncouth” as they saw that they did not adhere to the Westernized (or occidental) concept of
civilization. In order to “purge” them, Europeans instilled on them their way of lifestyle, clothing
and other day-to-day habits (Watson 2014). The immediate consequence of colonization was rise
of epidemics of smallpox, influenza and measles. While they were forced to embrace new
cultural identity, they were deprived of their rights in land, nature and society that impacted
heavily on them bringing a breach to human rights they deserved. Colonialism of Australian
natives resulted in propagation and victimization of racism, class struggle, social isolation, health
issues and a complete disruption of indigenous culture and wisdom (Paradies 2016). Colonialism
was a plague to indigenous world and has subsequently disrupted many priceless indigenous
cultures of native Australians. The nation should work for bringing back and conserving such
rich cultural and bio-ecological heritage which is a gift of Mother Nature.

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References:
Longhi, S., 2014. Cultural diversity and subjective well-being. IZA Journal of Migration, 3(1),
p.13.
Paradies, Y., 2016. Colonisation, racism and indigenous health. Journal of Population Research,
33(1), pp.83-96.
Watson, I., 2014. Aboriginal peoples, colonialism and international law: Raw law. Routledge.