Cultural Plunge Reflection Paper: Exploring Societal Multiculturalism

This reflective paper, written by a sociology student, explores the experience of a cultural plunge in a predominantly non-Muslim school environment. The student, a Muslim from the Middle East, details the challenges of navigating stereotypes, biases, and discrimination based on religion and cultural background. The paper highlights how the student felt like an outsider and faced microaggressions. The assignment analyzes the student's observations of how stereotypes impact multiculturalism and how the education system can be improved to embrace diversity and promote equality. The student reflects on personal biases, cultural makeup, and the importance of altruistic actions in fostering understanding. The paper concludes with the importance of promoting multiculturalism in educational settings and the need for the public to take positive action.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY 1
Sociology
Student Name
Institution

SOCIOLOGY 2
Introduction
The world is comprised of billions of people who are from different cultures and that is
the reason every individual needs to adopt multiculturalism so as to promote peace and
prosperity. Some cultures according to various people are dominant than others and this leads to
discrimination on the basis of culture, gender, race and many other aspects which human beings
have no control over. Multiculturalism refers to a situation where different cultures in society
have equal rights and opportunities and minority voices are not silenced or regarded as
unimportant (Pedersen, 2013). Multiculturalism is not the case in many societies due to poor
education system which has failed to come up with ways of promoting effective multiculturalism
in many schools. This reflective paper is written to highlight my cultural plunge in a society
where I am the minority.
What I learned about culture, values or practices through my experience
I am a Muslim from Middle East nations and I attended a school where the dominant
group is students who are non-Muslims. Stereotypes hinder multiculturalism in society (Obiakor,
2012). Students in this particular school still associate Muslims or people from Middle East
nations as terrorists or people who are comfortable terminating lives. For instance, during
biology lesson practical my group members always appoint me to dissect different animals as
they claimed that I looked more comfortable doing it than other students. During storytelling
sessions, every bad story was always associated with the Middle East nation. In the classroom,
some students would always defend me as they believed that all people are equal and they should
not be judged by their skin appearance or their religion.

SOCIOLOGY 3
In every society, there are people who totally embrace multiculturalism but they are
afraid to take positive actions that can help avoid the existing stereotypes. They are accused of
being naïve or people who act good so as to benefit from the benefits associated with people of
the minority culture. People do not embrace multiculturalism as the school only had a church but
had no mosques or temple for non-Christian students in the school. This implies that the
dominant religion in the area is more valued than other religions and other religions are viewed
as minorities and this is not the right path towards promoting multiculturalism (Utley, Obiakor,
& Bakken, 2011).
Insights learned that I would not Have Had
My experience in a full Christian school also made me gain some insights which I could
not have learned if I had not taken the initiative to visit the school. Many people in the society
want to practice multiculturalism but stereotypes which exist in our societies prevent people
from embracing other people's cultures and this leads to creation of dominant and minority
cultures (Berry, 2013). Some students in the school told me that they were willing to learn about
Muslim culture but the bad picture which is portrayed by society makes them have negative
perceptions towards the religion. This made me realize that with a good education system in
place, multiculturalism will easily be embraced.
Confirmed Prior Knowledge/Ideas
My experience in the school also enabled me to confirm my prior knowledge that
discrimination on the basis of race, religion or skin color exist in many societies. Even in the
USA, a country which is termed as the father of democracy still has not embraced

SOCIOLOGY 4
multiculturalism because all religions are not treated equally. The prior idea that people from the
Middle East are associated with terrorism was confirmed. The experience also made me confirm
that people who support equality in society are oppressed by society and treated as outsiders who
have betrayed the society (Murphy, 2013). The majority in society still have their say even if the
ideas advocated for are wrong or oppressing. The experience made me realize that embracing
multiculturalism in the whole world will involve taking altruistic actions.
How this Experience Made me Feel
The experience was eye-opening as it made me feel like an outsider in my own nation.
The experience was traumatizing and do not forget that the actions were not extreme. Just
imagine how people who are oppressed feel and they do not have the opportunity to escape the
mistreatment like in my case.
Not comfortable experience
The experience was not comfortable as I learned that people do not appreciate my
culture. Altruistic actions need to be taken so as to avoid mistreatment in our societies (Ford,
2002). Such experiences can force someone to undergo depression which can lead to suicide.
What I learned about myself, my Cultural Makeup, and my Biases
The experience made me realize that I am well-mannered and I embrace multiculturalism
as I did not mistreat anyone even though I was not in a position to do so. I did not think that there
are parts of the world where I can feel like a minority as I always thought all people were equal.
My culture embraces socialism as people support each other better than people from the school I
visited (Rattan, & Ambady, 2013). My biases are not many as I embrace multiculturalism but I
would be more willing to assist my fellow Muslim than I would to a non-Muslim fellow.

SOCIOLOGY 5
What I Got from this Experience
The experience made me realize that people have not embraced multiculturalism and
every society need to come up with ways which will enable citizens to treat all the people
equally. The education system needs to play a larger role as that is the stage were behaviors of
many people are shaped in society. Knowledge gained from the education system should be
accompanied by positive action from members of society so as to fully embrace multiculturalism
(Parker, 2000). People should also start caring about each other so as to promote peaceful
coexistence.
Conclusion
Multiculturalism in society will make everyone in society to feel appreciated and this
will help to eradicate nepotism, tribalism, and racism in various sports. The education system
should play a large role in ensuring that multiculturalism is embraced as schools are one of the
few institutions which have representation from all cultures of the world. Members of the public
should also take altruistic actions which will create a positive impact on people of different
cultures. Knowledge gained in schools should also be matched by positive actions so as to
effectively embrace multiculturalism.

SOCIOLOGY 6
References
Berry, J. W. (2013). Research on multiculturalism in Canada. International Journal of
Intercultural Relations, 37(6), 663-675.
Ford, D. Y. (2002). Racial identity among gifted African American students. The social and
emotional development of gifted children: What do we know, 155-163.
Murphy, M. (2013). Multiculturalism: A critical introduction. Routledge.
Obiakor, F. E., Harris, M., Mutua, K., Rotatori, A., & Algozzine, B. (2012). Making inclusion
work in general education classrooms. Education and Treatment of Children, 35(3), 477-
490.
Parker, J. (2000). Structuration. Open University Press.
Pedersen, P. (2013). Multiculturalism as a fourth force. Routledge.
Rattan, A., & Ambady, N. (2013). Diversity ideologies and intergroup relations: An examination
of colorblindness and multiculturalism. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43(1),
12-21.
Utley, C. A., Obiakor, F. E., & Bakken, J. P. (2011). Culturally Responsive Practices for
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning
Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 9(1), 5-18.