I need to write short essay on this question/s. While I do know what societal values are, and can describe mine and the values of other cultures, I’m not sure what the instructor means by “inter-related across cultural groups”.
Unfortunately, the instructor is not available to explain this further, and will not be until after the assignment is due. I take it that the below is actually two questions. Thanks for any help that is provided!
“How are Societal Values inter-related across cultural groups? To help you get started, think about individuals or groups who are different from you and the culture you represent. Describe the societal values of the cultural group you represent.”
Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
Also, please note that we have a rule against homework here. Asking for opinions on the interpretation of the instructor’s question is acceptable, but keep it restricted to that, as asking for help with the assignment itself is not permitted here.
The problem is the phrase “across cultural groups.” If the instructor meant to compare multiple groups, he should have said “among” or “between.” If s/he meant to evaluate the “Societal Values [sic]” and how they are related within a single cultural group (“the culture you represent”), s/he should have used “within.”
BTW, there is no reason to capitalize “societal values.”
My guess is that you are supposed to identify some values in the culture and society you “represent” that are different from some other cultures’. Then see if you can describe how those values are related to each other.
Example: You are cultural group Dtel. There are other cultures Atel, Btel and Ctel. Regarding value 1, Dtel holds with 1Dtel, Atel embraces 1Atel, Btel believes 1Btel, etc. Regarding Value 2, Dtel has 2Dtel, Atel has 2Atel, and so on through values 1, 2, 3, 4. Now: what is the relationship between your group’s values? Is there a correlation (“inter-relation”) of any kind between 1Dtel, 2Dtel, 3Dtel, and so on.
I hesitate to give more realistic examples without violating the rules against doing your homework for you.
It’s also possible that I am misinterpreting the question.
I think the “Describe the societal values of the cultural group you represent” part is additional instruction on the “To help you get started…” part. The only real question is “How are Societal Values inter-related across cultural groups?” Assuming that your instructor is choosing her words carefully, she is asking how the values of different cultures interact reciprocally, as opposed to ignoring each other or one culture simply acting on another. You first think about your values, then think about a culture with different values, and think about what happens to both sets of values when they contact each other. Then generalize.
Thank you both for your replies! The instructor has a history of poorly worded questions and misspelled words. At the beginning of the semester I thought that she was trying to be tricky, but eventually came to the conclusion that her questions were not worded very well. I will take both replies into consideration and come up with something! Thanks again.
I would have understood this question slightly differently from Nametag; rather than how groups interact upon contact, re:the value, I see it as within a cultural group, how do various values relate to value x and why (eg, how is “charity” related to various values, say, the value of “independence” in American culture) compared to a different culture (eg Japan, with those same two values).
I mean, that’s quite a simplistic take on it that I’ve described above, but I chose it to demonstrate what I meant without having to draw on more than one or two values! Obviously the influencing factors would differ, and would be much more numerous, between cultures.
If the instructor habitually is that bad at writing (and spelling) the question, then she will probably also be just as bad at reading, understanding, and grading all the students’ essays, no matter how well done any of them may actually be.
It almost sounds like she’s asking for a compare/contrast essay to me. When looking at cultural values, what is similar and what is different? For those that are similar, how are they related?
And yes, that’s a very poorly worded question. It might be a good idea to start your essay with a paragraph outlining your understanding of the question so she knows what you’re answering (which hopefully aligns with what she’s actually asking).