Luitgard Kissling
11 Aug 2017, 11:00 AM
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Chapters 1 › Journal Assignment for Chapter 1: Do you feel like part of the 'Us' or the 'Them'? View instructions Hide instructions

Do you feel like part of the 'Us' or the 'Them'?

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Tell us: Where do you fall on the ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ spectrum?

In this chapter, you've seen many examples of how diversity is understood and contested in Germany and Canada. We imagine you may want to comment on what you've heard and maybe even share your personal experiences. The 'Us' & 'Them' course community would love to hear from you:

Here are some guiding questions to draw from:

  • How is diversity perceived in your country?
  • How are the communities you identify with (race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender...) represented in media and public life?
  • What examples can you mention or find that indicate your inclusion or exclusion from mainstream society?
  • What experiences have you had where others perceived you in a certain way based on how you look or where you come from? Were these correct or incorrect?
  • Does your country recognize itself as a country of immigration and in which ways? Do you see your country as a country of immigration?

Now what?
Click 'Start in Journal', and fill out the entry. How you do this is up to you: You can use just words, or add pictures or links to articles or videos to highlight your point!

Is this journal assignment required?
No! Nothing in our course is 'required', and there are no grades, but we encourage you to reflect on these topics and share if you feel comfortable, so that others in the course can benefit from your experiences.

Diversity

1

I am from Germany and I think that within one country the perception of diversity can be very different. In a very diverse and (mostly) socially stable city like Munich, difference is widely seen as positive, whereas in a remote village where people feel the only get the setbacks of globalization and have to fear about their low-qualification jobs this can be very different.
Looking quite "cliché German" I blend in quite nicely in Germany, but immediately stuck out when I was living abroad.

Comments

Sophia Burton (instructor_assistant)
over 6 years ago

Hi Luitgard, thanks for joining us and for sharing your thoughts! We hear a lot about the urban-rural divide when it comes to migration and whether it really boils down to big cities being more international and inclusive and small towns more, well, 'small-town'. You might find this long-read interesting that talks about one smaller town in Germany that received quite a few refugees (proportionally): https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/apr/19/102-villagers-750-refugees-one-grand-experiment

I'd also be interested in hearing more about what your experience abroad was like and if that changed your understanding of what immigrants go through.

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