Why thegreat

divide?In this unit you will develop knowledge, understanding, skills and values relating to cultural diversity, social justice, discrimination, racism, prejudice and the health of specific populations.

Some of the resources below may be useful during this unit.

http://www.racismnoway.com.au http://www.harmony.gov.au/ http://www.multicultural.vic.gov.au/projects-and-initiatives/cultural-

diversity-week http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?

p=335&np=286&id=2345

Div

ers

ity

Can you imagine a world without diversity?

Where everyone looked the same, thought the same, acted the same. There would never be any debate or disagreement… or for that matter no invention or discovery. A very boring place indeed!

Diversity can be expressed in a myriad of ways, whether they are immediately apparent or not.

Can you think of what makes you, your community, your family, diverse from others?

Complete the mind map

Diversity in the population

Sex

Females Males

Using some of the ideas and concepts from your mind map, complete the Y-chart for ‘Diversity.’

In groups of three, create a definition for ‘diversity’ and then answer the following questions.

Diversity is…………………..

1. In what ways does diversity dictate your behaviours every day? Why? (For example, do you communicate differently with your parents compared to your friends).________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. In what ways do you think the community thinks it is good to be diverse?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. In what ways for you think the community thinks it is bad to be diverse? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Do either of your answers above contradict your own opinion on diversity?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Cultural diversityCultural diversity refers to the differences in race, language, ethnicity, values system, religion and local cultures that make up various groups in a community.

What do you know about diversity in Australia?

Test your knowledge with this quiz:http://www.racismnoway.com.au/gamesroom/quizzes/

Complete the table below. Can you justify your feelings towards each statement? These statements will be used for class discussion.

Statements YES NO CAN'T DECIDE

All shop signs in Australia should be in English only

Australia has lots of space and we should share it with people from war-torn countries

People shouldn’t be allowed to come to Australia unless they speak English

Detention centers should be banned

Australia Day should be celebrated on a different date

There is nothing I can personally do about racism

People who migrate to Australia should leave their old culture behind

Migrants from the same country shouldn’t be allowed to live together in the same location – they should be spread out.

Having a diverse population makes Australia an interesting place to live

Diverse togetherDraw a circle in the centre of space below and write your name in the middle. This is going to be the centre of a flower. Now you are going to draw petals around your initial circle and in each petal write the name of a group with which you identify (e.g. gender, nationality, religion).

Once you have done that, share your flower with the person next to you. If you have any petals in common, then place your initials in that persons petal. Repeat this with at least three other people.

Our diverse classroom

Take a look around the class and you will see the diverse range of cultural backgrounds represented all in one room. Try and see how many different names you can fill out in the table below by walking around the room.

Find someone who… Name

Has travelled to New Zealand

Has travelled to South America

Was born in an Asian country

Can count to 5 in Japanese

Comes from an island in the Pacific

Can name 4 different styles of pasta

Can say ‘hello’ in 5 different languages

Knows the name of the local Indigenous people

Plays a sport that originated in England

Knows the main religion of Indonesia

Can name the head covering worn by some Muslim women

Has a grandparent born in Australia

Can name 5 different herbs and spices

Likes nachos, burritos and other Mexican food

Knows the country in which St Patrick’s Day originated

Has eaten at an Indian restaurant

Can name 1 country that borders China

Speaks another language at home

Can name 3 different French foods

Has a parent who was born in Europe

Takes off their shoes before entering their home

What are the implications of having such a multicultural classroom? Are they mostly positive or negative? Justify your answers.

You be the detective

The scenario… Buck’s Bar and Grill is full of diners. The owner discovers that a bag of money has been stolen from an area that only staff has access to. The owner suspects that the employee responsible for taking the bag is still in the restaurant as nobody has left the restaurant in the last 30 minutes and Buck saw the bag of money 20 minutes ago.

The suspects…

Name: SerhatAge: 15Gender: MaleBackground: Serhat left school 3 months ago because his mother needed him to help earn some money after his father returned home to Turkey. He has been working 6 days a week at the restaurant as a kitchen hand and waiter.

Name: SallyAge: 19Gender: FemaleBackground: Sally has been working for Buck for the last 14 months as a waitress. Buck leaves her in charge on Sundays and Mondays. Sally has a charming personality and gets on well with her customers.

Name: LizAge: 54Gender: FemaleBackground: Liz has worked for Buck for the last 2 years as his assistant chef. Liz only works part time as she also cares for her grandchildren while their parents are at work. Liz is reliable but is sometimes argumentative with other staff.

Name: Hyun JinAge: 27Gender: FemaleBackground: Hyun Jin works for Buck on a casual basis. She is not allowed to work Sundays due to her religious commitments and is often unavailable on Saturdays because of her large Korean family get-togethers. Hyun Jin gets along well with all staff and customers but sometimes has problems communicating due to the level of

her English.Name: BilalAge: 18Gender: MaleBackground: Bilal was working as a waiter but lately has been working as a kitchen hand due to some customers who refuse to be served by ‘that extremist’. Bilal is hard working but has had trouble getting time off on Fridays to go to the Mosque.

Name: DrewAge: 36Gender: MaleBackground: Drew has been working as Buck’s head chef for the last 7 years. He is friendly with all the staff and often laughs and jokes. His meals are famous in the town.

Considering your reaction to the activity above, answer the following questions:

1. Did you stereotype some of these people? How?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What assumptions did we make about individuals?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What sorts of things cause us to stereotype people? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How does it feel to be stereotyped?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Are stereotypes accurate or do they cause us to believe things that aren’t based on facts?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stereotypes continued

For each of the groups listed below (and one other group of your choice), describe the stereotypical idea you have of that group:

Australian

Asian

North Sydney Girl

North Sydney Boy

Nerd

Footballer

Bimbo

Sportswoman

Homosexual male

Homosexual female

Muslim

Christian

On the next page, create a picture of a person that fits one of the stereotypes as you have described.

Something to think about:

Where have your ideas come from to shape the stereotypes you have described in the table above?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How true do you feel these stereotypes are in describing each group?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For five of the groups in the table, can you list at least one person that may be categorised in the group, who does not reflect the stereotype?

Stereotype Person (or people!) who does not reflect the stereotype

Culture, race and ethnicity

Often the words Culture, Race and Ethnicity are seen as interchangeable and are used in a variety of contexts, but do you know what the differences are?

There are three pieces of butchers paper around the room, can you brainstorm the words you associate with each of those words and add them on to the paper. Your teacher will read out some of the words on each piece of paper, to help you come up with a definition for each term: Culture is…____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Race is…____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ethnicity is...________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Considering your definitions answer the following questions:

How does culture define who a person is?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is your culture?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is this the same as your ethnicity?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is a common false belief about race and how is it untrue?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Identify some stereotypes you know of about a particular group of people.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

List some of your values, beliefs and customs (3 of each).________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What are some of the things from your culture that you are proud of?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What are some of the things about your culture that you don’t like?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What does it feel like to belong?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you feel like you belong?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To what extent does Australia make everyone feel like they belong?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How would you describe Australian culture?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What are some cultural issues in Australia today?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cultural identity

Considering your own culture and ethnicity, can you create a visual representation - either through collecting images, or creating your own - of your cultural identity.

How does your cultural identity, and the stereotypes associated with this identity, impact upon each of the following areas of your life:

Area What the stereotype says

How much of an impact does this stereotype have on you

Study options

Career options

Family relationships

Friend relationships

Boyfriend/ girlfriend relationships

Parenting options

Other...

Popular culture and diversity

Read each of the excerpts below from pop culture songs...

The Beauty of Gray performed by Live, from the album Mental Jewellery, about examining one’s racial prejudices:

‘This is not a black and white worldTo be aliveI say that the colours must swirlAnd I believeThat maybe todayWe will all get to appreciateThe beauty of grey’

Beds are Burning performed by Midnight Oil, from the album Diesel and Dust, about the dispossession of Aboriginal people in Australia:

‘The time has comeTo say fair’s fairTo pay the rentTo pay our shareThe time has comeA fact’s a factIt belongs to themLet’s give it back’

I Am Australian performed by The Seekers, from the album Night of Nights Live, about appreciating diversity and unity in Australia:

‘We are oneBut we are manyAnd from all the lands on earth we come

Different People performed by No Doubt, from the album Tragic Kingdom, about the benefits of diversity:

‘He and she, two different peopleWith two separate livesThen you put the two together

We share a dreamAnd sing with one voiceI am, you are, we are Australian’

And get a spectacular surprise‘Cause one can teach the other oneWhat she doesn’t knowWhile still the other fills a place insideHe never knew had room to grow’

For TWO of the excerpts above, answer these questions:

What message do you think the artist is trying to communicate through his/her music?

What values and attitudes are being portrayed? Do the lyrics relate to issues of cultural diversity in Australia? How? Does the music add to the meaning of the lyrics? How? What other forms of popular culture communicate messages about

diversity?

Now, in groups of three, think of a movie/ TV show/ song etc. that you know, which you feel also effectively represents the diversity of Australia. You will need to present the following to the class: The basic plot/ story (what is it about?) The values and attitudes portrayed that relate to diversity (are they

positive, negative etc.) How these attitudes and values are conveyed to the audience to create

deep meaning

Discrimination

You will see 6 graffiti sheets around the room with questions that explore what discrimination is… walk around the room and add any words, phrases, definitions or images that relate to each question:

What is discrimination? Where might discrimination happen? Why does discrimination occur? If you were a victim of discrimination, how would you feel? What types of discrimination are there? What can people do if they experience discrimination?

As the class discusses each question, you should answer the questions above.

Offside

Soccer, as we know from film, is a passion shared the world over - from Buddhist monks to Indian migrant communities to… well, young Iranian women. But Iranian women cannot attend soccer matches, at least not dressed as women! The lively and highly engaging Offside follows the efforts of several young women to make it inside the stadium on match day in what becomes a witty battle of the sexes between the cheeky and determined urban girls and the young country soldiers trying to keep them out. Shot largely on the run without a permit, partly during an actual World Cup qualifying match, the film shows Panahi again mixing fiction and documentary, inspired by an experience he shared with his daughter.

Fill out the following table that explores how the stereotypes depicted in the movie Offside can impede upon the health of and the opportunities available to the characters in the movie.

Belief/ Stereotype in the movie

Social impact

Emotional impact

Spiritual impact

Other impacts

How does it affect their future?

Do any of these beliefs/ stereotypes exist (to any extent) in Australia? Which ones?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In which areas of the media/ society? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Consider the stereotypes/ beliefs that are most apparent in your community and fill out the table: Belief/ Stereotype

Social impact

Emotional impact

Spiritual impact

Other impacts

How does it affect their future?

Looking for Alibrandi

A teenage girl confronts the crises of growing up -- some typical, some unusual -- in this drama. Josie is the 17-year-old daughter of Christina Alibrandi, a single mother and member of a large extended family of Sicilian immigrants living in Sydney, Australia. While Josie loves her mother, she's grown weary of her strict family, especially her grandmother Nonna Katia. The fact that her relatives still have issues with Christina raising her child out of wedlock hasn't made Josie's life any easier. A good student, Josie has earned a scholarship at a top private school, where she has to deal with Carly , a racist who often taunts Josie for her Sicilian heritage. Josie is also suffering from the tribulations of teenage romance, as she finds herself attracted to both clean-cut John and working class Jacob. Meanwhile, the house is abuzz over a visit from Michael, who Josie soon learns is Christina's old flame -- and her father. Looking for Alibrandi was based on a novel for young people by Melina Marchetta, which was a major

best-seller in Australia. Marchetta also wrote the screenplay for this film adaptation.

What do we know about Josie?

Culture Family

Education Class

In what ways is Josie caught between two cultures and two social classes?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why does Josie feel as though she doesn’t fit in at school?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why was Josie impressed with Jacob?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How does Josie feel about the rituals associated with her Italian background?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What are some of the key cultural differences between Italy and Australia that are identified in the movie?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How does Josie and Jacob's relationship effect their views on the culture of the other?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have a dream…..Rev. Martin Luther King delivered the iconic speech "I have a dream" on the 28th of August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This speech marked a monumental moment in the American Civil Rights Movement, calling for racial equality and end to discrimination.

Click on the link "I have a dream" to listen to the speech and read the transcription.

What were the key messages conveyed in the speech?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Who is the speech directed at?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How do you think a person of African American descent would have felt standing in the audience listening to Martin Luther King on that day?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How do you think an audience would react to this speech today? Would there be different reactions for different sections of the community? Why? Why not?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What factors added to the effectiveness of the speech (voice, location, audience, mood of the day)?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What did Rev. Martin Luther King use to convey his message effectively?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How did Rev. Martin Luther King convey emotion and feeling in the speech?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In groups of 3, discuss and answer the following questions: Would all the language used in the speech be appropriate today?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What terms could be possibly viewed as inappropriate? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why was Rev. Martin Luther King able to use the term ‘negro’ in his speech? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In what context was the language used? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How should language change depending on the individuals involved in the communication? i.e. has the appropriateness of language changed with time and within different cultures? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How can our choice of language impact on others?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anti-discrimination act

(1977)The Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW administers the anti-discrimination laws of NSW and equal opportunity principles and policies throughout NSW. It is part of the NSW Department of Attorney General and Justice.

Using the following two links below, answer the questions about anti-discrimination in NSW:

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/adb/ll_adb.nsf/vwFiles/Disc_ADB_0311.pdf/$file/ Disc_ADB_0311.pdf

http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/fullhtml/inforce/act+48+1977+pt.1-sec.4+0+N

What forms of discrimination are specified in the Anti-discrimination Act (1977) of New South Wales?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is vilification according to the anti-discrimination board? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is victimisation according to the anti-discrimination board? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Create a flow chart of what to do if you have been discriminated against including how to make a complaint and what happens after you have made a complaint.