Writing Practice

  Throgh this folktale project, I realized deeply that it’s really a good way that we can learn about other culture with folktale. The values, character settings, conflict resolution method and symbolic meanings contained in the storys. For example, a story about wisdom defeat strength might reveal the culture’s reverence for wisdom.

  In addition, I find that many of folktales has universality with transcultural. Whether it is th metaphor of “Life is a jouney” in Asia or the theme of “good and evil will be rewarded” in Africa, these narrative structures and moral lessons recur in different culture. These universality makes me feel the commonality of human experience and also enhances my understanding and respect for other culture.

  Regarding Hofsde’s cultural dumention model, I think it is a useful tool, especially when analyzing the cultural tendencies behind stories. For instance, whether a story emphasizes individual heroism or collective collaboration can correspond to Hofsde’s dimenison of “individual vs. Collectivism”. However, it also has limitations and cannot fully capture the complexity and dynamic changes of culture.

  In this project, I not only learned how to analyze stories, but also enhanced my cross-cultural understanding ability. I began to realize that culture is not noly a static label but also a system that constantly evolves through narrative. This understanding make me more open and sensitive when facing different culture in the future, and has also propted me to be more proactive in listenling to and understanding other’s backgrounds and stories in my daily life.