How to Overcome Differences - Assignment Example

Introduction The self has the power to influence society through the environmental interpretation and in doing so the self creates groups, organisations, institutions, and networks. Reciprocally, the society created via group formation influences the self via its shared language and meaning that enables every individual to take the role of the other, engage in social interaction, and reflect upon the environment as an object. The self is reflective of a society, the appropriate approach to understanding the self and its environment means that the self must also understand the society in which he/she is acting. The self is always acting in the social context in which other selves exist. Therefore, the self can influence the other selves and he/she can do it through various interpretations. This paper focuses on influencing other selves through environmental interpretations. This warrants some discussion of the society. Through environmental interpretation, the self can enhance his/her sense of purpose and well-being as well as the well-being of other selves. Environmental symbols and signs influence people (Bouchet, Hillairet & Bodet (2013). Challenging environments provide selves with an opportunity to give more to themselves and others, and through giving, they receive blessings in turn. Love for environment and landscape allows the self to offer an inspiration enjoyment to other selves. Tools of environmental interpretation that influence the society The self can interpret the environment via visual aids such as slides and storyboards, personification, puppet shows, and roving interpretations among others. These tools of interpretation act as signals that convey meaning to the society and through them, the society relates directly to their environment. The society attaches symbolic meanings to the objects of interpretation. The most important interpretation tools that this paper stresses on is talks, guided tours, living history demonstrations, personification, roving interpretations, and working at information stations. As their names imply, living history demonstrations bring history to life. However, in using these demonstrations, the interpreter must strive for authenticity, both in dress and behaviour. A good example of living history demonstration is the demonstration of industrial revolution sequence in the 2012 London Olympic Games opening ceremony. The opening ceremony which was directed by Danny Boyle revealed to the society the English life before, during and after the Industrial Revolution. The footage of living history demonstration can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=4As0e4de-rl running for 20.05 minutes. The audience in the stadium was showed a rural scene, a model village and water wheel, live animals and portrayal of working villagers. According to The Guardian (2012), the demonstration tried to show the British society that it should be proud of itself and respect where it has come from. The demonstration had a profound density of information. The living history demonstration introduces the visitors to ancient and historical places and features to help them understand what these things communicate and to help them understand where, as a society have come from. This paper draws its inspiration from Danny Boyle’s 2012 Olympic opening ceremony demonstration. Living history has been defined as an attempt by individuals to stimulate life in another time (Anderson, 1992). The other time is in the past, and a living history demonstration shows real people who attempt to live as other people once did with an aim of stimulating them to change or adopt their behaviours or actions depending on the demonstration. Living history demonstration is an interesting form of expressive culture that can be used help the society to better understand the culture in other times and places. It serves, for example, as a medium of showing people how they can act in socially acceptable ways that are not commonly practiced in the current contemporary world; for example, dressing up in historical fighting armour and engaging each with swords and shields. It represents an intrusion of the past into our present, and it can be very fascinating. Demonstration of change from discriminative past into the integrative present can show people the importance of integration. Much of the past behaviours can be shunned. For example, Louis (2009) reveals the situation where there were separate drinking fountains for blacks and separate entrances for blacks at the county courthouse. He further adds that at the football games, blacks sat in the end-zones seats while the whites occupied the rest of the stadium. In every institution, segregation of blacks occurred. The demonstration of Britannia is a good historic transformation that can be acted as a living history to show where the British society has come from. Living history demonstrations demonstrate to the society how people culturally defined and used the built environment and its artifacts. Living history demonstrations form at the present moment, a living history. These demonstrations have the capability of redeeming the mind of the people from narrow prejudices. The idea of living history demonstration is that the past of a place, its daily activities and values, can be integrated consciously with the lives of people living there in the present. The underlying message behind living history presentation is helping people to travel from the past into the present, and this may present people with a way in which they are going to travel into the future. Through these presentations, people learn and sometimes carry good behaviours from the past which they can apply in the present and also in the future. Currently, the society is full of negative issues about gender, race and national identity. According to Hogan (2009), nations are more than geopolitical bodies, more than collections of people and institutions within defined sovereign territories. Nations are discursive constructs, created and sustained, in part, through stories, images, landscapes, scenarios, historical events, national symbols and rituals which give meaning to the nation (Hall, 1992). The nations are imagined communities which are gendered and racialised. These societies that are divided through gender and racial lines can be influenced to unite through environmental interpretations. The most influential ways would be through living history demonstration and interpretive presentations. The case of Britannia historic demonstration can be used to influence white and black people to unite. This demonstration will be labeled “From Rule Britannia to integral Britannia.” According to Hogan (2009), since the first large group of black immigrants arrived in Britain in 1948, they have been constructed as a social problem being subjected to all forms of discrimination. This paper presents Britannia as its living history demonstration tool. “From Rule Britannia to integral Britannia” demonstration is to encourage the society to replace divisive politics with approaches that integrate, synergise, and align their better judgments. This is a journey through the historic depiction of Britannia. Britannia is a historical term referring to the Roman Britain and it also personifies an island. It is AD 43, and the Roman Empire has begun his conquest of the island and has established a province and named it Britannia. The citizens/natives of this island are called Britons. The demonstration continues and in the 2nd century the Roman Britannia has been personified as a goddess who is armed with a trident and shield, and wearing a Corinthian Helmet. It is the 5th century and the name Britannia continues to survive despite the withdrawal of Romans fro Britain. Britannia has been a place of cultures and identities. The southeast was heavily Romanised, but the north and west retained a great deal of indigenous Iron Age social organisation and culture. The barbarians resided in the northern part. The interaction of Roman and barbarians produced a dangerous enemy for the empire. The face of Britannia continues to be altered with Britain being characterised by Romans in 400 CE. The demonstration continues, and the Roman culture ceases to be renewed in 450 CE. In 450 CE, Roman civilization vanishes. From this time, a sudden, massive social change is witnessed. The demonstration continues to show the transformation of Britain, including the immigration of black people into Britain in 1948. At the last part of the manifestation is a new presentation of New Britain and a transformation from the idyllic semi-rural setting that had been established in peoples minds (Edensor, 2002; Prieto, 2004). Arranz (2006) argues that Britannia has left behind its traditional identity which was oppressive and discriminative and adopted a new image – of society integration and national identity. Interpretive presentations are also other important tools of influencing the society. Balnaves, Donald & Shoesmith (2013) observe that interpretative presentation communication influence people’s beliefs and thereby their behaviour. The constructs people use to make decisions about the world form into schemata. People work with schemata in their everyday lives. However, the effectiveness of interpretive presentations depends on the way the presentation is communicated. Emanuel (2007) argues that the communication plays a key role in presenting the past, the present, and planning the future. Communication is an important tool of conveying understanding to the others so that they can derive meaning from the objects that are used (McFarlane, 2010). Conclusion The environment affects society in different ways, and a good interpretation enables the society to attach symbolic meaning to the environment. Bickhand (2012) assumes that the society perceives the environment in which they live in through the senses, and that the connection with the environment occurs through the transmission of symbols from the environment through a person’s senses into his mind. It can, therefore, be concluded that the environment influences individuals, both developmentally and micro-genetically, through the information that is transmitted into their minds from the environment. This forms the basis of ‘influencing the society through environmental interpretation’. 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