Family as our First Culture

Presented by: Gladney University

Please join Gladney University as we welcome Gerald Appel for the training Family as Our First Culture.

We typically don’t think of families as having a culture. Countries and communities have cultures, but not families, right? Well, in recent decades, experts have claimed that families are our first culture, just like countries and communities.

What’s more, research has found that family culture plays a more important role in shaping a child than parenting styles, and the type of culture a family develops strongly predicts their happiness.

In this presentation we will be looking what we mean by “family culture.” A culture is a way a group of people think, feel, judge, and act. You will learn about the elements of your family culture. What does it mean to be a cohesive family? What are the family rules? What were the rules in your family of origin (FOO)? Is there an unspoken expectation that people always go above and beyond the call of duty and take pride in doing so? What were your roles in your FOO? We will learn that our parents were our first intercultural instructors.

About the Speaker

Gerald Appel

Ph.D. coursework done – check. “Ph.D. ABD” or “Ph.D. Candidate” on my signature line – Stay tuned, as I am a work in progress. I include my Ph.D. studies among my work summary because over the last seven years, this has been my full-time job. Everything else in life appears feels like a part-time job.

Everyone asks about my research interests. My dissertation study revolves around the essence of acculturation (John Berry) within an ethno-cultural group. I am investigating Jewish college students who are in the minority among the student body on American college campuses. Towards that end, I am investigating Erikson's stages of psychosocial development and Arnett's conception of emergent adulthood, ages 18-29 years of age. If you need a guaranteed cure for insomnia, talk with me, and I will provide you with more.

I am a "free agent" instructor at Texas Christian University. While I have been a "regular" at TCU for fifteen years, I am in my twenty-eighth year of teaching.

I have a love teaching Intercultural Communication at TCU. I adore my subject matter. My focus is everything culture, and there is so much! I am invested in my students and revel in the give and take them. They know so much! They are among the best resource I have in my vast library.

Among my dream subjects, classes to teach include Pop Culture, Mediation, Cognitive, Social and Adolescent Psychology. My absolute dream is to teach Neuropsychology! I am still young enough to have long-term goals: (1) to finish my popular book, and (2) to do at least one TED Talk.

My future? You will find me working with Communication departments, Psychology departments, and Student Affairs at colleges and universities around the country.

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