Perspectives on Diversity and
Culture
I
interviewed three family members to inquire about their thoughts on culture and
diversity and the thoughts were rather similar. I think that most people associate culture
with the way a particular group of people live their lives as part of
society. The people I interviewed
defined culture and diversity in the following ways:
Nia (age 31 / African-American/Environmental Scientist): “Culture
is a lifestyle that one group of people identify with backgrounds, traditions,
and morality “. Diversity is a variety
of cultures. Ecosystems can also have
diversity.
Linda (age 61/ African American/ Social Scientist):”
Culture is the viewpoint, beliefs, customs, and traditions and how they
exhibited amongst people in society”.
Diversity means different.
Terreta (age 43/ African American/ Director of Marketing &
Communication (college): Culture is the norms
and traditions that one is familiar with including family surroundings and
upbringing. Diversity is the variety of
different cultures and traditions.
Before
I enrolled in this course I believed that culture was just customs, holidays,
foods pertaining to a particular group of people. I am learning so much more about deep culture
which examines how people live and what things are meaningful to them. We you learn more about different people, you
gain an extra level of respect and understanding of others. Diversity strengthens our ties to one another
and makes life more interesting. This
world would be a boring place if we all looked and acted in the same manner. I have also realized the richness of allowing
students to be bi-cultural which means that they can be proud of holding on to
their home culture in the classroom while also learning about a new culture. I learned from my interviews that most people
view culture from just on the surface because they are not aware that a deeper
definition of culture exists. This course has changed me tremendously for the
better and I am eager to find out what will come next.
Hi Nikki,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I really liked Nia's definition of culture. “Culture is a lifestyle that one group of people identify with backgrounds, traditions, and morality “. When I think of culture that is what comes to mind for me. I agree that a lot of people view culture from just on the surface because that it what we are taught. I believe that in order to understand the deeper culture you have to learn more about the person to find out those inner layers of their culture.
Yes, I agree that this course is bringing about points that we could never get to on our own accord, such as deep structures of culture. Like you said most people had a surface view of the topic and don't go into how much culture is engrained in a person's thoughts, actions, and behavior, all of which are a reflection of their cultural beliefs and traditions.
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