Perspectives on Diversity and Culture
I reached out to three of my friends to ask them how they would define culture and diversity. The first friend (African American, born in Somalia, adopted by a European/German family and raised in Germany) defined culture as the traditions, beliefs and behaviors of a country and diversity as successfully living together with people of different cultures. My next friend, born and raised in the United States and of Caucasian and Hispanic descent, defined culture as a set of traditions that a group of people practice and their way of life and defined diversity as the differences that make up a culture, with those differences being race, creed or religion. My third friend (African American and born and raised in the United States) defined culture as the things (people, music, foods, etc.) that influence us in our daily lives and diversity (race, religion, sexual orientation, gender) as the differences within a culture.
· Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples? Social identities (gender, religion, sexual orientation), traditions and beliefs are some of the aspects of culture that are included in the answers I received. The Laureate video described it best. As it all relates to children, race, ethnicity, class, parenting patterns can also make up culture.
· Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?
One aspect that was omitted was the intersection of gender and social identity. For example, Deaux (2001, pg. 3) states, “many meanings and implications are associated with gender. Personality traits, role behaviors, physical characteristics and a host of other associations can be linked to gender categories.” Additionally, “a person’s identity as a woman may differ radically depending on whether she views herself as a feminist or as a more traditional type of woman” (Deaux, 2001, pg. 3).bout gender identity.
· Thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influences my own thinking about these topics in the way because they force me to really consider what my peers are saying and determine whether or not I agree. And I find that although there are some variations in the definitions, I agree with each of them.
Deaux, K. (2001). Social identity. In J. Worrell (Ed.), Encyclopedia of women and
gender (Vols. 1-2, pp. 1-9). Maryland Heights, MO: Academic Press.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Family cultures: Dynamic interactions [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Hi Alvia,
ReplyDeleteYour friends display such a vast spectrum of culture and I would love to hear how they embrace and celebrate each aspect of them. Especially the African American friend, born in Somalia, adopted by a European/German family and raised in Germany. He/she must have countless experiences regarding the similarities, differences and perhaps even challenges of being multi-cultural. It would also be interesting to know which is the dominant culture and which they identify with. Identity construction involves a double movement where we are identified by ideas and images of who we are and identifying ourselves by responding to the representation that have already identified us (Ngo, 2008).
Ngo, B. (2008). Beyond "culture clash": Understanding of immigrant experiences.
Theory into Practice, 47(1), 4--11.
Thanks for sharing Alvia,
ReplyDeleteI love that you have a diverse circle to question and receive answers from. I think it is very insightful learning from others and getting their perspectives, especially when they have had different experiences. I would love to gain even greater insight on your first friends life, born in Somalia and being raised in Germany. So cool, but I'm sure came with its own set of hardships. I would like to see her perspective on her own cultural identity.
Thanks for sharing,
Allison Giles