Perspectives on Diversity and Culture
I asked three people whom I know to provide me with their definition of culture and diversity. The following are their responses.
Kathy: (65 year old, Caucasian, female)
Culture is can, be the cast system, the environment you are brought up in. The way you do things.
Diversity is the differences in culture, more than one portfolio.
Tina: (38 year old, Mexican American, female)
Culture is the beliefs and traditions carried by people.
Diversity is the integration of varying cultures.
James: (30 year old, African, male)
Culture is the way I live and the customs and traditions I grew up with. The music I listen to, the food that I eat and the clothes that I wear.
Diversity is the blending of people who are different in the ways they look act and live.
Based on the answers I received and what I have studied in this course the answers are basically correct, culture is made up of our environment, the way we live, and the traditions and beliefs we carry with us. It is not just what is on the surface, but it runs deeper and is complex.
Thinking about the answers to the definitions of culture and diversity has influenced my own thinking on these topics. It is interesting to see the differences in the terms used by Kathy. She uses different terminology because she is older and has experienced different things. The younger individuals use different terminology because they are younger and have experienced different things. Yet they all pretty much identify the same meanings. This makes me want to look deeper, ask more in-depth questions about thoughts and ideas related to culture and what makes a person who he or she is. Diversity in Kathy’s view is that everyone is made up of more than one thing that makes them diverse in society. This really made me think about her view. Our culture makes us diverse even to the people within our own families because of our different experiences and beliefs. It is also, as Tina stated, the integration of varying cultures. Our communities are more diverse than we realize.
Kathy: (65 year old, Caucasian, female)
Culture is can, be the cast system, the environment you are brought up in. The way you do things.
Diversity is the differences in culture, more than one portfolio.
Tina: (38 year old, Mexican American, female)
Culture is the beliefs and traditions carried by people.
Diversity is the integration of varying cultures.
James: (30 year old, African, male)
Culture is the way I live and the customs and traditions I grew up with. The music I listen to, the food that I eat and the clothes that I wear.
Diversity is the blending of people who are different in the ways they look act and live.
Based on the answers I received and what I have studied in this course the answers are basically correct, culture is made up of our environment, the way we live, and the traditions and beliefs we carry with us. It is not just what is on the surface, but it runs deeper and is complex.
Thinking about the answers to the definitions of culture and diversity has influenced my own thinking on these topics. It is interesting to see the differences in the terms used by Kathy. She uses different terminology because she is older and has experienced different things. The younger individuals use different terminology because they are younger and have experienced different things. Yet they all pretty much identify the same meanings. This makes me want to look deeper, ask more in-depth questions about thoughts and ideas related to culture and what makes a person who he or she is. Diversity in Kathy’s view is that everyone is made up of more than one thing that makes them diverse in society. This really made me think about her view. Our culture makes us diverse even to the people within our own families because of our different experiences and beliefs. It is also, as Tina stated, the integration of varying cultures. Our communities are more diverse than we realize.
Hi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI think it is amazing how people from different cultural backgrounds can all have somewhat similar views about culture. I agree with as well when you stated that "Our culture makes us diverse even to the people within our own families because of our different experiences and beliefs". Culture is so complex when you think that one individual can be the result of many cultures.