Definitions of culture and diversity
D. Cage, is a 25 year old music student defines culture as a person’s heritage or customs. It is family, environment or where you live, race, beliefs and values. All these come together to influence you are as a person, how you live and exist in the world. Her definition of diversity is the co-existence of people of different backgrounds, cultures, languages, or abilities within a school or community learning to live together in respectful and acceptable ways. (personal communication, July 19, 2013).
E. Littleton is a 65 year old administrator defines culture as a combination of people’s race, traditions, languages, religion, ethnicity, and values which make them who they are and gives them a sense of pride and meaning. She defined diversity as people of different ethnicity, languages, or cultures living within a community, group or social setting but working together. (personal communication, July 18, 2013).
D. Rogers is a 32 year old computer tech who defines culture as language, traditions, values and beliefs, family and ways of life, social and economic classes, and most of all ethnicity and race. He believes diversity is the way we live, work and accepts people of different cultures, races, languages, foods, customs, abilities and beliefs in the same community, schools, and society. (personal communication, July 18, 2013).
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?
I feel that all the answers I received included most if not all of the aspects of culture and diversity which I have studied in this course. I know through the webcast and the readings that culture is inclusive of people’s ethnicity, beliefs, values, family customs and traditions as well as their religious practices. Diversity includes the differences in language, ethnicity and culture as well as abilities. Each of the people I interviewed offered some of the same definitions of both culture and diversity and how they each are inclusive within groups, communities, work and school.
Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?
Some aspect regarding culture that may be inclusive would be music, clothing, foods and although language was mentioned, this would also include dialect. Many cultures have common languages, but different dialect, such as African Americans. Although we all speak English, there are more common word used in the African American culture that are not a part of the English language, but are recognized by many within their community and even across the country.
In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?
After interviewing each of the people listed above, I realized that there are commonalities among each of us when it comes to defining what we believe define culture and diversity. After giving careful thought to what each of them had to say and given everything that I have read over the past weeks in this course, I am inclined to believe what Smidt (2006) defined as our cultural tools which are specific to and often used to define our culture. There are so many different levels to defining who we are, where we come from and what makes us who we are until it would take forever to identify each of the levels which make us whole.
References
Smidt, S. (2006). The developing child in the 21st century: A global perspective on child development. New
York, NY: Routledge.
Liz, I have enjoyed reading your interviews and also your synopsis based on the summary of what was presented. I believe for the most part, everybody has a sense of definition when speaking of culture and diversity because most of the responses were similar. I wonder what the world would be like if we were ignorant towards other cultures and there was no diversity??
ReplyDeleteSherrell Widgeon
Hi Eliza,
ReplyDeleteEveryone has their own individual beliefs. Ask them and they will tell you of their culture. All of the people I spoke with embraced their culture and were happy to talk about. Even in the same cultures their rituals of how they do things are different. Diversity is something we all should be involved in. “It is essential to learn how each person defines his or her cultural identity, rather than make assumptions based on generalized or stereotypical ideas about a cultural group’s life, how a person looks, or a person’s family name” (Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. 2010). Good Job on your post.
Kathleen