EDUC 6164 - Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this exercise I interviewed three different people on their thoughts about culture and diversity. Each person had his or her own unique perspective on the culture and diversity.

The first person I spoke with was a middle-age man from a different from a minority group. Culture for him is the neighborhood he was raised, his family customs and values, and his religions. He defined diversity as different cultural groups being able to live and work together in society and embrace each other’s differences

The second person I spoke with was a middle-age male from the same cultural background as myself. His definition of culture was the attitudes and behavior characteristics of a particular social group and their shared meanings. His definition of diversity is the heterogeneity in personal life experiences, geographic background, socioeconomic background, cultural knowledge, educational background, language abilities, spiritual perspectives, age, race, ethnicity, and gender.

The third person was a female, married, with three children. She defined of culture as a environment in which a person lives, works, plays or just exists. The individuals that that inhabit it create it. She defined diversity as the inclusion of all beings without taking into account their differences.

By looking at the three definitions of culture, I learned that each person looked at the culture from a social aspect. Each person believes that culture is a result of the community you live in and society. Louise Derman-Sparks talked about culture representing the beliefs, values, and behaviors (Laureate Education, 2011). From each of the people I spoke with they had the same belief system. However, none of the people I spoke with viewed his or her culture relating to the dominant culture. I asked one person why they did not mention the dominant culture as part of their definition. He stated that he did not mention it because it is pervasive, and he just does not think about it on a day-to-day basis.

By looking at the definitions of diversity, I learned that each person has the same goals of diversity and believe that all people should be accepted into society. Throughout the course, we have talked about accepting people and embracing different cultures (Laureate Education, 2011). These actions help create a diverse culture. One way, we can provide an accepting environment is showing respect and understanding (Laureate Education, 2011). Each of the people interviewed were open to creating a diverse society. They did not talk about obstacles and believed as a society we are capable of doing this.

Talking to each of these individuals about culture and diversity helped me understand other people. We had the same beliefs but worded differently. I could see with each person culture and diversity were important to them. Talking about culture seemed like it brought them back to their childhood and families since they were retelling the role of culture in their own lives.

Reference:

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Family cultures: Dynamic interactions [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu