Saturday, November 19, 2011

Culture and Diversity

Culture and Diversity
Culture-
Defining culture was not an easy task.  I asked many people their definition of what culture meant to them.  They all looked at me and thought it was going to be an easy task.  They found it to be as difficult as I did.  I always thought culture to be your ethnicity and the country you were from.  I am finding it is not as simple as that.
I asked my best friend and longtime colleague what culture was to her.  She immigrated to the US when she was a child from Mexico.  Her idea of culture is acknowledging your race and traditions, looking at your family values and morals.  It is also where your ancestors came from.
My mother’s idea of culture is the accumulation and development of beliefs.   Culture also encompasses a specific group’s heritage and history.
My father had a different idea of culture.  He said culture is anything you want it to be.  I thought this was a sarcastic definition, but as I have been reading and watching the videos I am finding this to more true than not. 
In reviewing my parent’s definitions and ideas of what culture encompasses I do not see my definition of culture before I started this course.  I gathered my ideas from my family but also from friends and coworkers. 

Diversity-
The definition of diversity came a little easier to most people.  I always thought of diversity meaning differences.
My friend Elida said diversity was being able to understand every culture, knowing their background knowledge.
My mother’s definition was variety amongst a common group of people.
My father’s definition was variety among others.
In looking at my parent’s ideas of diversity I can see where I got my definition for diversity.  We lived in a fairly diverse population as a child in regards to ethnicity and religion.
The parts of culture that were included in the answers I got were surface answers.   The definitions were very clinical.  The parts of culture that were not included were the parts of deep culture.  Specific parts of culture were not mentioned.    

1 comment:

  1. Leslie,

    Culture and diversity are connected and play a role within each other. The dynamics of each are interesting and help shape our social identities. Each persons definition of culture and diversity are similar yet different because of our upbringing.

    ReplyDelete

Personal Childhood Web

Mom-My mother
Influence: showed me a love of learning that has lasted a life time. She would have “Tea Parties” with me but insisted on real food not pretend. She would read to us each night and tuck us in. She showed her love and affection by being there and showing me how to make it on my own. Her impact on my life is ongoing. She is still guiding me to be a better and stronger person.

Dad: My birth father
Influence: taught me that continuing your education may be tough but is always worth the effort. He would take me on camping trips each summer and road trips to historical places. He always called me “sis”. His influence takes me to historical sites. I have an appetite for history.

Don: My step-dad (Dad)
Influence: taught me that hard work was important in life. He taught me how to drive my first stick shift. He moved me back and forth to college many times without question. He considered me his own and became my father when mine abandoned me. He still checks in on me and makes sure my head is on straight.

Grandma D: Paternal Grandmother
Influence: she taught me how to be a “proper” young lady. I remember how I should behave to this day. She showed me how to make ordinary everyday things into magical paths to the imaginary world. A refrigerator box could be a house, doctor’s office, fort, or a cave below hundreds of feet. She showed me how to cook and sew so I could be a good wife. Though she is not with me now I still can look at a plain item and imagine where it could lead me.

Grandma Z: Maternal Grandmother
Influence: taught me that women could be fierce and independent. She loved flowers and taught me a love of them as well.