Perspectives on Culture and Diversity

Perspectives on Culture and Diversity  

Culture

·         Shared beliefs and traditions within a particular community

·         Behavior, norms, and beliefs of a particular group

·         A set of beliefs and traditions that a group has that sets them apart. These beliefs and traditions are passed down from generation to generation. It affects all of the different aspects of their lives from the way they eat, speak, to the way they view the world.

·         The behavior characteristics that define a people. It is concerned with how a people talk, eat, dress, what they worship, and when or what they celebrate or mourn.

Diversity

·         An understanding of the uniqueness and differences held by an individual, groups of people or a variety of things which can be tangible or intangible.  

·         Being different

·         The differences between cultures. The ways different cultures prepare their food interact with other, and how they parent their children.

·         A cohesion of multiple and varied cultures, sexes (genders), sexual orientations, religions, political views, tastes, and opinion.

The information above is a listing of definitions of culture and diversity provided by family members and friends. In this course I have studied that culture affects all aspects of an individual’s life including the way they eat, dress, and the holidays that they celebrate, as mentioned by friends and acquaintances that I questioned.  The deeper and more significant elements of an individual’s culture include their religion and the way they worship, as well as their language, and parenting choices or styles. None of the persons questioned mentioned ideas of education, housing arrangements, extended family relationships, the way emotion is showed, and the migration patterns or history as possible elements of culture.

One of the definitions of diversity that I received has enhanced my understanding and appreciation of the concept. The individual defined diversity as the cohesion of varied cultures. When I think of diversity, I think of division and difference, never cohesion. I think this is a positive, forward thinking, view of diversity. It looks at the way the different cultures, genders, political views and opinions can be fused together to create something powerful. It is a view that would lead to more acceptance, and respect for diversity and cultural differences.