I interviewed my husband, Matt who is a different gender than I am. He defined culture as "a way of life over a period of time" and diversity as simply, "differences". I have a new friend, LaQuinta who is African American. She defines culture as the "experiences of those who went before you, the times you live in, and the embodiment of hopes that you have as you raise your own children". She defines diversity as "a spectrum of culture, race, ethnicity, and choices". I have known Lisa for two years now. She is a colleague of mine and she is a Mormon. She defines culture as "the lens in which we perceive life formed in traditions, family, and history". Lisa was hesitant to define diversity because she sees it as something positive and most definitions tend to put a negative spin on the word.
LaQuinta celebrates her culture by wearing her hair naturally.
Lisa celebrates her culture by wearing sacred undergarments.
Matt celebrates his culture by wearing a special medal around his neck at all times. His grandparents gave it to him.
The above examples would be outward, or not so outward examples of how the world can get a glimpse of each of their culture. They wear them! If you look below the surface, you can connect each of these customs or rituals to deep culture including values, community connection, and religion. Each of the examples of the artifacts they wear also indicate that they are not members of the dominant culture as we define it in America. In fact, each example might suggest a discontinuity with the dominant culture for each of them but might symbolize a continuity with the cultures that they identify with. I appreciate their definitions, they mirror mine. I am not at all surprised by that because I believe that culture is one way we connect to one another whether we know it or not.
I like that your husband simply described diversity as differences and that your friend wanted it to be defined as something positive. There are so many times that diversity is considered a negative issue. This is why we need to communicate with our students and teach them that having diversity is such a positive thing because we can all learn from each other and our different abilities.
ReplyDeleteKaty,
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting that all of your interviewees had the same theme in their definition of culture and diversity but used different words to express their thoughts. It shows that most people may have at least a beginning understanding of the words. Maybe as educators stress the importance of these words our country will begin to embrace and celebrate them. Thanks for your post.
Laurie
Hi Katy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your findings on diversity and culture. I was taken aback by the fact that your friend was hesitant to define diversity because she thought of it as a positive word and most people tend to see if as a negative one. That one sentence allowed me a moment of reflection into how the word diversity is used in both a negative and positive way. But the question is: for what purpose?
-Beau