Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture







This was a very interesting assignment.  I asked many of my friends, family, and colleagues to answer the two questions and received lots of feedback.  When I asked the questions it was interesting to find that many of them were a little nervous to answer for fear of sounding ‘silly” or “stupid”.  I realized that even in those responses, there was the answer to the questions I posed because when they finally answered them; I found most people had the same ideas about culture and diversity. With this in mind, I told them to answer the questions with their own definition and not to look to the dictionary for the answers. The results I gathered were fascinating. 

Everyone had the same sentiments concerning culture. They may have expressed them in different ways, but everyone concluded that culture had to do with traditions, customs, practices (some religious others having to do with region), and most often norms and values were mentioned.  Some believed culture to be fluid and not stagnant. That culture, although the basis remains the same, its extensions are flexible and kind infuse and become new and refreshed.

Diversity was pretty much the same; many people had the same idea, just different ways of explaining it.  Diversity is thought to be the existence of subcultures and has a lot to do with race, ethnicity, and ideas that allow the world to have its “personality”.  It is believed by interviewees that diversity goes beyond people, but that diversity is all about differences and acceptance.

I was very intrigued by the answers I received. From ages 19- 60’s, everyone have a shared idea of culture and diversity.  Each person touched on all aspects of culture we have discussed and learned about thus far. I was pretty impressed by the answers I received.  Everyone had the overall idea of culture and diversity superseding what is seen, although it is necessary to acknowledge those tangible things in order to understand and appreciate each concept. It was an eye-opening experience and I felt proud to know that the people I choose to surround myself with value others’ cultures and the world’s diversity.

6 comments:

  1. Kali, very nice and creative blog. I really liked the way your blog is done. I see that you and I have similiar ideas about asking family members and outsiders their feedback about the different questions. I was very amaze about the different responses I received as well. Diversity and Culture, Celebrate Diversity, and Personal Reflections is a mental process which, applied to the act of learning. Thanks for sharing.........

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  2. Kali,
    I enjoyed reading you blog. The pictures make it interesting and your content is thorough. I also found that the people I asked had similar answers. I tried to choose people who were diverse themselves. Different ages, different occupations, different economical and ethnic backgrounds. One of my friends compared diversity to a mosaic.
    Different shapes come together to make something beautiful. I liked that comparison.

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  3. Kali,

    I too got strange looks and one of my individual's wanted a dictionary to look at before she answered. I told her that I didn't want a book definition, I wanted her own definition.

    I too like the responses that I received from my individuals and I as well like the assignment, it is fun and interesting to see what other's think about life and what other's are learning.

    Very creative blog and great information!

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  4. Kali,
    You were luckey to get such an informed group of people. Most of my people were surface dwellers, and did not have any deep cultural insight. I too was a surface dweller untill I into this course. I have so more to learn!!!

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  5. To all of you,

    Thank you for your compliments and responses.

    I actually had a great time with this assignment and felt that, while like Sauda, I had some surface dwellers, one they saw others' responses, they stepped up and gave a little more feedback.

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  6. Hi,
    I really enjoyed this assignment too! I was also impressed with the answers that I received; I am not sure if prior to this course I would have been able to answer this question as thoroughly as some of my respondents did. I think that part of the beauty of this question is that the answer is almost unlimited...culture and diversity can be found everywhere and in all aspects of an individual. You are right though, we need to acknowledge all of these aspects-whether they are tangible or intangible-in order to truly understand and appreciate them...great insight! Thank you for sharing your responses with us, I really enjoyed reading your blog!

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