It was nice to see my colleague’s definition of cultural and diversity aligns with the information that I have learned from this course. Ms. Cathy - culture is a way or belief in which one is raised, while diversity is a blended group of people& with different perspectives, beliefs, and culture values. Mr. Eric believes culture is a form of tradition and values that people hold in high regard. Diversity is a wide range of culture, ethnicities, religion, personalities, and other things that makes each person and or people unique. Ms. Suzanna feels that culture is a person's music, art, dance, their language, ethical background, customs, religion, language, and history of where they come from and where they live now. She also feels that diversity covers the melting pot of people which includes a variety of backgrounds, education, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and race.
Each of my colleagues from work said that culture had something to do with beliefs, traditions, and customs of people. I was pleased to hear different aspects of diversity to include parenting styles, ethnic groups, sexual orientation and ethnic groups.
Some of the main aspects of cultural and diversity that was omitted was the political, economic status, class, and gender components. I believe these components may have been brought up among friends and family but co-workers may not feel comfortable discussing their political or economic status in reference to its influence on cultural and diversity.
Thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity has influenced my own thinking about these topics because it shows the importance of broadening everyone’s view on culture and diversity. It seems like everyone is familiar with surface culture but the true power struggle and issues that are associated with culture and diversity comes from deep issues like gender, sexual orientation, political association and parenting styles. I learned so much from talking to my colleagues and it was also enlightening to get a different perspective than my own.
Shirley,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. My interests piqued a little more when you mentioned the omitted components of diversity. The aspects of cultural diversity that were omitted by some of your colleagues are the same one that are often omitted by society at large when conversations about diversity take place or diversity policies are created. These policies and conversations often only touch the surface level of diversity and they often created racial, religious, or linguistic diversity , while at the same time maintaining the status-quo in relation to experience, perspective, and desire. This creates a false sense of diversity that may be less tolerant than outright prejudice.
Regina