I asked a range of people the two questions this week and got very similar answers from most of them. As a definition of culture the prevailing synopsis was the beliefs and traditions of different groups of people. One person suggested that culture is made up of the music, art, dance and literature of a group. When asked about diversity the main response was a group that includes people from different cultures. The people I asked had some difficulty describing diversity.
Most of the points brought up by my interviewees were part of the surface culture, the tip of the iceberg that is easy to see and to compare. These include the art and music of a group as well and the traditions, food and dress. When talking about diversity they all mentioned having a variety of cultures. An example of this is a classroom in our school which represents between 10 and 15 cultures in itself.
There was no mention by anyone of 'deep' culture. Although one person described how the aspects mentioned gave an idea of the groups beliefs there was no mention of how culture shapes our everyday interactions. No one described culture as all-encompassing. Religious beliefs were mentioned as were political beliefs. One respondent even mentioned 'teacher-itis'. No one commented on how these aspects of culture are the lens through which we see life (Taylor, Laureate Education, 2011).
I was surprised by some of the responses that I got. Most of the respondents are colleagues and work in the same environment as I do. We have had many discussions as a staff about culture and diversity. Part of the curriculum that we teach is international mindedness. What surprised me is the almost exclusive use of surface culture as a definition. While we talk about the diversity in our school and accepting differences, none of this was reflected in the definitions. For my own definitions now I want to be sure to include the differences within an ethnic group. I want to think about how diversity can occur within one person.
References
Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Family cultures: Dynamic interactions [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Most of the points brought up by my interviewees were part of the surface culture, the tip of the iceberg that is easy to see and to compare. These include the art and music of a group as well and the traditions, food and dress. When talking about diversity they all mentioned having a variety of cultures. An example of this is a classroom in our school which represents between 10 and 15 cultures in itself.
There was no mention by anyone of 'deep' culture. Although one person described how the aspects mentioned gave an idea of the groups beliefs there was no mention of how culture shapes our everyday interactions. No one described culture as all-encompassing. Religious beliefs were mentioned as were political beliefs. One respondent even mentioned 'teacher-itis'. No one commented on how these aspects of culture are the lens through which we see life (Taylor, Laureate Education, 2011).
I was surprised by some of the responses that I got. Most of the respondents are colleagues and work in the same environment as I do. We have had many discussions as a staff about culture and diversity. Part of the curriculum that we teach is international mindedness. What surprised me is the almost exclusive use of surface culture as a definition. While we talk about the diversity in our school and accepting differences, none of this was reflected in the definitions. For my own definitions now I want to be sure to include the differences within an ethnic group. I want to think about how diversity can occur within one person.
References
Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Family cultures: Dynamic interactions [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Hello Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI too got several different answer for culture and everyone pretty much said the same thing about diversity. I did not get anyone to express culture as being about music, which is a great answer. This would have been something that I would have said because I appreciate what others can do and how they can express themselves through music.