- Socially created groups
- Over time (dynamic)
- What we say, what we do, shared experiences
All three coworkers listed components of culture, such as, language, religion, geography, and work. I noticed, however, no one listed deeper cultural components, such as: children, expression, or values. Cultural discontinuity of these items is what can spark considerable tension. I say this based on my experiences in and outside of work. For example, I often hear “don’t show your emotions” from well-meaning friends and mentors. The African-Americans and Latinos who I interact with are emotional and are not ashamed to express their emotion in their tone of voice and in facial expressions. To be constantly told to hide our emotions has an unintended consequence of suppressing our cultural identities as expressive people. So, the omission of “expression” supports my feeling that most people don’t see the manner in which others express themselves as an attribute of “culture”.
Regarding “diversity”, all coworkers were aligned on “differences”:
- “A collection of individuals or things that have unique differences".
- “Any social group composed of individuals from different cultures”.
- “All the different ways we do things and say things and thing about things”.
This exercise helps me see that culture is everything we do and say and how we do it and say it. My three coworkers recognize this. While the definition sounds simple, it’s terribly complex. The construction of culture is so subtle; it’s difficult to deconstruct it to show the harm that can be inflicted on others who are excluded from dominant culture.
Joy, When I was asking my professionals they have included that many people concluded the definition culture as what you have stated. It is strange but not shocking to know that many people think this way. Many people are not educated to understand the definition of diversity and culture.
ReplyDeleteCulture is everything that we do and how we do it. I would also agree that to define culture and diversity is very complex. Most people look at the surface because culture and diversity is difficult to explain for some and the surface of culture and diversity is easy to see. Diversity and culture I feel is also a sensitive subject to some people because of how they were raised or their lack of knowledge about the two.
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