This week I asked three people to give me their definition of culture and diversity. While some people chose to elaborate more than others, I feel that all three answers are correct and are part of what makes up culture and diversity.
I first asked my mom, Traci. Her definition of culture - Different practices, beliefs, morales, and ethics that make up someone's social network. It includes mannerisms, the way people look at things, and their beliefs.
Her definition of diversity - A collection of different people from all different backgrounds and their cultures.
Next I asked my best friend, Amber. Her definition of culture - The way that we live in our personal society.
Her definition of diversity - Different types of people living in the same society, including races, religions, and sexual preference.
Lastly I asked my co-worker Dazell. Her definition of culture - Someone's race, religion, language, family unit, food preference, child rearing style, and opinions. It's basically everything that makes up a persons life - what they believe in and how they do things.
Her definition of diversity - Different people and their cultures living in the same place. Most obviously their race and language but it goes deeper than that to include all of the things that make up their culture.
My personal definition of culture, from all of my previous studies and the information learned thus far in this course, is - Everything that makes up who a person is. Their beliefs, way of life, and family structure. It can be as simple as food and as complex as language and parenting styles.
My personal definition of diversity - Different people (races, religions, gender) and their specific cultures living and collaborating in one society.
Looking at the definitions that my family and friends provided, I think that everyone's definition is pretty much in line with mine. For example, my mom's definitions of both culture and diversity contain the same information as mine, it's just worded differently.
Looking at all of the answers as a whole, I don't feel that any information has been omitted. If I'm looking at individual definitions then I feel that Amber's is very vague and could be elaborated on a bit. She didn't mention all of the unique things that a culture entails such as a person's beliefs and practices or their unique views.
Evaluating other people's definitions of culture and diversity has helped to influence my own understanding by reminding me that the concepts are very broad topics. Everyone has different opinions on what culture is and what diversity is, making it almost impossible to be right or wrong. I think it's important to remember that some understand the concepts of culture and diversity more than others and that we should take the time to accept and even appreciate other people's way of life. We can learn so much from each other and the world would really be a much better place if everyone was more understanding and accepting of everyone's different culture.
I am in complete agreement that the world would be a better place if we were more understanding and accepting of our differences and embraced and learned about them instead of judging them.
ReplyDeleteI like your conclusion that if we try and appreciate and accept one another that we would be able to learn from one another and that the world would be a better place. We all need one another because nobody is an Island.
ReplyDeleteCassie,
ReplyDeleteVery informative post, I agree that everyone has their on opinion about diversity and culture. I think it is important for us to value each others opinions regardless of culture. Acceptance is the key to future success.