Week 3_Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture My first interviewee is Male. Shawn is a family friend who is a different gender than me. He defines culture as “your race” and “different attributes of a person. (Personal communication, January 26, 2013). This definition coincides with what I have learned this week about culture in many ways because culture is what makes up a person’s character. It is when we take these characteristics and join with others who share the same characteristics to form a culture. From this understanding of identity and discourse, identity construction involves a double movement, where we are identified by a history of discourses-ideas and images of who we are-and identify ourselves by responding to the representations that have already identified us (Hall, 1996). Shawn defined diversity as “Taking different characteristics of a person and combining into society” (Personal communication, January 26, 2013). This definition goes with what I learned about diversity because we have our uniqueness and we live in society. While this is so, we need to learn about the uniqueness of others. “As children learn new things and take on new languages, new ideas, new perspectives, it should be in addition to what they have at home” (Laureate Education, Inc. 2013). My friend An Ho, who is Vietnamese, interpreted his definition of Culture as follows: “How society behaves, everything from food to beliefs” (Personal communication, January 26, 2013). This definitely coincides with what we have learned in the class this week because culture does consists of beliefs, food, clothing, socioeconomic class, etc. For diversity, he says that diversity is about variety-“different from other cultures” (Personal communication, January 26, 2013). I agree with An’s definitions of the two terms related to culture and diversity because his definitions coincide with the various aspects that define a person’s heritage. William, my boyfriend of ten years, has a whole complete different definition of culture and diversity. Culture, to him means, “our roots as to where we come from, what our family does-but some cultures venture off into another culture of its own.” (Personal communication, January 26, 2013). His definition differs slightly as to what we have learned about culture and diversity this week because roots are our heritage and where we come from. He goes on to use roots as what our family does and how we are defined by our upbringing. The readings this week have not expanded on what our roots consist of. The interview process about culture and diversity has expanded my thinking process because the men gave me more details about how society defines culture and diversity. Although, my knowledge of culture and diversity tells me that the terms are intertwined to reflect characteristics of individuals in society, we all fit into society with our defining cultures and that’s what makes us diverse. References Hall, S. (1996). Introduction: Who needs ‘identity’? In S. Hall & P du Gay (Eds), Questions of cultural identity (pp. 1-17). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Laureate Education, Inc. [Author]. (2013). “Culture and diversity” Walden University. Retrieved from. (http://mym.cdn.laureate- media.com/Walden/EDUC/6164/03/downloads/WAL_EDUC6164_03_A_EN.pdf).

My Family Culture

Blog: My Family Culture Imagine the following: A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture. In response to the emergency issue at hand, nothing is dearer to me than my family. They are number one in my life. My family will always have a place in my life and heart no matter how big or small our shelter will be can come with me no matter where I go. If I had to choose three items to bring on our journey it would be my grandpas war medals, my photo book of my deceased daughter (first born), and my Jewelry (diamonds). An explanation of these items would be that the picture book is the only imagery I have of my baby besides the memories that are in my heart. The nurse in the Neonatal ICU made me a little book for my baby that had a picture with me and my ex on the only day that we got to hold her. Also, there are her baby cross, rosaries, and growth chart included in the book. This book is meaningful not just in the imagery, but the whole meaning of the memory book. My grandfather’s War Medals are meaningful to me because of their significance of my grandfather’s dedication to his country and his life story. I honor my grandfather’s struggles because he fought in a World War and raised all of his grandchildren all by himself. Lastly, my jewelry has some significance because it is my property. Also, it is valuable due to the gold and gems that encompass the metals in the rings. If I were told that I could only keep one personal item and had to give up the other two items I brought with me, I would be saddened because the items are a part of my life history. Some of the items are passed down from family members, while others are items that I want to pass down to my children. Some insights that I gained about myself is that I value my family enough to place them first in life, while cherish items that have been passed down to me. My culture is that of American, however, I learned that family comes first in any situation.

EDUC 6164-1_Perspective Diversity and Equity

Well here we are in our sixth class towards our Master's Degree. How exciting to be in all of your classes again. I really look forward to learning all I can about equity and diversity with all of you. I hope everyone has a successful year and feel free to ask me any questions at any time. Good luck to all.