Week 3 Diversity and Culture

For this assignment, I had help from two of my best friends and my cousin. One of my best friends (MP) is a few years younger than me and grew up in a predominately black lower class neighborhood; however she is Caucasian (White). My other best friend (CM) is a few years older than me and lost her Mother at an early age; she grew up in a predominately white middle class neighborhood; however she is African American (Black).  My cousin, (our Mom’s are sisters) identifies with the same race/culture as I do.

Definitions of Culture:

Cousin: Someone’s heritage and beliefs. Its what their parents taught and instilled in them growing up. Its part of their character and helps define who they are.

Best Friend 1 (CM): Culture is what we are born into. We don’t choose it, it chooses us and shapes us into who we are. It’s how we dress, talk, interact with others and live. It’s a person’s foundation and history.

Best Friend 2 (MP): Culture is a set of beliefs and traditions passed down from one generation to another that are associated with certain races.

Definitions of Diversity:

Cousin: Diversity is the difference in qualities that we have as a human race, ethnicity, male and female, our cultures, beliefs, morals, etc.  

Best Friend 1 (CM):  Diversity is being open and accepting differences from what we may consider as the norm. It’s a melting pot. It’s the ability to appreciate others and their unique characteristics.

Best Friend 2 (MP): Diversity is a blend of both beliefs and races that makes each culture different.  

From what I’ve learned in this course, it is understood that culture is a part of your family roots; it is what you are born into, while diversity is what makes you different from other cultures and possibly even those within the same culture as you. In the answers I received, it was mentioned in all definitions of culture that your family is the root of this word and it’s meaning. While everyone discussed diversity is a means of being distinctive and learning to accept and tolerate others for their differences.

I think was has been omitted is what we learned this week to include deep culture. I believe that when one thinks about culture, it is very easy to only scratch the surface. Even I myself was not fully aware of the meaning behind deep culture.

In discussing these two words with my best friends and my cousin, it was interesting to hear their perspectives on issues that we seldom speak about. It was also very interesting to hear that they all have similar views on what the two words mean, but their stories related to culture and diversity are very unique and distinct, even the stories of my cousin who we identify with the same race/culture but did not grow up together in the same state. My own thinking has been influenced by the thoughts of these three women in that I am intrigued to hear the stories of others, I am left to wonder about the story of each individual I encounter; I in a sense have a new awakened sense of wonder and an urge for discovery.