“Communicating Across Cultures”

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“Communicating Across Cultures”

Father Michael Oleksa

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Culture can be defined in three ways…

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Culture is

…the way you see the world, the beam of light you are in, the worldview.

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Culture is

…the game of life as you understand and play it.

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Culture is

…the story into which you were born.

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Our Culture

• The “Global Literate” Culture• American Cultural History

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Our Culture…the enactment of our story…human experiences on the

planet earth…the story we tell ourselves.

Human Experiences on Planet Earth

Millions of Years

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Our Culture

Millions of Years

EWK(Everything Worth Knowing)

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Our Culture

Millions of Years

•Biology

•Math

•Astronomy

•Cartography

•History

•Law

•Art

•Music

•Religion

•Ceremony

•Poetry

•Flora

•Fauna

•Medicine

•Economics

•_________

•_________

•_________

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Our Culture

Millions of Years

BiologyMath

AstronomyCartography

History

Law

ArtMusic

ReligionCeremony

PoetryFlora

FaunaMedicineEconomics

EWK

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Our Culture

•Cities

•Law

•Libraries

•Writing

•Courts

•Knowledge

•History

•Schools

EWK

A Package Deal

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Our Culture

Potential

Experience

Chronos

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Our Culture

Labor < Leisure

SpecializedMarketable Skill

Productive CitizenGlobal Economy

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Our Culture

Game 7-8 Major Languages Today

Chinese EnglishFrench SpanishGerman RussianArabic (Hindi)

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Global Literate

“Ball Game” 7-8 Major Languages Today

Global Political PowerGlobal Economic PowerGlobal Social Influence

Global Military Domination

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Our Ball Game’s Fundamental Assumptions

Global-literate Written language Knowledge-based Fragmented Specialized “Marketable skill” Chronos time

Leisure-labor (Play-Work Potential-Experience Productive

(Autonomous) individual citizen

Global economy

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GLS Profile

Increasingly secular Nature as resource

for human benefit Human centered and

dominant

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Why Schools?

Schooling:

• Necessary for the accumulation of status and possessions

• The more possessions, the more security is valued• But…Freedom vs Security remains a dilemma

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Global Literate Society’s Attitude Toward Time/History

Future Orientation

Knowledge to:

• Predict

• Control future

Literacy is key

Constant change

Development

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Traditional Local Culture’s Attitude Toward Time

Origins/Beginnings

Static

Eternal

Permanent

The past does not change.

Truth is forever the same.

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Basic Characteristics of Traditional Local Cultures

“Pre-historic”: Non or Pre-Literature

Traditional

rooted in Local Ecosystems

Non-literate: Oral

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TL Culture’s Education

• Education = Schooling• Education = What we learn that is…

• Useful vs Useless• Meaningful vs Meaningless• Relevent vs Irrelevant

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Traditional Local Educational Goals

Who we/you are.Where we/you fit.

How we/you relate.

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Curriculum

Origins…Patterns…Paradigms in Sacred Stories (Myths)

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Traditional Educational Goals

(1) Who in Alaska: The Human Beings

Lingit InuitDene/Dineh Yup’ikUnangax InupiaqYuut

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Traditional Educational Goals

(1) Who?

KairosRepetition and RemembranceEternal Structures

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Traditional Educational Goals

Nuna

Imaq

Qilak

(2) Where We Fit?

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Traditional Educational Goals

(3) How we relate to each other and the world.Myths:

Sacred (origin) Story containing paradigmsLegends:

Mostly negative stories w/consequences for violating patters/models/paradigms

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Traditional Curriculum

Song/Dance/CeremonyArt/Architecture

Clothing/Vestments/ToolsHousehold Utinsels/Weapons

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Playing the Game of Life

Ritualized Behaviors:Expectant Mothers (Naken Anellrusit?)NukalpiatFirst catch (Mingqeq)Table Manners (qanaqliq)Naming (Yup’ik/Lingit)Koo-eex “potlatch”

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Traditional Local Characteristics

• Oral LanguageWisdom-basedWholisticGeneralistHuman BeingKairos

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Traditional Local cont..

Meaningful-Meaningless According to Paradigm/without Paradigm Real Person/Membership Eco-system/rural Essentially spiritual Nature as dominant

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Traditional Local cont..

Spirit and Nature CenteredBalance and HarmonyConnection and Relationships

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Traditional Local cont..

EducationWho?Where?How?