One Cloth, Many Threads: Unity and Diversity Caroljean Willie, SC, Ph.D.
One Cloth, Many Threads:Unity and Diversity
Caroljean Willie, SC, Ph.D.
“In the beginning the creator created four races, one for each of the four directions: Yellow, Black, Red and White. Each race was given a way of knowing the world and a way of understanding a piece of the truth.”
-Lakota and Cherokee Traditions
Some characteristics of culture:Culture is learned.
Culture is shared.
Culture is an adaptation developed to accommodate to environmental conditions.
Culture is a dynamic system that changes continuously.
Explicit, overt, surface culture
VisibleEasily described
Examples:
CustomsHolidaysLawsDressFoods and DietArt and Music
Implicit, covert culture
Not visibleDifficult to describeTaken for grantedBeyond conscious awareness
Examples: BeliefsValuesAttitudesUse of time and spaceRules for interpersonal relationsRules which govern language
Iceberg Analogy of Culture
Objective Culture(surface layer)• Explicitly learned• Easily changed• Conscious
artifacts food, clothing, art, music, etc.
Subjective Culture(deep dimension)• Implicitly learned• Difficult to change• Unconscious
attitudesvaluesbeliefsmythsperceptionsways of thinking
Some important functions of culture:• Culture binds people together.
• Culture makes the behavior of others fairly predictable.
• Culture largely determines the meaning we give to the outside world.
Hidden Values-from the work of Ruby Payne, Ph.D.
Lower Socioeconomic Group
• Survival
• Relationships
• Entertainment
Middle
• Work
• Achievement
• Material Security
Upper
• Political
• Financial
• Social Connections
The Three Little Pigs
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Problem Areas
Language
Space
Time
Individual/Group
Relation-ships
Add Your Text
Work/Leisure
Language
• shapes and mirrors the beliefs and values of a culture
• perception limited by words available• differences in language use among
cultures can lead to crucial misunderstandings
• some examples of language barriers
Communication Styles
• individual-oriented• rely on words• linear logic• deal with conflict
directly• interested in facts• focus on action and
resolution• open, direct
strategies
• group-oriented• rely on shared
context• spiral logic• deal with conflict
indirectly• interested in ”face”
saving• focus on
relationship• ambiguous, indirect
strategies
1 2 3 4 5 6
Space
• use of space is culturally determined• perception of world often determined by
spacial vistas (e.g. jungle, sky-scrapers, wide open plain)
• concept of personal space needed/wanted varies from one culture to another
• personal/public use of space
Time
• human invention imposed on nature to help us order, plan, and giving meaning to our lives
• cultures use, interpret, talk about, and think about time differently
• cyclical vs. linear time
Individual and the Group
• some cultures value the individual over the group, others value the group over the individual
• concept of individualism in the U.S.• loyalties to groups
Work and Leisure
• different attitudes• global marketplace• concept of leisure• sports/games
Relationships
• formed, maintained, and valued in different ways in different cultures
• people date, marry, and divorce for different reasons and in different ways
• no such thing as a “typical” family• nuclear vs. extended family• role of women
Power Distance
Powerful Elite
MAJORITYLimited access to education
Upper Class
Middle Class
Lower Class
High Power Distance Culture Low Power Distance Culture
-from the work of Eric H.F. Law
Ethnocentrism
A Room Full of Mirrors
Ethnorelativism
A Room Full of Windows
“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.” -Wade Davis