Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I thought it would be interesting to ask people of different age groups their definition of culture and diversity.  So I started with an older family member, male age 65.  He said, “Culture is what people do.” He went on to say, “like Mardi Gras is a part of the New Orleans culture.  It’s what people celebrate, what you eat, how you dress, stuff like that.”  How do you define diversity?  For this answer he relied on the surface markers such as race, gender, ethnicity.  “It’s how people differ.” he finished.

I then asked a co-worker about my age to define culture and she shared, “Culture is part of the characteristics we share with others people.  Things like religion, race, food, or language.”   She then added,  “Clothing can be cultural and customs” Diversity was defined as the things that are different from one another. 

The third person I spoke with is 15 years old.  She though culture would be defined as, “Your beliefs, your way of life, the foods you eat, a belief system that shows how you are everyday.”   “Diversity is the things about a person or a group of people that are different from others.”  Things like your religion or your race.  Really our cultures are what give us diversity. 

Everyone I spoke to touched on the aspects of culture and diversity we have studied.   Some examples were only one layer below the surface culture typically given to define culture and diversity.  When my co-work said that diversity was the thing that made us different from one another.  I thought of the many things we shared. She is a mom, wife, and pet owner, Saints Fan. There are so many things that connect us human beings when we think deeper much more than separate us. 

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