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