Author: Larissa Wolf
Multiculturalism
is “the preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified
society, as a state or nation.”
Our culture
is constantly changing. We redefine what is acceptable and unacceptable. What
you believe now may not be the same thing you thought yesterday. Some group members stated that they
look at the Bible to decide what to believe. The discussion progressed into whether
or not the Bible is outdated. In response to this, we mainly talked about clothing
and dress. We ultimately decided that while some things change with time, the
themes in the Bible do not change. Yet, it is important to be culturally
diverse. We all agreed that it opens you up and helps you grow as a person. It isn’t
that different from cosmopolitanism.
Anne
Phillips says that we should get rid of the word culture. At first, we thought
it was because she does not want to exclude anyone: minorities within
minorities. Not everyone in a certain culture will believe the same thing, and
the word culture creates a
generalization which leads to being judgmental. We tried to “draw a line,” but,
as Dr. Oliver pointed out, there is no line. We have to remember to understand where the idea comes from. It
comes down to:
1. Is it harmful?
2. Be respectful
3. Be understanding
Although, this
is hard to do when you have a strong conviction about something. For instance, we
mentioned female genital mutilation. If you do not interfere, will the practice
die out by itself? We mentioned that when trying to help someone, it can be
taken as “you think you’re better than me.” Other cultures may think that we
are Americanizing them. When do you leave a situation alone? What if they do
not want help, but you know that they need it?
This way
of thinking continued through our discussion. A hypothetical situation was
given: you have a group with a set of certain values. Someone joins said group
but does not follow those same values. What do you do? In this case we said
that it was harmful to the group’s reputation. We discussed helping someone get
out of an abusive relationship. Sometimes tough love is necessary to help someone.
When it is okay to interfere in a situation: only when it’s harmful?
However,
what I view as harmful may be different than what you view as harmful. In the
reading, they mentioned a teacher who wore a niquab, Does this influence the students in some way? We thought that the
veil does not hinder the teacher’s contact with her students. They are still
able to have a conversation. Because children do not care what race their
friends are or what their religious beliefs are, we do not think it would
bother the students or impact them negatively. This begs the question why do we
interfere more often when it comes to children than we do when it comes to
adults?
DQ: Is it
possible to be too diverse?
Also! We need
a group name. So, pancakes or waffles? Is that a banana I smell? Why should we
have to choose just one?
FQ: According
to Will Kymlicka, what are the three types of minorities?
A:
Indigenous people; historical, linguistic, religious minorities; and immigrant
groups.
That was really interesting post Larissa, I enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you guys picked up on the minorities within minorities. This is something that I've noticed a lot in some of the places I've lived, and even in the US. I've always thought one of the most difficult jobs in the world is to be an ambassador, for not only must this person understand two different nations, but the many different cultures and sub-cultures that these nations possess.
I was intrigued by the three criteria that you chose. Harmfulness, respect, and understanding. Though I've never defined multiculturalism in these terms, it seems to show a lot of wisdom in how to approach cultural conflict. Harmfulness acknowledges that our values and practices affect others in society, respect treats treats others as individuals with worth, and understanding acknowledges that things such as "harmful" and "respect" will not always look the same through someone else's eyes.
Just curious, how did you or your group come to these three?
The whole idea of being respectful and understanding came from our discussion on cosmopolitanism. The harmful aspect came from when we were discussing when it is alright to intervene in situations. A lot of the time people say, “What’s the harm?” I think that’s where the conclusion came from.
DeleteIn my group(3), we ended up talking a little about the teacher example Phillips brought up in her interview. We came to the conclusion that upon impressionable children, the situation of different types of cultural or religious sanctions should be explained. As Matt pointed out, not only what but also WHY, which is a good approach. My reasoning was, that these school children may have an negative connotation with the niquab, and other Islamic traditions that they do not understand. Having someone as a teacher, that they respect and think of fondly (if not love), will replace those negative connotations.
ReplyDeleteI think somewhere down the line we squashed multiculturalism, and inside that the respect and understanding, by striving to be so so so politically correct.
thank you for making sense out of my ridiculous rambling on this topic yesterday, Michele! :P
DeleteGood post Larissa!
ReplyDeleteOne point I made about this before I began to float to different groups was that it is important to have diversity in our lives. It helps us grow as an individual, and you are able to gain more knowledge from people who might see things differently.
I also agree that it depends on who thinks something is harmful or not. That was makes everything so diverse with ideas. This is why that it is important to collaborate with other people to better themselves and get productive work done.
Ultimately, I think it comes down to being respectful to the people who may not share the same ideas as you. Even though you may not agree with someone doesn't mean that you should not respect them as a human being.
DQ: In Philosophy Bites, Kymlicka is given a pessimistic comment: "Since 9/11, many people think that multiculturalism is doomed as a project." What do you think about this statement? Do you think this does apply to us today? Why or why not?
FQ: Q: Name two of the three groups of people that Kymlicka talks about as minorities.
A: Indigenous, immigrants, or historical/regional/linguistic minorities
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/19/germany-multiculturalism-immigration
This link is to a news article about Germany and Multiculturalism there. It is good to read that younger people are trying to learn Turkish so they can speak with their friends in their own country (Germany)
Today’s conversation was one that went hand in hand with ours on cosmopolitanism. I think much of what we said last time can and was repeated on last Thursday. Pretty much we said- diversity (wherever the setting, like in the book the classroom) is something that we should not see as something to be afraid of or intimidated by. Instead we should welcome, or at least accept it, in order to make ourselves more diversely aware.
ReplyDeleteAnother topic we covered was how hard it was to try and draw our own personal line. I don’t think its possible to har one concrete, unmovable line though. Like in many conversations we have had in PHIL 1030, we agreed (once again) that we have to examine every case individually as we encounter them. As we grow, encounter more, and broaden our knowledge by ways of experience our line shifts.
@NATE: I completely agree with you “respect treats others as individuals with worth”. For me it goes back to the conversation we had on Thursday. I think both multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism support you as well.
FQ: What word does Anne Phillip have a vendetta against, and wants abolished?
ANSWER: culture
DQ: What is a time where you have readjusted your line pertaining to anything (Not just your tolerance level)?
I think we can learn a thing or two from children. They have something adults tend to lack: humility. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus tells us to "become like children," who do not struggle with pride and ambition. While we should be confident in our own beliefs and not blindly accept other ideas, which children are prone to do in their innocence and naiveté, we should also be willing to adopt the humility of children and love those who are different from us. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to steer them away from wrong. We need to try our hardest to point people to better lives — that is what comes from our love for others. However, if we approach them with hate and misunderstanding, they are not likely to hear us out. Humility allows people to converse and work out their beliefs with one another, leading to greater understanding of the origin of our views.
ReplyDeleteDQ: Do you think the main goal of multiculturalism is to encourage the spread of different ideas (which would possibly change peoples' views) or to encourage people to hold very firm their own ideas and let others believe whatever they want?
FQ: True or False. According to Will Kymlicka, liberal tradition combines both individual and group rights.
FA: True
Here's the link to the scriptural reference:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2018:3&version=NIV
By the way, I love that picture, Larissa!
ReplyDeleteI think that diversity and multiculturalism is an important part of the world we live in. Different people from different parts of the world have different ideas and different ways of living. Without this diversity life would just be boring. Some people's ideas do conflict and that's part of life. I think the best way to live is to understand others and be open to hearing there ideas while not necessarily agreeing with them.
ReplyDeleteThis discussion made me miss being a kid! Children love people for who they are. They don't care what someone looks like or what they're wearing.. and I think that's definitely something we can learn from them. Children can develop their intolerance for others from people who are older. We talked about how some of our grandparents are still racist because that's how they grew up, but that this racism did not move to our parents' generation. This also goes back to previous discussions about if one's environment affects their beliefs. A "negative" environment doesn't always have to negatively affect a person. By growing up around racism, a person may decide that it's dumb and that they don't want to act like that. Or if someone grows up in a broken home, they may decide that they will not do the same thing to their children someday. These are both ways that a negative environment can positively affect someone.
ReplyDeleteP.s. Anyone else miss elementary school? I'm tryna go play on the playground..
Good post, Larissa! And I'm liking everyone's input!! I enjoy talking about this topic. I have traveled to many different countries and I am fascinated by the differences in cultures around the world. It's a really cool thing! And I agree with y'all - I wish everyone's mind worked like a child when it came to this topic. Yes, cultures have differences but we should celebrate that. It's almost as if people want everyone to be the same but they don't realize how mundane life would be if that was the case. However, I do believe these differences sometimes cause the need to interfere. Only if it is harmful in my opinion, not just because it's weird or unfamiliar. For example, the community I live/work is home to many Karen refugees who grew up in Burma and Thailand. I see so many differences between theirs and the one I grew up in. One that we have had to sort of step in is the issue of child abuse. Well, we see it as child abuse. That's just simply how they raise their kids. It is perfectly okay for them to hit their child when they are misbehaving. We have had to address this issue not only to protect the kids but to make the parents aware that what they are doing will get them in BIG trouble around here. Simply a difference in culture, but a pretty harmful one causing us to step in. Not to judge, but to help.
ReplyDeleteDQ:Do you think minority groups around the world deserve more rights?
FQ:When philosophers think about the question of cultural diversity, they almost immediately jump to the conclusion that the real issue, the heart of the issue, is __________________________.
Cultural relativism