CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: ENGAGING IN CULTURAL CONSCIOUSNESS

There is more to a person than their race, age and gender. Culture is not about asking someone “where are you from?” as we pose the question under the assumption that a person is from a different country. Instead, culture is about where a person has been, where they are going, and through this journey; experiences.

In this course, we explore the concepts of engaging in cultural consciousness, recognizing key factors of what defines diversity within a community. 6 historical reasons establish the creation of a diverse culture: economic opportunity, religious freedom, conflict, environmental factors, security, and symbolism. The reasons are what people commonly rally behind and within this, attitudes and behaviors are shaped in how we see the world and how we see ourselves.

When focusing on attitudes and behaviors, what we find to be appropriate behavior in our own cultures, may be deemed inappropriate or disrespectful in another. We develop misunderstandings when we use our own meaning of something and make it someone else’s reality. As we engage in cultural consciousness, we develop a relationship of understanding and in the process share our own experiences to be understood thus gaining mutual respect for others who may appear at the surface to have different values and beliefs than our own. While there may be differences, one may be surprised to discover through keeping an open mind just how similar our core wants and needs are.