Unit 2 Section 1

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Unit 2 / Section 1

• Multicultural Focus

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The concept of diversity

• Diversity is a term with many applications. In
  this section, we will explore notions relating to
  culture, racism, racial and ethnic identity,
  social reform and social justice.
• In Human Relations, a multicultural orientation
  to human experience is valued with strong
  emphases on overcoming bias based on racial and
  ethnic oppression and discrimination.

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Quotes to consider (1)

• On race. The concept of race is a
  quasi-biological concept, more accurately
  described as a socially defined categorization
  system that has become the basis of one form of
  social identity. (J. Helms, 1994)
• Thought being white in Brazil is a label for
  anyone with identifiable European ancestry and
  being black in the USA is a label for anyone
  with identifiable African ancestry. Are
  categories of race still useful?

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Quotes to consider (2)

• Ethnicity refers to the sense of commonality
  transmitted over generations by the family and
  reinforced by the surrounding community.
  (McGoldrick, Giordano Pearce, 1996)
• Q How do you define your ethnic identitythat
  subjective sense of being a member of a certain
  ethnic group, sharing common language, beliefs,
  customs, institutions, etc.

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Quotes to consider (3)

• Culture is a broad concept that includes race,
  ethnicity and other factors. Individuals may be
  members of various cultures, enculturated to
  varying degrees within each one
• Internalized culture may be defined as the
  cultural influences operating within the
  individual that shape (not determine) the
  personality formation and various aspects of
  psychological functioning. (Ho, 1995)

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Quotes to consider (4)

• Culture is an understanding that people have of
  their universesocial, physical, or bothas well
  as their understanding of their behavior in that
  universe. The cultural model of a population
  serves its members as a guide in their
  interpretation of events and elements within
  their universe it also serves as a guide to
  their expectations and actions (Ogbu, 1990)
• Q How ethnocentric are you? Have you changed
  over a period of time due to your experiences
  with other cultures?

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An aside (food for thought)

• Consider the beef and bean burrito. What
  actions, sensations and emotions do you associate
  with the burrito? In what ways do race, class,
  ethnicity, place of origin, religion, etc.
  determine the perceptions and schemas of the
  burrito? Compare your impressions with a
  devout Hindu who believes all life is sacred,
  particularly a cow. Or with a poor Mexican child
  who only has bean burritos versus a wealthy
  socialite who considers any kind of burrito to be
  an inferior food product. One simple object is
  sacrilegious, desired but out of reach, or
  disdained. What then of other perceptions? e.g.
  courting behaviors, social relations, personality
  development, sense of meaning, etc. etc. etc.
• Thought Culture influences so much relating to
  the study of human relations.

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What cultural factors do you believe influence
your daily life, and to what extent?

• Racial identification
  Ethnicity
  
• Occupation
  Socioeconomic status
  Gender
  
  Sexual orientation
  Education
• Religion
• Think about the development of these factors in
  your life.
  

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In-Group and Out-Group distinctions

• A natural occurrence among all people is to
  develop in-groups and out-groups. Your
  team might be the OU Sooners and the outsiders
  are the Texas Longhorns. More seriously,
  in-groups develop around race and ethnicity.
  Your in-group might be the dominant majority and
  the out-group might be an oppressed minority
  population.
• Issues relating to power and privilege are key
  concerns in Human Relations work to advance the
  cause of social justice.

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etic versus emic perspective (1)

• Etic perspective Culture is a relatively minor
  influence on human behavior. Underneath, people
  are basically the same.
  
• Emic perspective Culture influences a number of
  important factors in human behavior e.g.
  values, language and meanings, nonverbal
  expression, norms, family and interpersonal
  patterns, worldview, the way one seeks help, etc.

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etic versus emic perspective (2)

• The problems of cultural elitism or cultural
  encapsulation (acknowledge only one cultural
  perspective, or define other cultures as
  deficient) are readily recognized by clients from
  oppressed groups.
• In the United States, many people of good will
  and good intentions present themselves as color
  blind in matters of race, ethnicity and culture.
  Unfortunately, this blindness frequently has
  negative repercussions for cultural out-groups
  who have been traditionally marginalized and
  disenfranchised.

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etic versus emic perspective (3)

• Important variables to consider when
  understanding the cultural heritage of a client
  from a minority population
  
• immigration issues
• poverty
• racism
• stereotyping
• powerlessness
• locus of control/ locus of responsibility
• family dynamics
• acculturation process
• WHEN YOU READ DON LOCKES BOOK TRY TO THINK
  THROUGH THE OTHER PERSONS OUT-GROUP
  PERSPECTIVE !!!

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Acculturation Patterns (1)

• ASSIMILATION adopting the attitudes and
  behavior of the larger society abandoning ones
  own cultural heritage in the process.
  
• INTEGRATION maintaining ones own cultural
  heritage while participating actively in the
  larger society.
  
• SEPARATION maintaining and promoting ones
  cultural heritage while rejecting the culture of
  the larger society.
  
• MARGINALIZATION losing ties with ones own
  culture and failing to establish ties with the
  culture of the larger society.

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Acculturation Patterns (2)

• Think about your own acculturation pattern.
  Think about other people from different cultures
  that you know. Do the 4 patterns of
  assimilation, integration, separation
  marginalization help you understand human
  experience?
• Many people advocate for an assimilation model,
  but this may only be an extension of the power
  and privilege that accompanies the more dominant
  culture. Think about the United States, and then
  about other countries as well. Which model
  results in optimal social justice or exemplifies
  respect for uniqueness or leads to social
  harmony?

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Eliminating negative attitudes about other
cultures (1)

• Consider 3 parts what we think, feel do
• STEREOTYPESgeneral thoughts and beliefs about
  certain groups of people, often with a negative
  valence.
  
• PREJUDICEfeelings about groups of people,
  usually with a notion of those other people being
  different and inferior.
  
• DISCRIMINATIONsocial, legal, political, economic
  actions taken against groups of people based on
  stereotypes and prejudices.

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Eliminating negative attitudes about other
cultures (2)

• In order to describe social realities, Human
  Relations theorists may need to describe (e.g.)
  the social construct of race. By categorizing
  people into certain groups, theorists can foster
  clearer thinking regarding privilege, power,
  oppression and social justice.

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Eliminating negative attitudes about other
cultures (3)

• In other words, in a social system with
  institutionalized racism, it is helpful to
  DISCERN what groups are disadvantaged based on
  race and ethnicity rather than DENY that
  disenfranchisement is ongoing within certain
  racial and ethnic groups. Being oblivious to
  race has not proven to be an effective way to
  improve racial relations.

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Eliminating negative attitudes about other
cultures (4)

• After categorizing on the basis of race in an
  effort to appreciate ones heritage, however,
  Human Relations practitioners need to be wary of
  over-generalizing about race and need to advocate
  for justice when others turn racial types into
  targets.

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Eliminating negative attitudes about other
cultures (5)

• Consider these origins of prejudice
• SOCIAL people try to raise their self-esteem by
  creating societies with exclusionary policies
  their own heightened status as a group reduces
  anxiety.
• COGNITIVE people routinely categorize others,
  and without any equal interchange and interaction
  between groups end up attributing negative
  attributes to the others in the out-group
• EMOTIONAL people tend to see their own group as
  normal and right the other is different and
  less than people also have aggressive impulses
  and vent frustrations on outsiders, particularly
  when competing for scant resources.

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Social reform regarding race ethnicity

• Study the Useful Links for this section.
• Think about the approaches of Mahatma Gandhi,
  Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.
  
• Follow Cornel Wests insights on the relevance of
  race and the importance of dialogue regarding
  race in the USA.
  
• Consider the dogged prevalence of racism and the
  positive advantages for society to overcome a
  racist mentalityeven covert, unintentional
  racism.
• Send websites you find of interest to each other,
  regarding the topics of this section.

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• Read the articles by Peggy McIntosh (White
  privilege and male privilege") and bell hooks
  (On building a community of love). Think about
  the issues raised in this section on
  multiculturalism, diversity and the potential for
  social reform and equity.
• Select a theme of interest to you from these
  areas and write your ideas in a one page essay.
  If you are content to do so, e-mail your ideas to
  your classmates. Save a copy of this informal
  written assignment to send to the instructor with
  the packet of other informal writing assignments
  at the end of the semester.