Introduction to Diversity

Introduction to Diversity

Raven Burris

ETH/120

March 23, 2015

Jennifer Hudgins

Introduction to Diversity

What is diversity, ethnocentrism, and culture? Each of these categories have an effect on today’s societies all around the world from identifying, labeling, and grouping people.

According to Merriam-Webster (2015), Diversity is the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc. and the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization. Diversity tries to teach us to accept differences in others and look beyond the base emotions of language, culture, race and color (Borkar, 2012). It teaches us to be more open and accepting of things that are different from us and in that process makes us more adaptable and open (Borkar, 2012).

Next is ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to assume that one’s cultural and way of life are superior to all others. According to Southern Nazarene University (2000, 2001), “Ethnocentrism leads us to make false assumptions about cultural differences. We are ethnocentric when we use our cultural norms to make generalizations about other peoples' cultures and customs. Such generalizations -- often made without a conscious awareness that we've used our culture as a universal yardstick -- can be way off base and cause us to misjudge other peoples. Ethnocentrism can lead to cultural misinterpretation and it often distorts communication between human beings” (para.1).

There are many ways in which groups can be identified such as race, ethnic background, religious beliefs, and gender barriers among others. Racial groups are considered to be the minorities and the equivalent socially set majorities due to the clearly noticeable differences such as skin color (Captile One, n.d.). People that have been set apart from the others due to their nationality or unique cultural lifestyle and their cultural habits set them apart from other groups, for example, language (Captile One, n.d.). There are many different religions and each religion may have specific beliefs, standards, or rules; and there is the possibility that some information overlaps with other religions placing them in religious groups (Captile One, n.d.). The gender group is a unit that forms dominant and subordinate groups (Captile One, n.d.).  Men are thought of as the social majority and women are the social minority (Captile One, n.d.). 

Why do people label and group other people? According to the University of Illionis (n.d.), “Labels are used as a way to categorize a group with some form of shared characteristics.  Society labels things such as food products, clothing brands, file folders, personal items, and people.  Labels are associated with certain images, characteristics, connotations, associations, stigmas, and stereotypes” (para.1).

Culture, according to Zimmermann, Live Science Contributor (2015),  “Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts” (para.1).