Cultural RelativismDAY ONE

We talked about how CULTURE can be described as the features of EVERYDAY LIFE

We also made sure to be careful with GENERALIZATIONS, or taking general information about a culture and applying it to individuals

Why? Generalizations (are) and help to reinforce

stereotypes. Stereotypes are simplified, fixed beliefs

about a group of people. They are untrue & offensive.

Before we begin…

It is ALWAYS important to view people from different cultures through a “cultural lens”

A cultural lens accounts for differences in behaviors, beliefs, values, traditions, and personalities.

A cultural lens allows you to take in to account a person’s culture without ASSUMING anything about them.

It requires you to have knowledge and understanding of different cultures.

Cultural Relevance

Cultural Awareness explains that “many differences between people can be attributed to the influence of culture”

Being “culturally aware” is increasingly important as we become a more multicultural society

Why? Learning about culture is fun and interesting

Cultural Awareness

Look at the following picture for about twenty seconds

See how much you can remember

Warm up exercise:

How much did you remember? WHAT types of info did you remember? Any metaphors? You are likely to see and interpret different

details—just as witnesses to crimes and accidents often differ as to the details of what they saw.

Just as people from different cultures view events, social situations, and behaviors differently.

So…

1. People from different cultures view events, social situations, and behaviors differently.

2. No two people see the same thing in exactly the same way.

3. Culture influences how you see reality.

Our picture metaphor shows that:

No two people see the same thing in exactly the same way.

All people bring to the situation their own values, beliefs, and life experiences—and powers of observation.

We all believe that we observe reality—things as they are

But what actually happens is that the mind interprets what the eyes see and gives it meaning

Important to note:

In other words, what we see is as much in the mind as it is in reality.

Consider this: the mind of a person from one culture is going to be different in many ways from the mind of a person from another culture.

THIS IS THE explanation for that most fundamental of all cross-cultural issues: the fact that two people looking upon the same reality, the same example of behavior, may see things very differently.

Thinking further…

Looking at Worksheet 6, let’s give our honest and FIRST reaction for each

What do we think? NOW let’s take a look at Worksheet 7 with

the same situations only WITH a CULTURAL CONTEXT

How have your responses changed?

CULTURE IS KEY!

How would this information be important while traveling?

When else might it be important? If you were to go to another culture, you

would need to be careful not to make judgments about a particular behavior or custom until you understood the cultural context—and the reasons that behavior was accepted as "normal”.

Reflections

It's easy to misinterpret things people do in a cross-cultural setting. To keep from misunderstanding the behavior of individuals from another culture, you have to try to see the world from their point of view, not yours.

Why might it be possible for me to misunderstand individuals from another culture?

How can I learn to see things from another culture's point of view? Why is it important?

More Reflections…