Diversity, ethnocentrism, identification, labeling, culture
Ethnocentrism, group identification, and labeling are all counterproductive to creating a positive culture of diversity in the United States. Group identification and labeling promote discrimination and prejudice. Ethnocentrism prevents us from growing as a nation. The United States is a diverse melting pot of cultures, and we need to practice pluralism if we are to prosper.
Diversity
Diversity by definition is: "the inclusion of individuals representing more than one national origin, color, religion, socioeconomic stratum, sexual orientation, etc.:"(" Diversity," 2015).
The United States is the most diverse country in the world. This affords us the opportunity to learn
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Ethnocentrism causes people to make judgments about people or groups using their own "superior" culture or way of life as the base measurement. Ethnocentrism breeds prejudice and discrimination. It prevents a person from learning about different people and cultures. It promotes closed mind thinking and promotes "us" versus "them" mentality. There is a large portion of the United States right now practicing ethnocentrism. They are denouncing anyone who does not worship God. They are fighting against immigration, LGBT community, and Muslims because their beliefs go against their culture. They believe immigrants and LGBT are not worthy of the right to live in the United States, and anyone who does live in the United States must assimilate …show more content…
Like so many human faculties, it is adaptive and miraculous, but it also contributes to some of the deepest problems that face our species" (para. 2). Labeling people is detrimental to our society. It promotes stereotyping which promotes prejudice and discrimination. Children in school who do not behave in the norm are labeled as troublemakers. This is harmful because no one bothers to look deeper and find the true cause of the behavior, so the child continues to go without the help they desperately need. By labeling people, we also run the risk of creating the self-fulfilled prophecy. If you label a child as a troublemaker and repeatedly tell them, that is what they are, they will eventually begin to believe it and become a
(1) Ethnocentrism is looking at one’s own culture and placing it above other cultures, constantly comparing it to the other cultures “below”. In America today, many people look at conflicted areas in the globe such as the Middle East and wonder why their system cannot keep a stable democracy. This idea of constantly comparing other cultures to one’s own and expecting them to be alike or follow the example is a problem in reading historical documents and understanding history as a whole. Nomadic invaders such as the Mongols were described as horrible savage people in the written accounts of the sedentary peoples. This must not be taken quite as literally because accounts tend to be biased more often than not. In examining ethnocentrism, one must always remember that few, if not none, cultures behave extremely irrationally as they may seem. For example, referring back to the views of Middle East today, one must remember that the system of Islamic law and customs has held for centuries, and would not have survived that long if they truly are as irrational as they might seem. Referring back to the example of the Mongols, the attacked people were obviously biased and the Mongols would not have had ruled for so long if they were cruel, savage, irrational monsters. Ethnocentrism is extremely difficult to avoid and is apparent in many documents, such as Columbus’s description of the American Natives (in comparison to the “civilized” Europeans), and should be dealt with carefully. In order to understand all sides of an account, one must look at what is written with deference and understanding.
Ethnocentrism is the name given to a tendency to interpret or evaluate other cultures in terms of one's own. This tendency has been, perhaps, more prevalent in modern nations than among preliterate tribes. The citizens of a large nation, especially in the past, have been less likely to observe people in another nation or culture than have been members of small tribes who are well acquainted with the ways of their culturally diverse neighbours. Thus, the American tourist could report that Londoners drive "on the wrong side of the street" or an Englishman might find some customs on the Continent "queer" or "boorish," merely because they are different. Members of a Pueblo tribe in the American Southwest, on the other hand, might be well acquainted with cultural differences not only among other Pueblos but also in non-Pueblo tribes such as the Navajo and Apache.
Diversity is the difference between people’s culture, nationality, ability, ethnic origin, gender, age, religion, belief, sexual orientation and social class.
Ethnocentrism will finds its way of making cultures more distant from each other because some cultures judge other cultures by the standards of their own culture. Rather than trying to understand certain values and norm within a culture, ethnocentric cultures will not adapt other’s points of view. This ultimately leads to misunderstanding and sometimes conflicts between cultures.
Diversity: The differences of various individuals or groups within an organization or cultural unit. It may refer to one’s own ethnicity, age, social class, regional origins, occupation, weight, height, skin tone, personal skills, etc.
I believe that there are many advantages to embracing the diversity America has within its borders. Members of different cultures within the borders of one nation can benefit from each other, for example, by learning more about themselves through their varieg...
This essay will discuss the intrinsic relationship between diversity conceptualization and social integration presenting a response against David Brooks’ essay entitled “People Like Us.” In order to do this I will discuss four crucial elements: the influences of different definitions of diversity in cultural unification, Brook’s ideas about social groups working together and social groups coexisting together, the importance of diversity, and the influence of diversity in social changes. I will examine why some people have the perception that our American society ignore or see as unworthy diversity. Thus, I will dispute Brook’s view stating that our society disregards diversity, and Americans just pretend that it is important to them.
One of the best definitions for diversity I have come across says, “Diversity is the mosaic of people who bring a variety of backgrounds, styles, perspectives, values, and beliefs as assets to the groups and organizations with which they interact ” (Rasmussen, 1996, p. 274). This definition has three noteworthy points. First, it describes diversity as a mosaic, which is different form the traditional label of a melting pot. A mosaic enables people to retain their individuality while contributing collectively to the bigger picture. Second, this definition of diversity applies to and includes everyone; it does not rule out anyone. According to this definition, we are all diverse. Finally, this definition describes diversity as an asset, as something desirable and beneficial! When viewed from this perspective valuing diversity is openness, fun, and can even be a cause for celebrating in discovering how we can join together to create more as a united team than any one of us can on our own. It is vital to business survival that the workplaces strive to attain this ideal collaboration.
Ethnocentrism can be defined as an individual’s belief that the ethnic group or cultural they identify with is superior to all others. “The ethnocentric person judges other groups and other cultures by the standards of his or her own group” (Schaefer 34).
Also a lot of researchers invested heavily to comprehensively investigating this perception while; at the same time chasing a hints in an attempt to elucidate how this concept affected average citizen. Accordingly, a lot of researchers eventually studies have been proven that the labeling theory were actually doing more harm than good than good in
Ethnocentrism is when one culture judge’s another culture by the standard of their own (Health, 2001). Stereotypes, biases, and prejudices against other people are all in a sense a form of ethnocentrism (Astle, Barton, Johnson, & Mill, 2014). It is okay to be proud of your own culture, but you need to remember to do so in such a way, that you are not putting down any other culture (Arnold, 2016).
We get our culture from enculturation. It is passed from one generation of people to the next through communication. Culture can define as actual society with particular practices, such as American, Asian,or African culture. According to Herskovits Melville, J who is known for exploring the cultural continuity states, “There is nothing wrong with such feelings, for "it characterizes the way most individuals feel about their own cultures, whether or not they verbalize their feeling" (Herskovits, p. 21). It is ethnocentrism that gives people their sense of peoplehood, group identity, and place in history-all of which are valuable traits to possess. According to Sumner, Graham, American social scientist, said about Ethnocentrism becomes negative when "one's own group becomes the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it" (Sumner 1979, p. 13) We create bias toward our culture and form an idea that one's own culture is the main standard to evaluate another group leading to view. They make their culture the measuring stick. This means that people believe and feel in the superiority of one's own ethnic culture over other culture. This behavior is known as Ethnocentrism. This concept was created amongst different nations earlier than cultural relativism, which has to be devised to counter ethnocentrism. In
Traditionally, diversity refers to an assortment of races, ethnicities, genders, ages, disabilities and perhaps sexual orientations. A definition of diversity, however, should not be constrained by traditional categories such as these. Such a definition should also include categories such as religion, educational level, life experience, geographic location, socio-economic background, marital status and work experience. Indeed, each person employed by a company possesses unique qualities that encompass many factors.
Ethnocentrism, as stated above, means the belief that one’s own culture is above and beyond all other cultures. Although this is somewhat of a shallow definition, it still provides an adequate explanation of a very complex issue. We see ethnocentrism every single day, in all aspects of life. The United States of America is a prime example of ethnocentrism is action. The people of this country have a tendency to disregard other cultures, instead believing that American culture is the only way to go. This is not to say that this is how everyone thinks, although most people, at one time or another, have had thoughts along these lines.
... its proper expressions, structure and grammar. Moreover, each language is linked to a specific dialect which is associated with educational, economic, social and historical conditions. Moreover, cultural variations also exist in the rules for general discourse in oral communication. Similar to verbal communication, there are also variations in non-verbal communication between cultures. Gestures, facial expressions, sense of time and personal distance take different forms in different cultures. Furthermore, there is an infinite number of cultural diversities which are at the root of intercultural miscommunication. Variations in values , social relationships, religion, economy and politics consist of only a few of these diversities. These differences can be the source of ethnocentrism, if one becomes over patriotic in regards to one’s own culture. Ethnocentrism, is the concept which states that we tend to judge other cultures through our own. Ethnocentric behavior, can cause racism and chauvinism, as in the case of the Second World War. However, intercultural problems can be avoided if we all develop mindfulness, a sense of flexibility and seek information about the other culture.