Thinking About Diversity and Inclusion Paper
Thinking About Diversity and Inclusion Paper
Marquillia Wiggins
SOC/315
February 25, 2013
Dr. Dixon
Thinking About Diversity and Inclusion Paper
Cultural diversity, or multiculturalism, is based on the idea that cultural identities should not be discarded or ignored, but rather maintained and valued. The foundation of this belief is that every culture and race has made a substantial contribution to American history. However, many people remain opposed to the idea of multiculturalism, or cultural diversity awareness, while others often support it and yet have no clear idea of how it should be taught. The diversity of the United States is truly astounding, as many different ethnic and racial groups have contributed to the social, economic and cultural values of our society. This has certainly been true throughout our history, even though many of our school books have not always taught that fact. In fact, the very idea that cultural diversity should be taught has only been promoted in the last few years. The bottom line is that when we fully recognize that America is great because of the contributions of the many, we as a people will be even more united in our common goals, and even more proud to be American citizens.
When it comes to the dimension of cultural diversity, it can be identified with four main types of minority groups which help describe many of the dimensions of cultural diversity. The first group, racial, is based on physical differences that are obvious to the observer such as skin color, hair color or facial features. Ethnic groups are those based on a person’s origin or cultural patterns. The third group, religious, differentiates individuals based on their association with a certain religion and the fourth group is based on a person’s gender. Other dimensions of diversity include a person’s age, sexual orientation, health status and gender.
Although there are all types of ethnics groups, the ethnic group that I identify with most is
Marquillia Wiggins
SOC/315
February 25, 2013
Dr. Dixon
Thinking About Diversity and Inclusion Paper
Cultural diversity, or multiculturalism, is based on the idea that cultural identities should not be discarded or ignored, but rather maintained and valued. The foundation of this belief is that every culture and race has made a substantial contribution to American history. However, many people remain opposed to the idea of multiculturalism, or cultural diversity awareness, while others often support it and yet have no clear idea of how it should be taught. The diversity of the United States is truly astounding, as many different ethnic and racial groups have contributed to the social, economic and cultural values of our society. This has certainly been true throughout our history, even though many of our school books have not always taught that fact. In fact, the very idea that cultural diversity should be taught has only been promoted in the last few years. The bottom line is that when we fully recognize that America is great because of the contributions of the many, we as a people will be even more united in our common goals, and even more proud to be American citizens.
When it comes to the dimension of cultural diversity, it can be identified with four main types of minority groups which help describe many of the dimensions of cultural diversity. The first group, racial, is based on physical differences that are obvious to the observer such as skin color, hair color or facial features. Ethnic groups are those based on a person’s origin or cultural patterns. The third group, religious, differentiates individuals based on their association with a certain religion and the fourth group is based on a person’s gender. Other dimensions of diversity include a person’s age, sexual orientation, health status and gender.
Although there are all types of ethnics groups, the ethnic group that I identify with most is
References: http://www.online-distance-learning-education.com/age-discrimination.html http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuomca/diversityinit/definition.html http://www.google.com/#q=diversity&hl=en&source=univ&tbm=nws&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=VbArUfnOCsvriwLb04HACQ&sqi=2&ved=0CHkQqAI&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=bfb951b5414e0383&biw=1680&bih=848