MULTICULTURALISM

Today's class was about a very interesting topic: Multiculturalism, which is the existence of diverse cultures in a society, we have to take into account that these groups can be or not accepted by the society laws. Often we can see groups that are recognizable, because the members share unique attributes (culture). In few words, they have their own identity, and they are recognized for these characteristics, but they are no always well seen, therefore the struggle for them to become normative (supported by the law). 

History is filled with events that have marked this process. Women, for example, were mistreated the whole time, but they were recognized when they were given the right to vote. We can say that before this happened, they were just a group that had their own identity and culture. Same thing happened with the African American communities in the United States, they were oppressed due to the fact that in the past they used to be treated in the worst way possible and this idea did not change overnight. Years of fighting and raising their voice was what it took to finally be able to be part of a society as everyone is supposed to be. 

To reach this conclusion, many themes were considered. A clear example is the Hegel and the masters and slaves dialect. It explains that we have to see people as individual and look at what defines their existence as a human being in order to be able to recognize one self and the nation. The next one is Rousseau's Model of dignity where we are not only recognized and love ourselves, this way we can create unity and equality. Additionally, the Meech lake accord would have allowed Canada its linguistic duality and to be considered a distinct society, but it also raised concerns on feminist and indigenous groups in the lack of citizen involvement in the accord. In the end, they fix the problem by providing protections for multicultural rights. Which takes us to the recognition of the country, with the 14 amendment the United States recognizes each individual by granting them citizenship and guaranteeing equal protection. On the other hand, the Dworkin liberalism allows people to choose how they want to live and respect others decision to fulfill the idea of a good life, making an environment of equality. To sum it all up, Charles Taylor in his study explains the Politics of recognition, all the information we just talked about gets to the conclusion that these groups are worth of dignity and self recognition. Equality and the law recognition is a valuable point to live in a multicultural society, we have to support every group or minority understanding who they are to avoid nonrecognition that causes more harm than good. 

GLOSSARY: 

Multiculturalism: It refers to the existence of many cultural and ethnic groups in a society and, at the same time, at the policy that promotes this type of society around the world. 

Descriptive Multiculturalism: It explains the cultural phenomena  that exist in every society. We can recognize that some groups have developed their own identity and are coexisting among us. 

Normative Multiculturalism: It refers to the recognition of these groups that are considered multicultural because their practices differ from others. It is considered as a celebration due to the fact that they now have rights and are respected by some policies and laws.  

Identity: it can be defined as the unique characteristics that one person has, it can be linked to the culture they belong to or a social group that they are part of. It is what takes a person apart from the group because it also holds personal features. 

Culture: It is a term that in a few words can be described as the lifestyle, behavior values that a community share and consider their own identity. These costumes and traditions are passed along by communication from one generation to the following one.

Finally, add a picture that explains roughly each one of the following topics:

1. Dialectic of Master and Slave of Hegel:

2. The Model of Dignity Citizenship of Rousseau:

3. The Meech Lake Accord:

4. 14th amendment of the American bill of rights:

5. Dworkin liberalism:

6. Politics of Recognition of Charles Taylor:

REFERENCES:

Ward, C., Watters, S. M., Stuart, J., & Karl, J. A. (2020). Normative multiculturalism in Socio-political context. https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/iaccp_papers/281/

Kazanjian, C. J. (2019). Toward developing a descriptive multicultural phenomenology. Pedagogy Culture and Society, 27(2), 287–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2018.1469544

Eagan, J. L. (2021). multiculturalism. In Encyclopedia Britannica.

Identity: Definition, types, & examples. (n.d.). The Berkeley Well-Being Institute. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/identity.html

Culture definition. (n.d.). Tamu.edu. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from http://people.tamu.edu/~i-choudhury//culture.html

FIRST CLASS REVIEW

 1. Write a review in which you indicate the main points or concerns about the subject introduction. Include as well a full report on the topics that were addressed on the videoconference with the special guest.

The subject is called Cultural Diversity Management. We are going to review many subjects that we saw in the past semester, “postcolonialism”.  We read the program, and we noticed that this time we are looking for information that has to do with the direct consequences of colonialism; such as multiculturalism, cultural diversity and reconciliation.

This means that from a critic point of view, we will be able to analyze information about the sociocultural context of many Anglo-Saxon countries. The social movements that have developed throughout the years and had caused a change in the way that society thinks.

To understand a little more, it is important to study three concepts that are the main ideas of this topic. 

Multiculturalism: the way in which a society deals with cultural diversity, both at the national and at the community level. It assumes that society as a whole benefits from increased diversity through the harmonious coexistence of different cultures.

With this concept, it will be easier to understand the reality of many countries that have managed to preserve their culture in a place where we can find many of them coexisting. 

Cultural diversity: the cultural variety and cultural differences that exist in the world, a society, or an institution. 

The acknowledgement of a cultural diversity to respect the differences that may present and be able to live in an environment full of mutual appreciation.

Reconciliation: the act of causing two people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement. 

Many countries have a shaky past due to colonialism, war or other conflicts, but we have to reach a reconciliation in order to move forward towards a society that seeks the development and preservation of each other. This subject is going to introduce many of the examples that already exist between countries that are not in the best terms but have managed to support each other in this process. 

We made a video conference with Juan Moreno who is part of a very interesting program. His program seeks for the preservation of indigenous cultures who have been left aside by many government programs in previous years, but now there are six programs which are bringing fabulous results.  It was about the cultural diversity that exists in our country and how it has to be promoted. From the beginning I realized that this topic was very significant and related to the subject. 

Even though this subject is focused on other cultures, we have to be aware that our own country struggles with the recognition of many of them that are disappearing little by little. It is also a fact that when we lose another language, we lose part of our history. Just in Oaxaca, there are 16 indigenous languages and his program is covering many aspects that these communities struggle with, such as: the essence and history of the communities which by a program called “Living languages” are trying to tell stories in their own language and with this tell us a little about their history and the things they believe in. 

Another program which I consider to be very important and relevant is the “talent seeds”, this program helps to overcome the school dropout problem due to the lack of opportunities that these communities have.  

Last but not least, there is a program that they had to add during the pandemic that helps single mothers to be able to take care of themselves and their children. Most of the time in our country, women have to fight harder to get a job due to discrimination, specially if they have children. 

Another topic that we approached in this conference was discrimination, in spite of being in a society that is more inclusive as time goes by, we haven't made a difference for indigenous communities. They still deal with rejection because of their language and their clothing, leaving them with close to none opportunities to develop and be part of the society in general. 

All in all, we ended the call with a very influential topic which is how can we preserve a culture while we are facing constant changes that lead us towards a globalize culture. It is a challenge that this type of programs have to deal with, but it doesn't stop them to try to save as many of a culture as they can. It is unfair that history is being lost due to ignorance towards indigenous groups because they hold a precious part of our history in general.

References:

Longley, Robert. (2021, December 6). What Is Multiculturalism? Definition, Theories, and Examples. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-multiculturalism-4689285

Cultural diversity. (n.d.). Www.dictionary.com. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cultural-diversity

Reconciliation definition & meaning | Britannica dictionary. (n.d.). In Encyclopedia Britannica.