Cbean Studies Cultural Diversity 2
Cbean Studies Cultural Diversity 2
Cbean Studies Cultural Diversity 2
Studies
Cultural Diversity
Cultural Diversity
Culture is diverse, meaning, people interpret their culture
however they want and act from their social location i.e. their
context.
Therefore even if the society seems racially or ethnically
homogenous the culture isnt necessarily uniform, i.e. we dont
experience culture the same way
People will differ because of ethnic categories such as religion,
traditions and customs and even if these are all the same we
dont all experience them the same way.
We all have different beliefs and value systems which
influence our perceptions and not only that each of us has a
unique way of expressing them
Cultural Diversity
We
I am
are
a
Barbadian
We
I am
are
a
Barbadian
Cultural Diversity
Cultural Diversity
Phagwa in Barbados Hindu Festival of
Colour
Cultural Diversity
Culture therefore is a diverse phenomenon
despite our habit of limiting it in a static way.
When we speak of diversity in the Caribbean
region we mean we acknowledge that there
are similarities and commonalities amongst
Caribbean cultures a common point from
which they diverge
The Caribbean oikumene as expressed by
Sidney Mintz and refuted by R. Premdas
Cultural Diversity
A Definition
In simple terms,
cultural diversity
refers to all the
varied symbolic
interpretations, both
material and nonmaterial, expressed
by groups within a
shared geo-economic
political space.
Ethnicity
When you identify with a specific set of
values, beliefs and symbolic interpretations
this becomes your ETHNICITY.
For sociologists, this is separate and distinct
from RACE (which refers to biological traits).
This can be reflected (expressed) in language,
religion, as well as material culture and
products.
Ethnicity
Do I have a specific
way I speak
(language)?
Do I have a distinct
set of beliefs
(religion)?
Can you identify me
by my deportment,
food I eat, music I
listen to?
Then that is my
Ethnicity
Ethnicity is at once a major source of social
cohesion and social conflict.
It creates the US THEM syndrome
Mi can deal wid
dis Babylon
system
Negative effects of
creates insularity/narrow
exposure to multiculturalism
ethnocentrism arises
animosity .
of smaller nations
US - THEM
Places where different groups were brought
as labour e.g. Guyana. Pluralism existed as a
result.
Hybridization of races for example between
the Europeans and the First Peoples
Maroonage running away in attempt to build
a different society and culture
Cultural Pluralism
This is the term associated with the cultural
diversity as a result of European colonization, when
different groups were brought here either forcibly
or under contract.
In a plural society there are two or more ethnic
groups who share the same space but do not mix
to a significant extent. e.g. Mingling at school or
workplace but rarely socialize, if at all.
a condition in which minority groups participate
fully in the dominant society, yet maintain their
distinct cultural differences.
HomeWork
READ THE FOLLOWING:
1. Politics of Identity in Small Plural
Societies: Guyana, the Fiji Islands and
Trinidad and Tobago
By Stacey-Ann Wilson (p. 142) Google
books
2. And the emailed handout Pluralism in
Trinidad and Tobago