Based on the unit 1 readings and your own research what is multiculturalism and what does it mean to have a multicultural perspective? You must support your response with

One’s culture becomes one’s paradigm, defining what is real and right. Diverse cultures, in turn, generate different paradigms of reality, and each is protected and defended as if a threat to it were a threat to a member’s very existence. From this perspective, it is easy to understand why the imposition of a Northern European cultural paradigm onto the lives of people of color—who possess and live by very different cultural paradigms—is experienced so negatively.

5-1aCulture vs. Race in the Definition of Group Differences

· Defining race biologically and genetically opens the door for pseudoscientific arguments about intellectual and other types of inferiority among people of color.

· The social reality of race in the United States does not conform to the existence of five distinct groups. Rather, only two bear any real social meaning: “white” and “of color.” The notion of the great melting pot, for instance, was actually only about melting white ethnics. The myth was never intended to apply to people of color. For white ethnics, upper mobility involved discovering and asserting their group’s whiteness as a means of setting themselves apart from and above the groups of color who perpetually resided at the bottom of the social hierarchy of the United States. When they first arrived, various white ethnic groups were met with prejudice and scorned and were merely tolerated because they represented a source of much-needed cheap labor. In time, however, as they acculturated into the system, they discovered that they could progress most quickly by identifying themselves as white and by taking on the prejudices against people of color that were an intrinsic part of white culture.

For all these reasons, it has become increasingly compelling to set aside the term race as a distinguishing feature among groups and to turn to cultural differences as a more useful and less controversial yardstick.

5-2The Dimensions of Culture

5-2

5-2bNature and the Environment

Ho et al. classify the four cultures of color—Asian Americans, Native Americans, African Americans, and Latin Americans—as living in “harmony with” nature and the environment, whereas European Americans prefer “mastery over” them. For the former, the relationship is one of respecting and coexisting with nature. Human beings are seen as part of a natural order and, as such, must live respectfully and non-intrusively with other aspects of nature. To destroy a fellow creature is to destroy a part of oneself. On the other hand, European American culture views human beings as superior to the physical environment and entitled to manipulate it for their own benefit. The world is a resource to be used and plundered. In contrast, cultures of color see the component parts of nature as alive and invested with spirit—which must be related to respectfully and responsibly. Great value is placed on being ever-attentive to what nature has to offer and teach. Out of such a perspective come notions such as the Native American idea of Turtle Island, a myth that views the nonhuman inhabitants of the continent as an interconnected system of animal spirits and archetypal characters. A “mastery” mentality results in environmental practices such as runaway logging, strip mining, and oil drilling, as well as the impetus for institutions such as human slavery, which exploits “inferior” human beings for material gain.

5-2cTime Orientation

There is great diversity among the five cultural groups with regard to how they perceive and experience time. European Americans are dominated by an orientation toward the future. Planning, producing, and controlling what will happen are all artifacts of a future-time orientation. What was and what is are always a bit vague and subordinated to what is anticipated. At the same time, European Americans view time as compartmentalized and incremental, and as such, being on time and being efficient with one’s time are positive values.

5-2dPeople Relations

Ho et al. (2003) distinguish European Americans as having an “individual” social focus compared to a “collateral” one for the four cultures of color. Individual behavior refers to actions undertaken to actualize the self; collateral behavior involves doing things not for oneself, but in light of what they may contribute to the survival and betterment of family and community. These differences, in turn, become a basis for attributing value to different and opposing styles of interaction. For example, European Americans are taught and encouraged to compete, to seek individual success, and to feel pride in and make public their accomplishments. Native Americans and Latino/a Americans, in particular, place a high value on cooperation and strive to suppress individual accomplishment, boasting, and self-aggrandizement. Having pointed out this shared collateral focus, it is equally important to understand that the four communities of color differ significantly in their communication styles and the meaning of related symbols. Native Americans place high value on brevity in speech, while for African Americans, the ability to “rap” is treated as an art form. It is considered impolite in certain Asian American subgroups to say “no” or refuse to comply with a request from a superior. Among Latino/a Americans, deferential behavior and the communication of proper respect depend on perceived authority, age, gender, and class. And the same handshake can be given in one culture to communicate respect and deference and in another to show authority and power.

5-2eWork and Activity

One last point: activity and work, whether of the doing or becoming variety, must occur in the context of other cultural values. For example, in many cultures, work does not begin until there has been sufficient time to greet and properly inquire about the welfare of one’s family. To do otherwise is considered rude and insensitive. In white European American business culture, such activity would be seen as lazy, wasteful, and maybe even the shirking of one’s responsibilities.

5-2fHuman Nature

This dimension of culture deals with how groups view the essence of being human. Are people inherently good, bad, both, or somewhere in between? According to Ho et al. (2003), African Americans and European Americans see human nature as both good and bad and as possessing the potential for both. But, for each, the meanings of good and bad are quite different. In African American culture, where all behavior involves a collateral focus—or what Nobles (1972) calls “experiential communality”—good and bad are defined in relation to the community. It is good if it benefits the community and bad if it does not. Thus, human nature is seen as existing in the interaction between the person and the group.

European American culture, on the other hand, sees good and bad as residing in the individual. Freud’s view of human nature is an excellent example. The instinctive urges of the id are seen as a negative force that must be controlled. The ego and the superego are assigned this task and, as such, play a positive role in containing baser drives. In addition, Freud hypothesized a life instinct that is balanced by a death instinct. Thus, the two sides of human nature—the good and bad—are seen in constant opposition and conflict.

Case Study 1

A Case of Cross-Cultural Miscommunication

Sue and Sue (1990) offer the following example of cross-cultural miscommunication:

Several years ago, a female school counselor sought the senior author’s advice about a Hispanic family she had recently seen. She seemed quite concerned about the identified client, Elena Martinez, a 13-year-old student who was referred for alleged peddling of drugs on the school premises. The counselor had thought that the parents “did not care for their daughter,” “were uncooperative,” and “were attempting to avoid responsibility for dealing with Elena’s delinquency.” When pressed for how she arrived at these impressions, the counselor provided the following information.

Elena Martinez is the second-oldest of four other siblings, ages 15, 12, 10, and 7. The father is an immigrant from Mexico and the mother a natural citizen. The family resides in a blue-collar neighborhood in San Jose, California. Elena had been reported as having minor problems in school prior to the “drug-selling incident.” For example, she had “talked back to teachers,” refused to do homework assignments, and had “fought” with other students. Her involvement with a group of Hispanic students (suspected of being responsible for disruptive schoolyard pranks) had gotten her into trouble.

Elena was well known to the counseling staff at the school. Her teacher last year reported that she was unable to “get through” to Elena. Because of the seriousness of the drug accusation, the counselor felt that something had to be done, and that the parents needed to be informed immediately.

The counselor reported calling the parents in order to set up an interview with them. When Mrs. Martinez answered the telephone, the counselor had explained how Elena had been caught on school grounds selling marijuana by a police officer. Rather than arrest her, the officer turned the student over to the vice principal, who luckily was present at the time of the incident. After the explanation, the counselor had asked that the parents make arrangements for an appointment as soon as possible. The meeting would be aimed at informing the parents about Elena’s difficulties in school and coming to some decision about what could be done.