Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/a-manner-of-speaking/5009030/
To Consider Culture is an exciting, challenging, even necessary undertaking for the benefit, perhaps survival, of our humanity. As we worked together on the Beginnings Workshop for this issue, people from diverse cultures, we all learned about each other and about ourselves. We discovered (or discovered again) that discussing culture is fascinating. There are never answers, only new understandings. Each of us belongs to many cultures - family, ethnic, religious, male/female, professional, interest-related, and geographical, to name a few. And each culture to which we belong is a part of who we are - but only a part. Each of us is an individual of many unique complexities. It is critical to remember that we are individuals first. We are better understood by those who consider our cultures; but none of us can be adequately labeled by any one of those cultures.Narrowing our focus to consider primarily ethnic culture, we caught sight of the infinite variations or subcultures within each racial grouping. Complicated. Fascinating. As you read the work of each author, you will discover insights about ethnic culture and better ways of thinking about culture. You will pause ...