Cultural Diversity in America

1047 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Technology's effect on culture

Cultural diversity is an American ideal yet our cultural experience is similar to many around the world. An analysis of two vastly different scientists’ views on the nature of cultural change and diversity sheds light on why deep-rooted cultural intricacies from generations ago are fading into oblivion. Thomas Sowell and Wade Davis clearly have differing opinions on the evolution of cultures and the significance of diversity. Wade Davis (2007) presents in “Dreams from Endangered Cultures,” that he is not concerned about the fact cultures evolve over time in a “dance with new possibilities of life,” but that power and corruption is destroying the unique expression of the human spirit in various indigenous peoples of the world. On the contrary, Sowell (1990) believes cultural changes results from a Darwinian law of survival of the fittest. He contends cultural diversity and change occur as a dynamic process that evolves from things that work over time, and if these changes don’t work, they disappear much like Roman Numerals (Sowell, 1990). Both scientists have valid points but their diverse perspectives on cultural change and diversity and its implication on society as a whole are particularly interesting.
Sowell, a pragmatist, is concerned with empirical data, while Davis, a humanist, looks at effects on a broader scale based on anthropological experiences in remote locales. Davis appreciates subtle differences that made the changes in culture so important to a society. He believes technology is not the real evil, but that power and corruption take hold. Sowell uses the economist perspective in that ideas or practices that improve our lives remain while ineffective ones vanish. Sowell (1990) contends not accepting chang...

... middle of paper ...

...an enhance our way of life, but it is imperious of one culture to assume all must adopt its practices.

Works Cited

Davis, Wade. Wade Davis on Endangered Cultures. TED Talks. 2007. Accessed on 3 March 2014. Internet.
Doods, James. Batak: Ancient Spirits, Modern Worlds. 2003. Films for the Humanities and Sciences . Accessed on 13 March 2014. Video.
Sharp, Lauriston. Steel Axes for Stone-Age Australians. Classic Edition Sources, Edited by Elvio Angeloni, 2008. pp.186-193. McGraw Hill, Dubuque, IA. Print.
Sowell, Thomas. Cultural Diversity: A World View. Francis Boyer Lecture AEI Annual Dinner. 5 December 1990. Accessed 31 March 2014. Internet.

Show More
Related

  • Diversity In Glory Road

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aspects of diversity are in concordance with age, cognitive means, cultural factors, disability and other significant determinants. In partners develop at least two definitions of diversity as it is any mixture of items characterized by differences and similarities. Another one is its reference to differences between individuals or any attributes that may lead to the perceptions that another person is different from self. Diversity is truly confounding, as numerous different ethnic and cultural organizations have afforded to the social, monetary aspects and cultural standards of our society. It’s just a matter of considering the brighter side of this matter. It is due to these contributions of the diverse society, people will be even more connected in our general objectives, and united

    Read More

  • Charles Marius Barbeau’s Ethnography and the Canadian Folklore

    3955 Words  | 8 Pages

    “A Personal Foreword: The Value of Native Ecologies” in Peter KNUDTSON and David SUZUKI. Wisdom Of The Elders. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 2001 [1992]: XXI–XXXV

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Nice Girls Don T Talk To Rastas

    2002 Words  | 5 Pages

    Kottak, Conrad Phillip and Kayhryn Kozaitis 2012 On Being Different, Diversity and Multiculturalism in the North American Mainstream, 4th edition, McGraw Hill Press, New York: Chapter 1.

    Read More

  • Cultural Diversity In 'The Circuit'

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cultural diversity is an important element. Often times we acknowledge cultural diversity but we don’t quite understand it simply because we do not live it. With this novel, readers can understand cultural

    Read More

  • Desegregating The Obsolete Busing System at Rio Bueno High School

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ugbu, J., U. (1992). Understanding cultural diversity and learning. EDUC 160 Urban Education (Spring 2014, pp. 213-228)

    Read More

  • Bloodchild: Oppression in Science Fiction

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rundblad, Georganne and Peter Kivisto. Multiculturalism in the United States. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 2000.

    Read More

  • People Like Us

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    This essay will discuss the intrinsic relationship between diversity conceptualization and social integration presenting a response against David Brooks’ essay entitled “People Like Us.” In order to do this I will discuss four crucial elements: the influences of different definitions of diversity in cultural unification, Brook’s ideas about social groups working together and social groups coexisting together, the importance of diversity, and the influence of diversity in social changes. I will examine why some people have the perception that our American society ignore or see as unworthy diversity. Thus, I will dispute Brook’s view stating that our society disregards diversity, and Americans just pretend that it is important to them.

    Read More

  • Diversity In Canada Essay

    2281 Words  | 5 Pages

    However too much diversity in a country might affect the original cultures of a country for example in Canada, the immigrants coming from different countries have different culture. For example Muslims usually wear “Shalwar Kameez” but when they come in Canada they prefer to wear “pant shirt” because sometimes it’s a requirement of the work place and it would look odd if they wear their traditional dresses in Canada. So in this way it’s affecting the original culture. Moreover there is a possibility that Canadians might think that cultural diversity is affecting their culture too and they are losing their values which might create a bad impact on the society for example, people might see their children following the practices of other culture leaving their practices behind. Therefore parents possibly force their children to practice their own culture and might stop them from spending time with the people who belongs to different culture since they do not want their

    Read More

  • Solomon Asch Conformity Experiments (1951)

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    Anderson, M, L, Taylor, H, F. (2008). Sociology. Understanding a Diversity Society. Thomson Higher Education. Belmont. (USA). Fourth Edition.

    Read More

  • A World Not Neatly Divided

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    How “diverse” is the world? The world today is a very diverse place, where many cultures coexist. There are many different religions, cultures, languages, and even customs of each region in the world. Today, these different cultures are integrating in the modern world, but it causes problems. One major example is that geographers, anthropologists, and historians to classify a region of the world based on a single cultural factor, such as religion. This classification system has been marked by debate and critique, as the system does not incorporate other cultural factors. Writers Ishmael Reed, in “America: The Multinational Society” Amartya Sen, in “A World Not Neatly Divided” and Hyuk-Rae Kim and Ingyu Oh, in “Migration and Multicultural Contention

    Read More

  • Cultural Diversity in New York City

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Our cultural diversity has most certainly shaped our national character,” affirmed Julie Bishop. From my perception, New York City is one of the most densely inhabited metropolitan collection of cultural diversity in the world in which structures our temperament. New York City applies an imperative influence upon trade, economics, mass communication, skill, style, and education. Frequently it is known that New York City is a crucial core for global politics and has been depicted as the ethnic headquarters of the globe. New York City has been known as a melting pot of culture and as this prolong throughout towards the current day, the city has become ornate with distinct cultures. Just walking around the streets of the city can be like walking around the halls of a cultural museum. From borough to borough, you can straightforwardly experience several features of different cultures by going to the different ethnic neighborhoods that exist throughout the city. For instance, if you wanted to take a trip to China that you've always dreamed of but couldn’t afford it, when living in New York City you can hop on a subway to Canal Street and be in Chinatown for just a few dollars. Certainly, it's not the same as literally being in China, however, you can experience a quantity of the culture and perchance grab some bona fide Chinese food for dinner. Several places holds their culture to denote each individual in New York City, to make an abundant of people to visit and feel each culture one setting at a time.

    Read More

  • The Code of Ethics and the Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession in Florida

    1526 Words  | 4 Pages

    Schwartz, Stuart, and Craig Conley. Human Diversity: A Guide for Understanding. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hills Primis Custom Publishing, 2000. 3-7. Print.

    Read More

  • The Cultural Diamond: Twitter as a Cultural Object

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    Griswold, W. (2013). Cultures and societies in a changing world. (4th ed.). United States of America: SAGE publications Inc.

    Read More

  • Diversity and Inclusion

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this week’s readings the subject of dimensions of cultural diversity were covered comprehensively in both books. Understanding and Managing Diversity presented a nicely laid out illustration:

    Read More

  • Culture Is Ordinary, by Raymond Williams

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.

    Read More

More about Cultural Diversity in America

Open Document