The first person I asked told me that he defines culture as the habits of people around you and that diversity is the differences that exist between people. The second definition I got was that culture is the rituals, belief systems, and philosophies that are common to a particular group of people and diversity is the elements that differ within a group. The last definition I received was that culture is the unique identity traits, traditions, and beliefs of religions, races and civilizations and that diversity is differences in those three things within one larger group of people.
I felt it was very interesting that although each of these people come from different cultures, they all had similar answers. The definitions that were given closely align to what we have studied about culture. The amazing thing about defining culture is that it is difficult to have a wrong answer because culture embodies so many different things. I was surprised that no one mentioned the typical "surface culture" traits that a lot of people first think of when they think of the word culture. That shows that they understand that culture is deeper than things like clothing, food, and music. I have been influenced by these definitions and continue to have a deeper understanding of the fact that everyone's culture is special and meaningful in their own way. Culture allows us to learn about other people and can connect us to people who are different than us.
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