In BEHS 220 (Diversity Awareness), you may have learned about the many ways of “being human.” The United States is a culturally diverse country, and while we continue today to grapple with tensions related to race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, religion, and age, the very fact that we can have public debates about matters related to diversity is some measure of social progress. Across the globe, there are many instances where groups of people continue to be oppressed along dimensions of diversity.
For this discussion, you will review some terminology related to diversity and cross-cultural relations, and then you will demonstrate your understanding of these terms as they relate to a practice that most in the United States would agree is unpalatable.
Review this week’s Learning Resources.
Here are some terms that are often included in discussions about diversity:
• Cultural pluralism is the recognition that society consists of many diverse groups that have unique cultural identities and practices that continue to exist within a larger, more dominant society.
• Multicultural societies consist of many diverse groups, none of which are socially dominant.
• Cultural relativism is the idea that an individual’s behavior and beliefs can only be understood in terms of that individual’s culture.
For this discussion, respond to the following questions:
• What is the cultural basis for female genital mutilation (FGM)?
• What would a “cultural relativist” say regarding the acceptability of FGM?
• How can we reconcile cultural relativism with the need for human rights?
• What role does globalization play in changing cultural practices?
When writing your posts, it is very important that you focus not just on summary but also on analysis. These posts are how I determine your mastery of the material and your critical thinking. Remember:
• Make sure you start your initial post as a New Thread in the LEO Discussion board, or I might not find it when I grade.
• Your first paragraph needs to be an introduction to your post.
• Your final paragraph should be a conclusion which pulls your ideas together.
• Your middle paragraphs should discuss your arguments.
• All posts need to be written in APA style and cite resources. You are encouraged to draw on resources from your courses across your entire major. There is not a lot of new information learned in this course, as I want to see you bringing together all of what you have learned at this college.
• Please check your post against the Guide for Good Writing before you submit it, as points will be deducted if you make those common writing errors. (This document is located in the Writing Resources module.)