CAPE Caribbean

Studies
Cultural Diversity

Cultural Diversity
Culture is diverse, meaning, people interpret their culture
however they want and act from their social location i.e. their
context.
Therefore even if the society seems racially or ethnically
homogenous the culture isnt necessarily uniform, i.e. we dont
experience culture the same way
People will differ because of ethnic categories such as religion,
traditions and customs and even if these are all the same we
dont all experience them the same way.
We all have different beliefs and value systems which
influence our perceptions and not only that each of us has a
unique way of expressing them

Cultural Diversity
We
I am
are
a
Barbadian

We
I am
are
a
Barbadian

Cultural Diversity

Cultural Diversity
Phagwa in Barbados Hindu Festival of
Colour

Cultural Diversity
Culture therefore is a diverse phenomenon
despite our habit of limiting it in a static way.
When we speak of diversity in the Caribbean
region we mean we acknowledge that there
are similarities and commonalities amongst
Caribbean cultures a common point from
which they diverge
The Caribbean oikumene as expressed by
Sidney Mintz and refuted by R. Premdas

Todays Tutorial Topics

1. Cultural Diversity - define
2. What is ethnicity?
3. High, Popular, Sub-, and Traditional cultures
4. Positive and Negative Effects of Cultural
Diversity Trinidad as a case study
5. Accommodation made among different
ethnic groups with respect to space, political
and economic power and social visibility.

Cultural Diversity
A Definition
In simple terms,
cultural diversity
refers to all the
varied symbolic
interpretations, both
material and nonmaterial, expressed
by groups within a
shared geo-economic
political space.

Ethnicity
When you identify with a specific set of
values, beliefs and symbolic interpretations
this becomes your ETHNICITY.
For sociologists, this is separate and distinct
from RACE (which refers to biological traits).
This can be reflected (expressed) in language,
religion, as well as material culture and
products.

Ethnicity
Do I have a specific
way I speak
(language)?
Do I have a distinct
set of beliefs
(religion)?
Can you identify me
by my deportment,
food I eat, music I
listen to?
Then that is my

Ethnicity
Ethnicity is at once a major source of social
cohesion and social conflict.
It creates the US THEM syndrome
Mi can deal wid
dis Babylon
system

Positive and Negative

effects of Cultural Diversity
Positive Impacts of diversity
diversity
add richness to region's society
mindedness

Negative effects of
creates insularity/narrow

exposure to multiculturalism

ethnocentrism arises

recognition and appreciation of other impedes communication

different people's lifestyles languages and dialects
basis for growth into tourism product

animosity .

creates strong patriotism

learn to do things differently dominant culture displaces
cultural traits
gives awareness of cultural heritage

of smaller nations

US - THEM
Places where different groups were brought
as labour e.g. Guyana. Pluralism existed as a
result.
Hybridization of races for example between
the Europeans and the First Peoples
Maroonage running away in attempt to build
a different society and culture

The us and them

syndrome
This refers to the group of social
constructions which we as Caribbean people
have inherited to keep people of different
ethnic groups apart.
This is a main feature of Caribbean society &
culture and has developed not because the
Caribbean is diverse but because we have
been socialized to behave in this us vs.
them way.

The us and them

syndrome
In the Caribbean, societies that seem similar
such as Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and
Tobago are polarized as a result of relations
between those of Indian and African descent
and there have been incidents of violence in
the past. T&T teeters on the brink of this from
time to time.

Cultural Pluralism
This is the term associated with the cultural
diversity as a result of European colonization, when
different groups were brought here either forcibly
or under contract.
In a plural society there are two or more ethnic
groups who share the same space but do not mix
to a significant extent. e.g. Mingling at school or
workplace but rarely socialize, if at all.
a condition in which minority groups participate
fully in the dominant society, yet maintain their
distinct cultural differences.

HomeWork
READ THE FOLLOWING:
1. Politics of Identity in Small Plural
Societies: Guyana, the Fiji Islands and
Trinidad and Tobago
By Stacey-Ann Wilson (p. 142) Google
books
2. And the emailed handout Pluralism in
Trinidad and Tobago