Module Four Introduction
IDS‐400‐X5852 Diversity 23EW5 MA
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Module Four
Learning ObjectivesBy the end of this module, you will meet these learning objectives:
Module OverviewThat's why people don't ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look
hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other way around—half of the hoods I know are pretty
decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what I've heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded
mean—but people usually go by looks.
― S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders
Often when one reads the word “culture,” structures and institutions come to mind. However, ccuullttuurree is also
the rituals, stories, and objects that a group of people connected by region, family, or shared intellectual
inheritance enact with each other and teach to their children. The institutions of culture are not the concern
of the humanities. Instead, humanities is the study of cultures’ creative expression and contemplates
metaphor, experience, and meaning. The humanities deals with concepts such as good and evil, morality,
feelings, and perceptions. It includes religion, mythology, literature, storytelling, art, and philosophy. It is the
study of human-meaning-making. All subjects that struggle with human meaning and human expressions of
thought, emotion, and morality are a part of the humanities. Within these subjects are speci�c academic
languages and practices. This can range from a literary or �lm analysis to postmodern theory or gender
theory analysis. These practices are meant to draw out a deeper understanding of human expression, to
clarify the depth of the work, to provide a critique of the work, or to relate it to a longer range of works.
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Analyze a topic in diversity through the humanities lens
Discuss the impact of belonging on conversations about diversity
Assess factors that could impact a topic of diversity
Explain possible obstacles that could interfere with engagement with a topic of diversity
Describe the societal impact of transformative conversations about topics in diversity
Listen
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Within anthropology, a discipline placed within humanities and social science, there is language used to
describe research perspectives taken while observing a culture either as an insider or as an outsider. These
technical terms are called emic and etic. EEmmiicc refers to looking at a subject from inside a group. EEttiicc refers
to looking at a subject from outside the group. Circles of people are connected by shared elements of culture
or subculture. This is best understood if you imagine cultures like a city and subcultures like cohesive
neighborhoods within the city. Each neighborhood participates in the city, but it is clearly its own little world
when you are there. As you approach each neighborhood, you may be an observer of the neighborhood, you
may be from there, or you may currently live there. Your relationship to a subculture makes you an insider
(emic) or an outsider (etic).
Whether you are looking from inside or outside a group affects the way you experience, study, and write
about that community. It is the difference between an undergraduate student taking an academic religious
studies class about a particular religious text, versus a divinity school or rabbinic school student studying
that same text. The perspective from inside a tradition is very different from the perspective from outside.
Both are valid, and both have elements that bring insight.
The current trend in anthropology and other humanities disciplines is to take both inside and outside
perspectives into account and attempt to address the whole subject. One of the best ways to do this is with
an awareness of diversity.
In many ways this lens is what our diversity class is all about, an understanding of cultural communities and
the endless jostling of power dynamics, fusions, co-optations, and cultural transmissions that occur amongst
people who are within any given identi�able group. The identi�cation of many groups at the external or
organizational layers of diversity are cultural constructions. The groups that are de�ned through cultural
omission of awareness, ability, or access often are outsiders, different from normative expectation within
the layers of internal diversity. Humans associated with these groups struggle because their culture has
either not accounted for their existence, has not valued their existence, or worse, has made their existence a
reason to exclude or harm them.
When looking at the diversity within cultures of the world, this notion of insider and outsider reveals beliefs,
assumptions, and values about the paradigms of cultures of power. In the past, when subcultures were
de�ned and deconstructed by the of�cial culture in any given era, speaking of a culture as an outsider was
often considered an element of presenting an authoritative voice. Currently the preference among
researchers is to acknowledge the inside voice. This means looking at the variety of languages and nuances
within subcultures, taking into account the various concerns and paradoxes that come with multi-vocal
assessments of culture.
When looking at a culture from the inside, nuances of cultural reporting need to be considered. There are
ggaatteekkeeeeppeerrss, people who hold, or believe they hold, authority over a cultural experience and do not want
new people to enter without being vetted for the values of the community. Gatekeepers exist for most new
cultures. Currently, there is also greater awareness of and investment in identifying places of unacceptable
cultural appropriation. CCuullttuurraall aapppprroopprriiaattiioonn is the use of a cultural item, concept, or creative expression
by a group or individual not from that culture, without acknowledging, respecting, or exploring the proper
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by a group or individual not from that culture, without acknowledging, respecting, or exploring the proper
use of the element being used.
Unlike in the past, current trends in research consider the insider, who holds authentic awareness, to be the
authority of a subculture topic. Consulting insiders helps scholars to better understand the correct language
and codes of conduct, as well as the issues affecting a particular community. It is also becoming more
common to design diverse research teams that include scholars from the communities being studied.
As we look at diversity through a humanities lens, it is a good idea to think about the relationship between
what a community feels like from inside and what it looks like from outside. We started this overview with a
quote from S. E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders, a book that explores the tensions across socioeconomic class
in the mid-20th century. In terms of exploring and understanding diversity, storytelling—in forms such as
short stories, novels, memoirs, comic books, movies, or TV shows—offers powerful ways to learn about and
view experiences from people who are different from ourselves. These ways of learning from another
person offer internal subjective insight that illuminates our awareness of culture and brings us opportunities
for empathy. Knowing where you stand in relationship to a population will help you understand how to
analyze an experience. In this module you will participate in a discussion in which you will look at a cultural
expression of your choosing as an insider and an outsider and discuss these concepts with your peers. You
will also review the resources to learn how understanding belonging affects awareness of cultural
expression.
References
Hinton, S. E. (1997). The outsiders. Puf�n Books.
Module at a GlanceThis is the recommended plan for completing the reading assignments and activities within the module.
Additional information can be found in the module Resources section and on the module table of contents
page.
Review all module resources.11
Participate in the Module Four discussion.22
Complete the Module Four activity.33
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