Write about what you learned from Blane Harding's talk and how it might or might not have changed your opinions on the topics he mentioned in his speech such as multiculturalism, diversity, and privilege.
Blog posts must be 200-400 words, proofread, and void of common grammatical errors.
Your blog posts are due before the start of class next week.
Please email albreaks@ku.edu if you have any questions!
One of the hardest things in life is realizing your own shortcomings—but harder still is fixing them. Blane Harding opened my eyes to multiculturalism and diversity, and not all that I saw was nice. Although I had always deemed myself open-minded and respectful of other races, religions, and creeds, I have nothing to back that up. Of the people I listed as most influential in my life, only one didn’t fit in with the same characteristics I have—white, middle class, Christian, college-educated. I thought back to high school, when one of my best friends didn’t fit that bill, but realized that I was desperately grabbing at straws to retain my claim to diversity. The sad truth is, I just don’t branch out; and when I do, I gravitate toward characteristics with which I’m most familiar.
ReplyDeleteAcknowledging that was hard, but what’s been even more difficult is figuring out just what to do about it. After a lot of thinking, I eventually realized that I was doing just what Harding warned against—thinking of ways to step outside of my comfort zone instead of expanding it. I was thinking too big. Instead, I’ve resolved to do a few smaller things: I plan to try a new church soon, talk to the people I’ve had in classes all year, and check out the multicultural resource center. While they may not be revolutionary, they’re a start, and I’m happy to do at least that much to get started toward better multicultural skills.
Even though it wasn’t particularly the most pleasant realization, I’m glad that I had it. Harding’s talk was one of the better lectures I’ve ever listened to, and I hope I have the opportunity to hear him again.
Blane Harding’s presentation on diversity was the most interesting and informative presentation on diversity that I have ever attended. Before his presentation began, I enjoyed being able to sit down with my group in order to discuss our views on diversity. Our group discovered that we all have similar views on diversity which I feel will be beneficial when we work together at our site.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how Harding made his presentation interactive by starting us off with tracking to see how many dominant social groups we find ourselves part of. I was not surprised at my results because as an average middle class, white, female, I knew that I would fall into a lot of the dominant categories. But towards the end of the presentation, I was surprised to realize that many of the people who have influenced my life also fall into the same dominant categories as myself.
What I most enjoyed about Harding’s presentation was the way he explained to us how we need to look at diversity. I will admit that I was the type of person who had the attitude that maybe it was not okay to refer to someone as black or Asian. But Harding really opened up my eyes that it is okay to use these terms to describe someone because those are the features that they have been given that cannot be changed.
However it is important that when we are placed in a situation in which we must deal with diversity, we do not treat others differently. I enjoyed hearing several of Harding’s examples on how he has been treated differently in various social settings because of the color of his skin because these examples helped me understand what he meant. My group is not exactly sure what types of diversity we will be faced with at our site. But we all agreed that no matter the race, gender, social class, sexual orientation may be of a person, we will all treat everyone with equity to ensure they all get the same benefits from our work.
Overall Harding’s presentation changed my perspective on how I must approach situations of diversity. I will use what I learned in his presentation in my everyday life to treat people not only as equals to myself but to make sure I embrace their culture and whatever attributes they have been given.
Last week marked the beginning of Biology lab. Typically, although it depends on the GTA’s preference, students enter the lab room on the first day, take a seat, and the three people sharing your table are then your lab partners for the remainder of the semester. On Wednesday I took an open seat across from a student with an afro. I thought his hair was so interesting that I decided I wanted him as a lab partner for solely that reason. I realized, however, that is wasn’t simply his hair that intrigued me. He is black, and as I sat down, I realized that the vast majority of my classmates are white. A small part of me was excited, therefore, to interact with somebody of a different race. I was immediately disgusted by myself for this thought. Why should I have such a reaction? His race is no indication of him as a person, yet here I was, more excited by a few physical characteristics than his personality or whether or not he would even want to be my lab partner. A repulsive thought, if I ever had one.
ReplyDeleteBlane Harding seems to be a really amicable and capable professor, and this made his presentation both enjoyable and informative. However, I was taken aback by his suggestion that we enlarge our comfort zones and make concerted efforts to interact with those of disparate genders, sexual orientations, socioeconomic classes, ethnicities, etc. Those are inherited traits, therefore ones I don’t believe should have bearing on our choice whether or not to interact with individuals. If I were told that one of my friends originally began talking to me during class because I am a white female, I would be unnerved. It seems like an inappropriate manner by which to go about regarding peoples’ characteristics. Treating people differently based on their race, regardless of whether it’s a positive or negative treatment, is racism. I do not feel that striking up conversations with people based on these factors is acceptable. I did, however, enjoy his message of respecting everyone, regardless of our differences. Our differences are minute compared to our similarities, and I’m glad he acknowledged that.
I found Blane Harding’s presentation very interesting and informational. Being an engineering student, I have not taken a class about culture, diversity, or anything about human rights yet in my college studies. A lot of the information Blane Harding presented was new to me. I did not realize how diverse our country is becoming. When Blane Harding showed that slide with the map of the United States with percentages of K-12 children that attend a school with over 90% minorities, I was really surprised about the results. I have always lived my life to the golden rule “treat others how you would want to be treated”. By this, I try to treat everyone that I meet in life with respect, equality, and with an open mind. The last one I think is key, if you approach anything in life, like a new group or job or something you’re not looking forward to, with an open mind and positive attitude you will likely always have a good time and learn something new. Like Blane Harding said “we don’t have to accept everything every culture does but we do have to respect it”.
ReplyDeleteBlane Harding activity about privileges with dominant group vs. subordinated group was interesting. Before this activity I knew that I am for the most part in the dominant group, this I why I try to never take anything for granted. But I had never put much thought in how it feels to be in some of the subordinated groups. Blanes Harding’s stories about how he went out his way to try to make others more comfortable were very insightful. Blane Harding’s talk about multiculturalism and diversity was very powerful and has reinforced some my views on how I interact between others. It has also shown me that I have much room to improve and grow my intercultural skillfulness by taking steps to experience and learn about more cultures on my own.
I will be one to admit that when I walked into this meeting, I was not expecting to have my view on our society rocked as much as it was. From start to finish, guest speaker Blane Harding captivated my attention, keeping me on my toes and giving me pause for some much needed introspective thinking. As was commented by John earlier in the thread, one of the hardest realizations to accept and challenge is the fact that we have, and will always be battling, shortcomings in our own character. Beginning with Harding’s first exercise of having us identify with dominant and subordinate groups, and further perpetuated when examining the people I deemed most influential in my life, I was subjected to the acknowledgement that I might not be as open-minded as I would like to deem myself. I, like many others, stick with what I know, what I’m comfortable with, rather than exploring the many facets of human diversity that I am surrounded by.
ReplyDeleteAcknowledgment in itself is a difficult process, but the real test occurs when you become determined to expand and change your viewpoint. Hearing Harding convey his personal examples of how he has been treated differently according to the color of his skin concreted his message in mind: we should treat people by how they identify themselves, not how we personally identify them. Although his take argues with the teaching we all received of treating others how we wish to be treated, I found myself agreeing with his viewpoint that if we were to treat everyone how we wish them to treat us, we would fail to expand our comfort zone and breadth of knowledge for diverse cultures.
Harding was able to achieve in his short lecture what many public speakers are unable to in a series of lectures – he was able to intrigue me enough to cause me to question my own beliefs and spark a desire for change within myself. Even though bringing your own perspective of the world into question is not always comfortable, I welcomed Harding’s engaging lecture and would gladly attend another given by him.
Because I grew up in the area I did, my life has lacked diversity. A lot. My schools, teams, and church were almost entirely culturally the same. When Blane Harding asked me to write down the people that have inspired me throughout my life, there was a glaring pattern of characteristics from the dominant group: white, upper class, able-bodied. I always thought I was a very open-minded person and accepting of everyone, I just lack experience. However, Harding’s presentation really opened my eyes to how monotonous my life has been, and that it is my duty to educate myself and experience other cultures to better understand them.
ReplyDeleteThe extent of multiculturalism I have come in contact with throughout my life has been the joining of my Swedish and Dutch families at Christmas, so I had no idea that the fastest growing culture was multiculturalism even though the proof was right in my own home. My niece is from a Scandinavian mother and a German-Mexican father. Harding did show me that when she grows up, it will be her right to decide which culture to identify with, and we will have to respect her choice.
Harding’s informative presentation showed me that I still have a long way to go. I may have an acceptance/acknowledgement of different cultures, but that also shows me that I need to take more steps towards increasing my awareness and ability to better understand people from different backgrounds than mine. And if those steps include workshops or discussions, I am all for it if they are at all like Blane Harding’s presentation.
Professor Blane Harding is an incredible lecturer. Not only did he make his speech enjoyable, but it was also very informative on the topics of diversity and multiculturalism. Before his speech, I had no idea there were differences between those two words: “diversity” and “multiculturalism”, but now I can proudly say I do. I learned that diversity is a representation of people that exemplifies all cultural and congenital differences, and it is an essential component of multiculturalism. Thus, we could be living in a diverse society, but it does not mean that multiculturalism exists within it. On the other hand, according to Harding, multiculturalism encompasses more than just diversity. Multiculturalism seeks to promote the values of diversity and equal opportunity for all people through the understanding of contributions and perspectives of people of differing race, ethnicity, culture, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and physical abilities and disabilities. Besides being sensitive to issues related to culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, social class, and socioeconomic factors, cultural awareness is needed to promote the diversity through different aspects. We can achieve this by having positive attitudes, and skills to engage and intervene across different cultures and different related matters.
ReplyDeleteI found this presentation really helpful, as I will be a volunteer for the homeless people during spring break in Cincinnati, Ohio. After Harding’s speech, I now have a better understanding of why people should be treated with equity no matter what social class or cultural background they come from. In other words, I realized that it is important to allow everyone access to the same opportunities. In fact, I took my first step last weekend after Harding’s speech by going on a “miniature break” to Kansas City to visit my first Outreach Center. It was a great experience. I also had the chance to talk with different people from different backgrounds, and I surprisingly have learned something from them! I understand that was only a start. In the near future, I believe I will do my best and expand my comfort zone and become an intercultural skillful individual.
There are three main things that I learned from Blane Harding’s presentation. The first is the difference between multiculturalism and diversity. The second thing is how much people really only associate with people that share similar backgrounds, and the last thing I learned from Harding is about color blindness.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that to be multicultural is different than being diverse. He gave the example of a McDonalds advertisement where there are employees of different races working. Harding discussed how the commercial is advertising the employee’s diversity, not their multiculturalism because not one of them is practicing anything about their culture. Multiculturalism is accepting and becoming familiar with multiple groups customs and culture, not just about being around diverse races.
When Harding had us write down the qualities of a few people that have influenced our life, I didn’t expect him to point out that a majority of those who influence us have very similar qualities. He said it is because we like to surround ourselves with those who are similar to us because we find comfort in familiarity. I think this shows that people are fearful to engage in diverse situations which is why racial or cultural groups tend to form. Before Harding’s presentation, I never really questioned why people like to stick around people familiar to them, but now I know why.
Harding discussed how being “color blind” and “color conscious” are two different things. I found it powerful when he gave the example of a black woman saying something like ‘Why do you have to push away the fact that I am black just to see me as equal?’ That was extremely eye opening to me because I notice that many people are very righteous about being “color blind” but in reality being “color blind” is an impractical and insulting thing to do because it strip away that persons culture and identity. It is better to be “color conscious” so you do not reject a part of that person.
Last week’s Alternative Breaks meeting upheld a really ground breaking moment of my life. Prior to the beginning of the meeting, I was going about my day as normal. While waiting for the meeting to begin, I was making a physical list of all the tasks I needed to accomplish after the meeting commenced, and I was really looking forward to my boyfriend coming to Lawrence to visit me the following day. I had no idea that within the length of that hour and a half, which I had come to see as just another check on my to-do list, would change the way I not only go about my interactions for the duration of our Alternative Breaks trip, but also the way I see my most personal connections, and the way I treat people during the duration of everyday life.
ReplyDeleteI come from a small town in a rural community in Southern Kansas. That being said, I proclaim myself to be very open minded, especially considering the ideals of the average person back in my hometown. The lack of diversity where I grew up has been apparent to me for quite some time, but it never necessarily bothered me, it was just a fact of life.
After I heard Mr. Harding speak, I have come to see this fact as a disadvantage. When we filled out his survey of the handful of people closest to us, I soon was a bit shocked to realize that, besides in age or possibly social status, all of the people most impactful toward me looked exactly like me on the paper. This fact, of course, doesn’t make these people any less wonderful or their impact on my life any less relevant, but I instantly wished that the group of contributors were more varied or diverse. I need to open my eyes, my arms, and my heart to a more diverse group of people coming from all walks of life, and Blane Harding helped me to realize that. It’s a difficult and possibly uncomfortable step to take, but as I’m just beginning my college life, my everyday existence is the epitome of change. Why not add one more?
Caitlin Ireland
ReplyDeleteBlane Harding’s talk was a very eye-opening one for me. I never realized how ignorant I was about such important issues until I heard him speak. One thing he said that really stuck out to me was about color blindness. I always thought a color blind world, when it came to the issue of race, would be a wonderful one. During our group discussion, I even brought up a quote about how lucky a blind man felt he was because he never judged someone by their appearance. Blane Harding helped me realize how wrong I was. A color blind society would deprive us of all the wonderful things that come with living in a multicultural and diverse society. I also never realized that there was a difference between a diverse society and a multicultural one. Another thing I learned was the difference between ethnicity and race.
I have always considered myself to be a relatively open, respectful, and accepting person. Prior to Blane Harding’s talk, I never really contemplated the idea that I might not surround myself with a diverse group of people. I’m the daughter of two lesbian mothers and I have a younger brother adopted from Guatemala, so I always thought how much more diverse can one’s family get? The realization that outside of my family everyone I hang out with is just like me hit me hard during the lecture. Now that I am aware of the bubble I live in I plan on taking steps to expand my comfort zone.
While I have had previous social justice training, Blane Harding’s talk was still very informative, and it is always helpful to get more perspectives of the social justice field. Working as a Resident Assistant in the residence halls, I’ve been recently introduced into the field of social justice by having seminars with the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the importance of it in day-to-day actions. During Harding’s presentation, I was very impressed by how he was able to converse with his audience to make it an engaging lecture, and one that we all took to heart.
ReplyDeleteWhen talking about diversity, and looking at those who have had important impacts on my life, I have realized how little diversity has been in my life prior to college. I’ve grown up in a privileged, small, predominantly white suburb of Chicago, with very little exposure to people of other cultures or races. Once I came to college, I was able to meet people of Indian descent, Asian descent, and African American descent, which would have been a rarity back home. One of my closest friends freshman year shared his Indian cultural experiences with me, patiently explaining his heritage with me. Being able to converse with those who are different than myself has been some most formative experiences of my college career thus far.
I've been fortunate enough to grow up in a very diverse area, so I've been exposed to people from many different cultures, languages, and walks of life. I have gained a great appreciation for diversity and want to continuously make sure that I don’t discriminate against anyone, so I've always tried to treat everyone equally. After listening to Blane Harding’s talk, I was able to see a different perspective, and in turn change my mind about how I've been treating people. He explained that equality is assuming that everyone starts from the same place and treating them as such. In reality, we know that every individual has their own, unique starting point and life story. His alternative to equality was equity – understanding that not everyone starts from the same place, but helping them to get to the same end. I realized that by putting so much effort into treating everyone the same, I’m being incredibly unfair to those who aren't starting from where I am assuming that they are.
ReplyDeleteBlane’s presentation also helped me to realize that being aware of the diversity around me is more than just seeing the various colors. It’s about allowing people to show you who they are and where they came from. The color of someone’s skin doesn't tell you their economic background, level of education, belief system, or anything else. Only that person can tell you about what groups they identify with.
The statistic about the number of schools that had a 90% or higher minority population was really shocking. I was initially excited to see the high levels of minorities, especially in Texas schools but when I realized the implication, I began to wonder about how it could be changed. Having 90% of a single minority in a school leads to a lack of diversity and multiculturalism. So much attention has been paid to minorities, but now, in some places more than others, the attentions needs to begin to be spread out. Many people of European descent are now being overlooked because so much attention is being paid to minorities, and I don't believe that's not the kind of world that we want to build. The focus should be taken off of equality and moved towards equity.