Culture and Diversity Essay

This essay discusses the importance of cultural identity in today's globalized world. It explores the significance of cultural identity to both individuals and communities through a contemporary case study. The case study highlights the conflicts and changes in cultural identity experienced by an individual. It also examines the role of nationality, ethnicity, religion, and education in shaping cultural identity. The essay argues that cultural identity is still important despite the challenges of globalization.

Culture and Diversity Essay
Culture and Diversity Essay
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Culture and Diversity Essay
Q5. Case Study: Identity
Is cultural identity still important? Research one contemporary case study of cultural identity
(your choice) as it operates in today’s globalized world and construct an argument about the
importance of cultural identity to both individuals and communities?
Cultural identity
Cultural identity refers to the feeling of belonging to a particular social group. The social
group could be either the nationality, social class, religion, ethnicity, locality, generation or
any other type of social group that has its own unique culture (Jensen, Arnett and McKenzie,
2011 p.300). Cultural identity is therefore not only a characteristic of one individual but also
that of the culturally identical members who share the same upbringing or belief structures.
The above definition identifies four major aspects of cultural identity, these include
nationality, ethnicity religion and education. Nationality refers to the country that one belongs
to, where one is born and lives in. One’s nationality determines the culture that he or she
would adopt. Ethnicity refers to a state of belonging to a particular group whose members
practise the same cultural and traditional beliefs. It is the culture of the person which at times,
helps in identifying the physical looks of the person. Religion refers to the set of moral
beliefs and principles that are related to the existence of a supernatural being. It shapes
culture by determining the moral and personal characteristics of a person. Another important
aspect of cultural identity is the cultural identity is the language spoken. Communication
plays an essential role in the life of every human being. It does not only separate us from
animals but also forms a basis through which culture is passed from one generation to
another. The cultural and ethnic identity of a particular community is preserved through the
language that the children are taught to speak and understand from birth Language forms one
of the fastest and most effective ways of understanding a community of people, whether it is

Culture and Diversity Essay
a huge nation or a small tribe of people (Gonzalez, Stein and Huq, 2013 p.115). It is an
unspeakable part of cultural identity. Although cultural identity has lost meaning in the
modern globalised world, it still plays an essential role to both the individual and the
community.
A case study example is that of a lady named Lydia who was born in Indonesia, but lived
with her mother in England, started schooling here at her primary level but later moved to
Indonesia when she was about twelve years of age (Foster, 2010 p.23). Her parents are from
different ethnicities. The father is an Asian while her mother is from Europe. The two also
practice different religions, her mother has been rooted to the Roman Catholic traditions
while the father practices Islamic. At her younger age, she used to stay with her mother in
England and therefore had to go to church with her. Later on, when they both moved to
Indonesia, things changed. In school for instance, back in England, students used to actively
participate in class by raising hands to answer questions and maintain eye contact with the
teacher. This assured the teacher that the class was attentive. In Indonesia, things were
different. Students were not encouraged to make an eye contact with the teacher as it shows
disrespect. Lydia generally found the Asian classes to be inactive and boring. She also had to
change to Islamic since almost the whole community around practiced Islamic. There were
more mosques than churches. This meant that she had to change even her way of dressing to
fit the Islamic way. She had to follow the rules of Hijab for women. One should cover
everything except the face and the hands while the feet might only be exposed when in the
Hanafi school. At first, she got lost in these cultural and religious beliefs but later got used to
practising them and they ended up shaping her character, personality and beliefs.
The above case study on Lydia’s personal experience demonstrates the conflicts that can arise
from different cultural identifiers and also points out the importance of cultural identity to
both the individual and the society. Some identifiers are biased towards others. In the case

Culture and Diversity Essay
study above, the initial religion Lydia used to practice had completely different beliefs from
the one she later adopted. Whether a threat or a benefit, it depends on how one perceives the
differences. As Professor Jim Vertonghen puts it,
“categorisations about identity, even when codified and hardened into clear typologies by
processes of colonisation, state formation or general modernising processes, are always full
of tensions and contradictions. Sometimes these contradictions are destructive, but they can
also be creative and positive” (Rogers-Sirin and Gupta, 2012 p.555).
In this case there are some school of thoughts that argue out that cultural identity is a divisive
force that is purposefully serving to weaken the whole community and denying a shared
framework for the whole state. The critics instead advocate for cosmopolitanism which is
socially inclusive and encompasses different cultural identities and mutual respect among
different people despite the difference in beliefs and cultural backgrounds (Ting‐Toomey,
2015 p.8). However, this argument for cosmopolitanism has been criticised for ignorance of
the celebration and expression of cultural identities, since, this can not be partially
demonstrated for a particular group (Sykes, 2014 p.33). We should have respect for our
cultural identities, they build a shared framework and nurture the bonds that tie the group
together
Cultural identity is important to an individual in a number of ways. First, is that it gives one a
sense of social belonging. Just like the need for food and shelter, a social belonging is also an
essential human need (Hanssen, 2011 p.27). Through research it has been established that
having a sense of belonging increases one’s survival chances to up to 50% (Guitart and
Ratner, 2011 p.20). One of the most important social group identifiers is the language spoken
by the group. Getting familiarised with your own original language is of great importance. In
the modern world people would only believe that you are one of them if you can speak their

Culture and Diversity Essay
language. There are several importances of having the acceptance to belong to particular
social group. One receives favours such as acknowledgements and approvals during job
search. It is not only once that we have heard and seen many job seekers being asked for
approvals from religious leaders. Besides, we have also seen many politicians, especially in
the developing countries depending mainly on their original ethnic groups for political
support (Strizhakova and Coulter, 2013 p.77). Once one receives strong support and
acknowledgements from his or her own particular social group, he gains respect from the rest
of the community.
Cultural identity also helps one to know and understand who he or she is. It is said that we
cannot know where we are going if we do not know where we are coming from (Glăveanu
and Tanggaard, 2014 p.19). The stories of our family’s places and people form a unique way
of telling one who he is. Understanding one’s history is helpful in building up personal
growth, wellbeing and connecting to other people. We get to learn about our own origin, our
beliefs and our cultural practices which form a basis of predicting who we would be in future
(Brenick, and Killen, 2014 p.86). Understanding our beliefs and cultural practices helps in
shaping our personality and controlling our behaviours to our own benefit (Hunter, 2011
p.340). Take an example of this Islamic way of dressing for women. How many social evils
does it help in preventing?
Cultural identity is also important for aboriginal children and young people. To these, cultural
identity involves knowing one’s knob, nation, and the language group and how one relates to
the other (Chang, Jetten, Cruwys and Haslam, 2017 p.30). One may in future wish to have a
confirmation of aboriginality to assist in accessing certain helpful services or may be as a
requirement to participate in a particular community organisation. In this case if one is an
aboriginal child, the aboriginal community confirms his or her eligibility.

Culture and Diversity Essay
Cultural identity is also helpful in various ways to a community. First it acts as a glue that
holds the community together (Moriizumi, 2011 p.25). When people identify with their
culture, they participate in cultural activities such as festivals which help in bringing the
people together. Culture also enhances the vitality of communities. In the United States for
instance, the social networks created through the arts initiative lead to a various economic
benefit for their neighbours. The benefits included new jobs for artists and a new use of the
existing facilities.
The identity acts as a glue that holds the community together. This is mainly through the
common language spoken, similar cultural and festival activities undertaken and the sharing
of common beliefs. As pointed out earlier, language is one of the most important aspect of
cultural identity. It is through the language spoken that we are able to distinguish one ethnic
group from the other. The uniqueness created by speaking a different language from other
ethnic groups forms a strong social bond of the members (Lenoir, Puntoni, Reed and Verlegh,
2013 p.427). Even young children can easily identify with their ethnic backgrounds through
the language they are speaking. It is also through this language that the community passes it
cultural beliefs and practices from one generation to another. The link created through
sharing similar beliefs and practices from one generation to another forms a social cohesion
that sticks the members together. The strong bond created by a community is important in a
number of ways. For instance, it strengthens the unity against the attack by an external
enemy.
Another importance of cultural identity to a community is that it helps in maintaining peace
and harmony in the community. The orderliness of the community is spelt out by the customs
and beliefs. The customs point out when, how and where things should be done. In all
nations for instance there is a specific time for elections, time for referendums and time for
holding government meeting. Likewise, in religion, each and every religious ceremony is

Culture and Diversity Essay
practiced on a specified day. To the ethnic groups, festivals such as circumcision ceremonies,
harvesting and wedding ceremonies are also practiced after a certain specified duration of
time. These planned events help in reducing confusion and conflicts in the community.
Although cultural identity can lead to conflicts among different social groups, it is still
important in the modernised world. There are four main aspects of cultural identity that help
in distinguishing one person from the other. These include nationality, education, ethnicity
and religion. According to (Goldin and Streeck, 2017 p.52) the difference in the above
aspects may lead to biasness among different types of people in the society. He therefore
suggests that cosmopolitanism is the best ideology to employ in our society since it
encompasses the different cultural identities with mutual respect to people irrespective of
their beliefs and cultural backgrounds. Besides, the case study provided illustrates the
possible conflicts that may arise in the modern globalised world. However, this ideology has
been challenged by (Wiley, Deaux and Hagelskamp, 2012 p171) who states that
cosmopolitanism ignores the aspect of celebration and expression of the different cultural
identities. We should appreciate and celebrate our cultural identities since it is important in a
number of ways. To an individual, cultural identity creates a sense of belonging and also
helps one to understand where he or she comes from. It gives a sense of direction. To a
community, cultural identity acts a glue that strengthens the bond between members and also
helps in creating orderliness, peace and harmony in the community.

Culture and Diversity Essay
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Culture and Diversity Essay
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