Ethics 445N

Follow-Up Post (Response) Instructions

Respond to at least one peer or the instructor. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.

Please write a minimum of five complete sentences for your one peer posting. You should also consider referencing some information from the course textbook, lecture lessons, or a scholarly source to help support your written response post.

Remember, you need a minimum of five complete sentences and a reference from the course textbook or lecture lesson is fine.

Hello class.

This discussion focuses on multiculturalism.

Multiculturalism consists of customary behaviors. It represents diverse cultures as well as how societies believe and think. For instance, Western culture holds more of an individualist view of society. Individualism often overlooks the value of group based identities or cultural ties that exists within a community (Goo, 2018). Likewise, multiculturalism is used as a method to examine various cultural views whether it is racial or religious. “Even policies that go well beyond an individual-centered approach—such as Germany’s funding of Islamic faculties at some state universities or France’s state subsidies for mosque construction—are not really multiculturalism but merely a “prolongation of long-established ways of dealing with religious diversity” (Ryan, 2019, p. 155).

Additionally, multiculturalism consists of various communication formats among various cultural groups. Wu (2019) stated that language plays a role in preserving a society. For instance, if Mandarin Chinese is the preferred language of a particular cultural group such as in Taiwan and someone speaks Taiwanese Hokkien, they can be punished based on local custom. According to Wu (2019), this was a reason for the discouraged use of vernaculars. Thus, understanding context is highly valued within this culture.

Preserving tradition is important for some cultural groups (Wu, 2019). For example, in some cultures, men are viewed as strong or heroic. On the other hand, women are viewed as passive or in need of a husband or savior. This can be viewed in many traditional Western stories where the male character, often characterized as superman, batman, or a prince, saves a female who is in trouble (Goo, 2018).

Different countries hold different views of multiculturalism. For instance, Taiwan takes great delight in its status as a multicultural society (Wu, 2019). In Western culture; however, there is still fear of diversity (Goo, 2018). In America, individualism is considered the more acceptable norm (Lois, 1999). Individualism focuses on standing out. It focuses on personal success or fulfillment. Likewise, individualism focuses on a person’s self direction or interest (Carola, 2019).

According to Rachels and Rachels (2019), “To call a custom “correct” or “incorrect” would imply that we can judge it by some independent or objective standard of right and wrong” (p. 16). In brief, multiculturalism is used to protect certain groups of people (Ryan, 2019). As Moore (2007) noted narrow minded views and bias result from stereotypes and prejudice. Intolerance also creates conflict. Thus, communities should work to reduce conflict. At the same time, communities should see multiculturalism as a bridge to understanding similarities and differences that exists among them (Walker & Staton, 2000). At best, this can include inclusivity or respect for understanding commonalities and differences.

Attached is a video with more information related to multiculturalism (Grey Matters, 2016).

Australia: The Lucky Country - Multiculturalism and Immigration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBZ-T4Xhaz0

References

Carola, C. B. (2019). Redistribution and the Individualism–Collectivism dimension of culture. Social Indicators Research, 142(3), 1175-1192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-1964-6

Goo, Y. (2018). Multicultural literature education: A story of failure? Society, 55(4), 323–328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-018-0262-x

Grey Matters. (2016, July 15). Australia: The lucky country-Multiculturalism and immigration. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/uBZ-T4Xhaz0

Lois, J. (1999). Socialization to heroism: Individualism and collectivism in a voluntary search and rescue group. Social Psychology Quarterly, 62(2), 117-135. 

Moore, A. L. (2007). Guess who's coming to dinner: The importance of multiculturalism in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Multicultural Education, 15(2), 24-30.

Rachels, J., & Rachels, S. (2019). The elements of moral philosophy. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781260213003/

Ryan, P. (2019). The paradox of hegemony and the “Multiculturalism of the Individual.” Canadian Ethnic Studies, 51(2), 153–167. https://doi.org/10.1353/ces.2019.0016

Walker, R., & Staton, M. (2000). Multiculturalism in social work ethics. Journal of Social Work Education, 36(3), 449. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2000.10779021

Wu, J. (2019). The politics of imagining Formosa: Contesting multiculturalism, tradition, and historical memory in ten years Taiwan. China Perspectives, 3, 47–54.

EXAMPLE OF RESPONSE TO PEERS

Hello Jane.

I enjoyed reading the comments that you shared in your initial post as it relates to female circumcision. Valid points were shared related to the world view you held. For example, I appreciated reading information that you wrote related to subjective moral relativist. Also, you shared good information related to the steps that you would take as to whether you can assist the surgeon. Allow me to share some additional insight as it relates to female circumcision as well as my thoughts related to cultural relativism. It is true that equality exists when examining cultures and societies based on a cultural relativist perspective. According to Rachels and Rachels (2019), “Different cultures have different moral codes” (p. 14). As a nurse, my Hippocratic Oath is to do no harm (El-Gibaly et al., 2019). Since female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal in a country like the United Kingdom (Bourne, 2018), my cultural beliefs would be in opposition to assisting the surgeon. This is where our views differed.

Notes

Credited means stating where the information came from (specific article, text, or lesson). Examples: our text discusses...., The information from our lesson states..., Smith (2010) claimed that..., Mary Manners (personal communication, November 2017)...

**Assigned readings are those listed on the syllabus or assignments page as required reading. This may include text readings, required articles, or required websites.

***Scholarly source - per APA Guidelines, only scholarly sources should be used in assignments. These include peer-reviewed publications, government reports, or sources written by a professional or scholar in the field. Wikipedia, Wikis, .com websites or blogs should not be used as anyone can add information to these sites. For the discussions, reputable internet sources such as websites by government agencies (.gov) and respected organizations (.org) can be counted as scholarly sources. Outside sources do not include assigned required readings.