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Posted by Dr. Heather Marion D'Cruz on 2006/10/12
I am constantly intrigued at how words can come to have different meanings depending on context - that is, place and time. My reflections below are based on my location in Australia which is a predominantly 'Western', Anglo, English speaking, Christian society. From this perspective, the word 'diversity' has become a code for 'race' in particular, although 'ethnicity', 'culture', 'religion' and 'language' are closely related. Furthermore, these words related to 'diversity' in Western contexts seem to be codes for people of colour, people who are not Anglo, people whose first language is not English, and whose religion may not be Christian. While such processes can happen within societies or nations, there are also such dynamics being played out internationally - for example, in the War on Terror. Thus the words come to represent meanings of 'The Other' who is differentiated from 'the Normal' people in any society. And, regardless of whether those using such codes are wishing to recreate 'social conformity' or are wishing to be 'anti-discriminatory', the dynamics are the same. That is, there are these implicit distinctions between some groups or individuals who come to embody 'the Normal person' and those who must aspire to this norm. Furthermore, how may the idea of 'diversity' encompass all of us as diverse beings if you take into account gender, class, age, disability and sexuality? How may these identities intersect with the idea of 'diversity' as purely about 'race' (and related ideas, as above)? Can such a broadening of the concept of 'diversity' create a space for us to appreciate that all of us are different, one from the other? Can an appreciation of individual differences promote greater cooperation and solidarity, or will it create further divisions? Can such a conceptualisation allow a way for us to work towards a more cooperative world?
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