Cultural Awareness
GOAL
To identify biculturalism in New Zealand within society and the church, to encourage participants to think through and make a just response to the present issues in the context of their youth work practice.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing this module participants will be able to:
A) Identify the main points of the Treaty of Waitangi and how they impact society today.
B) Define key terms relating to the cultural context of faith
C) Describe a personal response to the issue of tino rangatiratanga
D) Identify a basis for a just working partnership between different cultures.
CONTENTS
Goal, Learning Outcomes and Contents 1
Resources and Learning Methods 2
Definitions 2
Treaty of Waitangi 3
The cultural context of faith 3
Partnerships across cultures 4
Resources
SOURCE BOOK: One Faith Two Peoples
(2nd edition if possible, published by Kapiti Print Media Box 1562, Paraparaumu Beach)
OTHER RESOURCES: (both are short, readable books, usually available at Whitcoulls or your local library, and well worth a look!)
Talking Past Each Other -Metge and Kinloch
(1989 Victoria University Press)
The Story of a Treaty -Claudia Orange
(1989 Allen & Unwin, Wellington)
Learning Methods
NOTES
1. To start off read and make notes on the source book.
2. As well as making use of the other resource books, you are encouraged to go and discuss some of the issues with other people wherever possible. Just remember that the person you speak to doesn’t ‘speak for Maori people’ any more than you may ‘speak for’ people of your own cultural background. Therefore where possible try and speak to more than one person on an issues and present a range of the opinions you find rather than attempting to come up with a single ‘right answer’.
3. Make sure you source your material. Include references, if it is of a conversation note the date and the person you spoke to. If they are a Maori or Pacific Islands person be sensitive to the possibility that they may wish to introduce themselves in a certain way (eg. By their Iwi as well as their name).
Step One Definitions
Provide a short (1-2 sentences) definition for each of these terms. Don’t quote -use your own words, but acknowledge the sources you have used.
1. Multicultural
2. Bicultural
3. Tauiwi
4. Tangata Whenua
Step Two The Treaty of Waitangi
Suggested resource book: The Story of a Treaty by Claudia Orange
1. Briefly summarise (use your own words) each article in the Treaty of Waitangi. Set it out in the format below.
What do you think it meant to people then? / What do you think it means today ?1
2
3
2. Discuss the role of the church in cross cultural relations in the period 1840-1880, your discussion should focus on the part Christians (especially missionaries) played in the following issues:
-Treaty of Waitangi negotiations (1840)
-The Land Wars of the 1860’s
-The declaration of the Treaty as a ‘legal nullity’ (1877)
You could concentrate on one event or provide a brief overview of all three.
(500 words)
You can either present the next two questions in a written format (max 500 words), or in the form of a chart illustrating the issues and your growth in relation to them.
3. Tino Rangatiratanga
A simple definition of this term is ‘self determination’. Give 2-3 examples of different ways in which Maori have interpreted the term in practice. Your best source of information will probably be talking to different Maori people.
4. State which definition you are most comfortable with. Identify and comment on how your own background has influenced you in the direction you have stated.
Step 3 The cultural context of faith
Provide a 1-2 sentence definition of these terms and give an example of each from experience in your own cultural background :
1. Contextualisation
2. Syncretism
3. Ethnocentric
Re read Chapter 3 and 4 of One Faith Two Peoples. Then pick one of the four speakers (Norman Tawhiao, Hapai Winiata, Hone Maxwell or Monte Ohia).
4. Describe some of the key issues in maintaining a balance between contextualising our faith and becoming syncretic. Follow the arguments of the speaker you have picked and comment on how you feel this person has (or hasn’t) maintained a balance in this area. (2-300 words)..
Step 4 Partnership across cultures
You can use either a picture or chart format to illustrate your points in this final question, or else stick with writing (approx or equivalent to 500 words). Revise chapters 7 and 8 of One Faith Two Peoples.
1. What do you think are the key foundations for a practical and just working relationship between cultures in New Zealand ? Apply your discussion to your own context of youthwork. You may wish to treat multiculturalism and biculturalism as separate issues or pick one of them to focus on.
RESOURCE MATERIAL:
Section One - Culture
UNDERSTANDING A DEFINITION OF CULTURE
"by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God" (Revelation 5:9-10 New Revised Standard Version).
Everyone grows up shaped by their cultural background where they spent their childhood. If the cultural background has been "square", then people turn out to be square. If "round", people are round. (Figure 1).
To have personal understanding of the meaning of 'culture' helps us to increase our cross-ultural awareness. Culture is an identity. Here are a few definitions. Which definition do you believe covers the meaning of culture the best?
· Culture is anything a group of people does that is not integral to its sustenance. (MARGARET CORIN)
· Culture is the integrated system of learned behaviour patterns, ideas and products characteristic of a society. (CHARLES KRAFT)
· Culture is a formation of people who have many characteristics in common. (BEULAH WOOD)
· Culture is the total life way of a people—a people's design for living. (KLUCKHOHN)
· Culture is a pattern of shared values, symbols, language and behaviour which enables communities to live together, either within a culture or as cultures alongside each other. (PETER LINEHAM)
At our residential college an Asian student commented to me about the challenges of living in a multicultural setting. She said she found Pakeha students very individualistic. For example when she had friends visiting from her country she was very happy to sleep on the floor and let her friend sleep in her bed. She considered sharing a room with her visitors very convenient and enjoyable, even though her single bedroom accommodation at the college was not spacious. She felt Pakeha students, on the other hand, often looked for a spare room in the college or some neighbouring home for their guests. Privacy was not a priority in this Asian student's thinking. Furthermore the Asian student rightly consulted her parents about important decisions, even when they were separated by thousands of miles. She was an adult, but had acquired the cultural understanding that it was important that her family members of the older generation needed to have a pivotal decision-making role in her life. She was amazed to see young adults at the College make lifelong decisions without contacting their families. She was even more incredulous when she discovered that some Pakeha students had not had contact with family members for months on end.
In his writings on how to handle stress when you cross cultures Jim Chew, a Singaporian Christian leader who has done much youth work and teaching, said
The lack of personal privacy can be a source of stress. Living in New Zealand, my wife and I observed that personal privacy is highly respected. In many areas, homes will not have fences or gates. In crowded and noisy Asia, retreating into the quiet privacy of one's own home may not be possible. (Chew 1992)
Hence both Asian immigrants and New Zealanders, indeed any cross cultural grouping, have adjustments to make when we work together. Our varied background should not necessarily be considered RIGHT OR WRONG, but DIFFERENT.
You will be able to think of numerous examples of the many challenges and questions you face as you learn to befriend people from various cultures both in your youth ministry, faith community, and in the wider community.
Living and working in a multicultural setting can enhance our life. Women and men are raised up from every culture to follow and serve God. The understanding of cultural differences is fundamental to the success of working together in youth ministry.
An increased comprehension of cultural diversity will help us have insight regarding the people with whom we relate from other cultures and also help us understand ourselves within our own culture.
WHERE IS CULTURE PRACTISED?
Beulah Wood writes about where culture is practised:
Who we are is expressed in many different places, and we hardly ever think about it...
1. In homes - family life, food, food customs, hospitality, money, language and communicating.
2. In religious buildings - marked cultural differences show in religion.
3. On special areas of land - marae, other tapu land, cemetery, public gardens, war memorials or cenotaph, parks, public land for civic welcomes, sports grounds.
4. Schools and universities - which were mainly Pakeha/European, now making more provision for increasing pupils' understanding of different cultures, and retaining minority ethnic groups longer.
5. Clubs, restaurants, public buildings and community halls.
6. Parliament and local bodies, courthouses
7. Hospitals.
8. Financial institutions.
9. Media - they convey the 'worldview1 of the journalist and script writer, leaving out some Tacts' and giving a slant. They have at times:
(a) Made some groups look bad as compared with others.
(b) Omitted whole groups of people as if they were not there.
When we study where it is practised, we often find European culture is dominant, even though many Pakeha people have never realised the advantage this gives them (Wood, p. 3 7)
A WHOLISTIC APPROACH
Paul Hiebert gives a wholistic emphasis and says:
"cultures mold people's physical characteristics. Humans are remarkably imaginative in changing their bodies to fit their tastes. They drill holes in their ears, lips, cheeks, and teeth to support ornaments; bind heads and feet to change their shapes; put on glasses and hearing aids to improve their perceptions; paint and tattoo their skin, nails, and hair; cut their bodies and shape their hair in a thousand ways. Cultures also influence the ideas people have about health and beauty. In the West, where slim bodies are considered attractive, women diet to stay slender; in Tonga in the South Pacific, where beauty is measured by bulk, a woman eats to maintain a full figure."
"Similarly the interaction of models must be studied in order to determine how people's biological systems affect them psychologically, how their psychological systems affect them physically, and how both affect and are affected by their culture." (Hiebert p.26-27).
Figure 2 Hiebert p.26
An Integrated Approach to the Study of Humans
Hiebert goes on to explain that our understanding of reality, in order to gain a wholistic approach, must include the SPIRITUAL aspects of the people with whom we minister along with the social, psychological, physical, cultural and biological.
Hiebert reminds us:
"we should not judge another culture by the values of our own culture. Rather we need to judge it by 1) a bicultural evaluation scale that is detached from both and evaluates both, and by 2) the Scriptures and God's revelation." (Hiebert p.99)
Figure 3 Hiebert p.99
Evaluating Other Cultures
A Model for Evaluating Cultures at the World View Level
(Not misunderstanding) Understanding
(Not tthnocontrism)
Appreciation
(Not prejudgmmt)
Informed Judgment
TASK ORIENTATION VERSUS PERSON ORIENTATION
To develop skills that promote interaction between people of different cultures in a sensitive and appropriate way in our work among youth an understanding of both task and person orientation is vital.
In their book on ministering cross-culturally Lingenfelter and Mayers write:
"Individuals who are task-oriented find satisfaction in reaching their objectives and completing their projects. Their lives are motivated and directed by an unending succession of objectives. Frequently they aspire to complete a greater number of tasks than is humanly possible in the time they allocate; as a result, their lives take on a frenetic pace filled with activities. Many become workaholics, allowing tasks to so dominate their lives that other people are viewed as merely a part of their work schedule."
"The social life of task-oriented individuals is often merely an extension of work activity. At social gatherings their conversation is limited primarily to problems or concerns in their work. Other subjects (except for those that focus on another of their objectives) bore them. Task-oriented people consider social activities a drain on their productive time and often prefer the solitude of working alone and uninterrupted. To achieve is more important than to build social relationships, and they are willing to endure social deprivation to reach their goals."
"Individuals who are person-oriented find their satisfaction in interaction with others. Their highest priority is to establish and maintain personal relationships. They enjoy the social interaction required to sustain these relationships. Some take every available opportunity to meet new people and to cultivate an extensive network of personal contacts."
"People who have interaction as a goal need the acceptance and stimulus of their group of associates. They must spend a significant amount of time and energy fulfilling the obligations of group membership and maintaining personal ties. They work hard to promote group interests and interaction, often sacrificing their own personal goals for the interests of others. Failure to accomplish a task is less critical to them than a gain in the quality of personal relationships."
TASK ORIENTATION:
1. Focuses on tasks and principles
2. Finds satisfaction in the achievement of goals
3. Seeks friends with similar goals
4. Accepts loneliness and social deprivation for the sake of personal achievements
PERSON ORIENTATION: