Cultural Self Awareness in Academia

Caitlin Murtagh

English 220.032

Professor Genevieve Garcia de Mueller

October 8, 2013

MWA 1

Margaret Montoya states, “If you have a problem needing to be fixed and have one group of experts on the subject and another group of diverse individuals (not necessarily experts) working on the problem, the group of diverse individuals will come up with a better solution than the experts.” A diverse group is one that values, accepts, and encourages the differences in its members. It recognizes that people with different backgrounds, skills, attitudes and experiences bring unique ideas and perceptions. Diverse groups embrace and join these differences to make their ideas relevant to various situations. Diverse groups are able to draw upon the widest possible range of views and experiences so it can create the most efficient solutions to problems. For this reason, cultural self-awareness and diversity within academia is an important factor of success in how it functions.

On September 29, 2013, an Albuquerque Cultural Conference took place at the Harwood Arts Center. At the conference, there was a panel made up of seven individuals: Leslie (coordinator), John (guest of honor), Tenaya, Andrea, Henry, Akashua, and Maria. There were fifteen or so people that attended the event. Due to the relatively small group size, we were able to sit in a circle facing each other. To begin the discussion, each person went around the circle to introduce themselves. They described what work they currently do and how their culture has helped or hindered the success in their work and their communities. All on the panel were writers, poets, teachers or publishers.

At the beginning of the discussion, many on the panel made it explicitly clear that they are “people of color” by repeating the phrase over and over again while giving their personal narratives. The phrase “people of color” provided the discussion its own unique significance from the start. We could tell that the...