Cultural Identity
Improving Cultural Competency in Healthcare, Libraries, and Beyond
January 27, 2024, Vol. 2, Issue 4
Cite as: Coleman, Anita S. (2024, January 27). Cultural Identity: Improving our cultural competency in healthcare, libraries, and beyond. Infophilia, a positive psychology of information, 2 (4).
Welcome to Infophilia, a weekly newsletter about the human love of information and connections. This is one of the places where I'm passionately pioneering the foundations of a dynamic positive psychology of information—an avant-garde research pursuit! I’m glad to have you here. Thank you for reading.
If this is your first time, here’s a link to recent writings: An Infophilia Roundup: Plus Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's 'Decolonising the Mind' and 'The Perfect Nine.'
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Thanks to my good friend and a faithful supporter of Infophilia, I’m pleased to invite you to a free Great Decisions (Foreign Policy) conversation series that will take place on Mondays from 7:00 - 8:00 pm Pacific Time, via Zoom, January 29 through March 18. You are welcome to join us each week or to come based on your availability or your interest in a particular topic. The 2024 Briefing books ($35) may be bought from the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decisions website. You can also browse the topic descriptions for the entire series. (I don’t receive any proceeds from the book sales.)
January 29 - Mideast Realignment - 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Pacific Time (via Zoom)
Leader: Daniel Wehrenfennig, PhD., Founder and Executive Director of the Center for International Experiential Learning (CIEL) The United States and Middle East are at a crossroads. In spite of a reduced presence in the Middle East, the U.S. still has significant national interests there and the area is a key arena for global power politics. Can the U.S. continue to defend its interests in the Middle East and globally with a lower level of military and political involvement, or should it recommit to a leading role in the region?
Interested in receiving the Zoom link for the event? Email me!
Now, my article for this week.
A massive cultural literacy movement that is not imposed, but which springs from within is called for. - Edward T. Hall (1976)
Delivering quality healthcare requires cultural competency - the ability to understand diverse perspectives and tailor care appropriately. But what exactly is culture and how does it differ from race or ethnicity?
I explain some of the nuances, introducing concepts like extension transference, information and knowledge cultures, and the need for cultural literacy and humility.