Multiculturalism is the interrelationship of various cultures in the same environment. It is a social phenomenon that can be related to globalization and postmodern societies.
Some countries are more multicultural. Much due to the different groups of immigrants received, but also for observing other integration factors and the development of new cultures from the cultural shock.
Multiculturalism can also be called cultural pluralism, it is a concept of sociology applied to studies in social science. The idea of a multicultural group presupposes that cultural groups would be interconnected, due to the contact that cultures have with each other.
The issue is currently debated among anthropologists and sociologists of different lines of thought. Some scholars believe that this multicultural vision does not exist, and that there was an imposition of the dominant culture with the arrival of Europeans and the subordination of other cultures.
Other thinkers, on the other hand, see diverse multi-ethnic traits and defend the existence of multiple cultures that are mutually integrated and coexist in harmony precisely because of the possibility of relationships global.
The concept of multiculturalism is strongly influenced by cultural relativism, which questions the idea that the habits and customs of one group could be superior to others.
This idea that cultures are diverse and must be respected in their essence, without any right or wrong in customs, is the basis of multiculturalism.
Multiculturalism in Brazil
Multiculturalism in Brazil is directly associated with the migratory process since the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500. Brazil developed from a social construction between the Portuguese (Europeans), the indigenous (original peoples) and the kidnapped and enslaved blacks (from various African territories).
Over the centuries, the Brazilian territory received Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German and other immigrants, transforming Brazilian culture.
Internationally, Brazil is known for being one of the countries that best receives its visitors, trying to adapt to welcome other people's cultures and with a strong cultural brand of its own.
The ethnic diversity of Brazilians themselves is another strong multicultural characteristic. Different skin colors, different shared customs, different religious beliefs, all of this is part of the multicultural whole.
However, this multiculturality cannot be confused with the myth of racial democracy, which claims that there is perfect ethnic equality in the country.
Multiculturalism and Education
The issue of multiculturalism is extremely important in the field of pedagogy and education. It is interesting that teachers take such discussions into the classroom to create an environment that can integrate the differences, and thus arouse problematizations such as issues of racism and prejudice among students.
Multiculturalism applied to education involves pedagogical practices that awaken students to the diversity of cultural groups. It is important to learn to respect differences and to face issues such as cultural and gender identity.
These practices are essential for the formation of values that contribute to a more just multicultural society that respects diversity.
The mandatory teaching of African history and Afro-Brazilian culture, for example, is one of the affirmative actions for multiculturalism in education. It encourages teachers and students to leave the axis of Euro-centered studies that Brazilian schools traditionally propose.
For there to be multiculturalism, all cultures must have the same value in the educational system, invisibility reinforces the ethnocentric perspective.
Examples of Multiculturalism
The coexistence of different cultural groups as in the same place is an example of multiculturalism and representation. Like when we have Afro-descendant, indigenous, Caucasian and Asian male and female students in the same classroom.
Respect for the worship of different religions is an example of multiculturalism in our society. In places where members of Candomblé, faithful of evangelical churches, followers of Catholicism, atheists, Buddhists, among other beliefs, live together in a friendly way, it is a multicultural environment.
Music is an important component and present in practically every known culture. Recognizing rhythms from other cultural groups, without judging that they would be better or worse, is another example of multiculturalism.
See too:
- Cultural diversity
- cultural relativism
- acculturation
- Types of culture
- Culture
- ethnocentrism
