Please join SDIS for their monthly "Culture Stew:  Adding flavors and stirring the pot" 

This month, they are celebrating Women's History Month with a discussion of "Women Around the World" facilitated by Jessica Lane:

At this stage in our growth, our country and our campus, are more like a giant stewpot containing big chunks of different, yet clearly distinguishable, ingredients. We have many cultures and stories that we can share. They come together to form a deliciously distinctive combination of flavors.

In the past the blending of our cultures was described as a Melting pot” by some and by others referred as a “salad bowl.” The shortages of the melting pot and salad bowl paradigms can be expressed in the following summarizing parables: In the case of the melting pot the aim is that all cultures become reflected in one common culture, however this is generally the culture of the dominant group – I thought this was mixed vegetable soup but I can only taste tomato. In the case of the salad bowl, cultural groups should exist separately and maintain their practices and institutions, however, “where is the dressing to cover it all?” Hopefully the solution may be offered by the concept of the ethnic stew where all the ingredients are mixed in a sort of pan-Hungarian goulash where the pieces of different kinds of meat still keep their solid structure .

That is the idea behind our “Culture Stew” series, we hope to bring together members of the St. Thomas community to a time and place where we can collectively have an open dialogue related to campus, local, national, and/or international events and topics that affect or interest us. In providing a forum for the many voices on our campus to be heard, we hope that, through education and conversation, we can bring about enlightenment, understanding, and acceptance.

This is one of many events on-campus and in the community - visit their site to learn more about other events being held.