When cultural humility meets journalism
At the edge of Machu Picchu, you can sit and look out across the vast mountainous terrain. You can feel the mist of the clouds hanging low, barely touching the tips of the highest peak. You can enjoy the picture of alpacas meandering through the large terrace walls. You can taste and see the glory of God meeting the invention of man.
Mandate to Cultivate
When I look back at this moment, I am struck by the reality of God’s cultural mandate that He bestowed on us. In Genesis 1:28, God tells Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” He commands us to cultivate the earth, to plant the seed and let Him water it. This cultivation looks different for each person because of the wide array of vocations. But, when I consider my own cultural mandate, I go back to Peru. I go back to each city—Lima, Cusco, Amazon and Paracas and I see the different landscapes people lived on, the different clothes people wore. I see agriculture and terrace farming in Cusco, street vendors in Lima, market places in Paracas. I taste different foods, like ceviche and causa. When I go back to Peru, I hear different languages being spoken—Spanish in Lima and Quechua in Cusco, and I hear different songs being sung. When I go back to Peru, I am reminded of the cultural immersion that steered me on this pursuit of cross-cultural journalism, and I am reminded of why it matters.
Humility that Empowers
When asked why cross-cultural competence is a must in journalism education, Patricia Paddey, Director of Communications with Save the Mothers, answered, “It’s no good being observant if your own cultural conditioning causes you to misinterpret what you’re seeing.” Effective journalism requires the storyteller to go beyond information, influence, even cross-cultural competence into an area of cultural humility. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines cultural humility as “a lifelong process of self-reflection and self-critique whereby the individual not only learns about another’s culture, but one starts with an examination of her/his own beliefs and cultural identities.” When journalists pursue a story in a cross-cultural context, this humility challenges them to acknowledge their own cultural biases before embarking on a journey of learning from the other. As a journalism student, I am reminded of how impactful storytelling could be when approached with this humility. Without it, stories fail to convey proper values and the cultural impact is lost. If we hope to write narratives that shape cultures, cultural humility is the necessary first step.
I recently read a case study about the impact of cultural values on Māori journalists. In the study, Folker Hanusch interviews several Māori journalists in Aotearoa, New Zealand on how their journalistic practices have been impacted by the Māori culture. I’m fascinated by the relationships these journalists built with those in the community and the amount of cultural protocols that they needed to know in order to build those relationships. For example, the journalists learned things like —
tikanga — Māori customs and practices
mihi — greetings
whakataukī and pepeha — proverbs
marae — the traditional meeting ground
hui — meetings for public deliberation
— and incorporated them in their storytelling. When I consider my own desires to go out and tell stories in different cultures, I am amazed—and excited—at the amount of cultural immersion I will experience.
Pursuit of Cultural Knowledge
What I learn from Māori journalists in Aotearoa is that cultural humility empowers journalists to be effective storytellers. So, as I strive to take on my cultural mandate to cultivate the earth, I am humbled by the amount of cultural knowledge I am still lacking in. But, I am also encouraged in the amazing responsibility I have as a journalist to go out there and learn from others so that I can share their stories. What a privilege we have to be involved in a greater story of showcasing the different cultures on this earth.
My own experience in Peru challenged me to consider my biases. It forced me to empty myself of any ethnocentrism and fully immerse myself in another culture. It reminded me of how small I am compared to the rest of the world. And it showed me that it is only until I am this small that I can make a large impact for His Kingdom by learning from the other and joining His mandate to subdue the earth and fill it.
Genesis 1:28
"God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it."
