2. Culture Document for the HAPPI lab
Norms for Sharing Exchanging Ideas within our Team
These are some ideas we adapted from a book “Allah: A Christian Response” by Miroslov Volf, an expert in political theology and religious dialogue between Muslim’s and Christians. (This is an important book because, as the author claims, there is no possibility for world peace without peace between Christians and Muslims (for example, see Pew estimates of religious growth). The book seeks to look for ethical common ground (e.g., love of God, love of neighbor) while also honoring differences. It applies the golden rule, found in a vast array of religious or other cultural traditions, to the discussion of one’s faith. We adapted the language to focus on sharing of cultural values.
1. Share your own cultural views only if you are prepared to let others share their cultural views. (We do not assume we are morally superior to others.)
2. Share your views in a way that you would want someone from a different perspective to share their view with you (We treat others as we would like to be treated even when it is difficult).
Three Expressions
3. It is wrong to try to coerce others to accept your views; the recipients must be able to receive or reject your perspective, rather than be forced to cave in under the pressure of a superior power.
4. It is wrong to bribe or seduce others to embrace your views; your vision of a better world has to be offered as valuable and attractive in itself, rather than on account of its “packaging” or the extrinsic rewards associated with it (e.g., money or status).
5. It is wrong to compare the best practices of people who share your view (or belong to your cultural group) with the worst practices of people who do not share your view (or belong to your cultural group).
Cultural Humility
Humans have a fundamental need to belong. Good and healthy groups meet this need while also promoting the thriving of all its members. Unhealthy groups—whether families, teams, or larger societal units—promote the thriving of some at the expense of others. Cultural humility involves an awareness that all of our communities have limitations related to sharing of power. As a result, we have each internalized some of the brokenness of the systems that formed us, and thus we are all in need of healing and growth. Accordingly, as a group, we strive to learn about our limitations. We rely on each other to learn to become a better community. We strive to protect the psychological hurts of others and protect each other in how we express our own hurts.
Here are some of the ways that we seek to express cultural humility in our interactions with each other.
We seek to build trusting relationships through making and keeping our commitments to each other.
We aspire to be intellectually humble: we know we all have ignorance (we are not know-it-alls) that prevent us from living up to these commitments.
We depend on each other to learn about areas for growth.
When we are made aware, we admit limitations and apologize for harming relationships.
We are intellectually generous: we give each other the benefit of the doubt.
We avoid unhelpful triangulation (there’s a bit to this idea in family systems, but the shorthand is that we are careful not to participate in slander, because it complicates rather than helps to resolve conflict).
We stand with the vulnerable in our group.
We use our creativity to make room for all members to thrive while belonging in our group.
We consider how power may lead to excess of cultural arrogance or deference that undermines the depth of trust and effectiveness of our community.
We strive to establish a foundation of playfulness and fun that will protect trust and provide a source of psychological refuge and resilience.
Golden Rule
Sometimes language around diversity does not provide enough structure to refer to as a mutual agreement about how we will treat each other. In these cases, appealing to the words—equity, inclusion, or justice—does not reflect a shared understanding within a relationship or community. For example, more progressive students might focus on problems of justice associated with inequity, whereas libertarian or conservative students might focus on problems of justice related to free-rider problems. Or sometimes inclusion (a broader tent) might conflict with equity (bringing in more voices could dilute the democratic power of groups who are already marginalized).
Referring to the golden rule is probably a shorthand, and we are in good company to use it that way (or see). As a principle, it probably has more value than just shorthand. Mike McCullough suggests that the golden rule emerged across many cultures as a key to cooperation as society moved from small groups to larger groups when agriculture allowed accumulation of wealth. He argues that the golden rule holds up pretty well as an ethical principle. Still, we are probably using it as a bit of a starting point to search for a common commitment to treat each other with dignity and respect. And we are in good company, because it has a long tradition of being used for that purpose. For an extended version of how we aspire to apply these norms to areas that may involve a high potential for problems with trust (e.g., politics and religion) see this internal document.
Key Resources
Overview of the lab for potential applicants to the doctoral program
Culture Document (used at annual retreats). We have seen a few documents to help with orientation. This is a video of our 2023 orientation.
Lab Roles (application due June 1, 2025).