Recognizing Assumptions and Challenging Outdated Systems

This week Dr. I. David Daniels speaks with Michael Flynn, a Cultural Anthropologist, about his views on culture, anthropology, safety, diversity, equity, and inclusion, his experience, and his focus on social inclusion and exclusion from the view of a social scientist. Cultural anthropologists study how people who share a common cultural system organize and shape the physical and social world around them and are, in turn, shaped by those ideas, behaviors, and physical environments. Michael’s view of this topic is informed by his experience as the child of immigrants, who settled in the Midwest, but often felt both in and out of the social settings he was in at the same time. He’ll share his professional journey focusing on how “in-groups,” “out-groups,” and the "cultural boxes" that humans create directly impact physical and psychological safety.