View this email online IN THE NEWS Fam, “Culture” is a term we use frequently here on Code Switch. In fact, the Code Switch team is under the broader umbrella of NPR’s Arts and Culture Hub. And culture is a word we use a lot in our…culture…writ large. We talk about ethnic cultures, company cultures, national cultures, family cultures. We hate cultural appropriation and “culture vultures”; we applaud cultural uplift. And at the end of the day, many of us do it for the culture.  But culture is a slippery concept to pin down. In 2001, the National Center for Cultural Competence defined culture as, “an integrated pattern of human behavior which includes but is not limited to—thought, communication, languages, beliefs, values, practices, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting, roles, relationships, and expected behaviors of an ethnic group or social groups whose members are uniquely identifiable by that pattern of human behavior.” It’s alternatively been defined as encompassing “the organization of thinking, feeling, believing, valuing and behaving collectively that differentiates one group from another. Values and beliefs often function on an unconscious level.” Which means, I’d argue, that it’s very easy to attribute something to “culture,” but much harder to draw lines around what a specific culture actually is. (Philadelphia culture might include eating hoagies and greasing poles ahead of big sports games, for instance. But what are the unconscious beliefs that make a Philadelphian a Philadelphian?)  Anyway. All of the messy ways that culture gets defined and wielded have been on my mind this past week, in the wake of what became an unusually splashy Senate confirmation hearing. Patrick Semansky/AP The hearing was to confirm Jeremy Carl, President Trump’s nominee for a senior State Department role. In it, Carl was asked how he defined white culture — a culture, he’s said, that is at risk of being erased in the United States. And Carl struggled to answer, pointing vaguely to white churches, foodways, and music. He notably did not weigh in on the beliefs, values, feelings or thoughts that he thinks make white culture “uniquely identifiable.”  Which makes sense. Because it’s easier to suggest that something is under threat when you don’t have to specify exactly what that thing is. After listening to the confirmation hearing, I wound up borrowing Jeremy Carl’s book, The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism is Tearing America Apart, from the library. I wanted to see if, in writing, Carl would be more candid with his views on what’s gone wrong with the country, and how to fix it. In it, one of the things he suggests as a way to preserve white culture is to “whiteshift” America’s ethnicity, largely by “[creating] incentives for more of America’s multiracial population to identify with the historic majority” and “encouraging [many Hispanics] to recast [themselves] as part of America’s historic white majority.” Of course, that proposal raises some interesting questions about culture. If people of different racial groups can simply identify as white, then how specific can “white culture” be? And if racial identity is not the same thing as racial culture, then why doesn’t Jeremy Carl simply start identifying with whatever racial group he thinks enjoys the most advantages in U.S. society? Or could it be that there’s something else going on here? If these musings weren’t enough for you, definitely check out tomorrow’s podcast episode (you’ll find it here or wherever you get your podcasts). Professor Nell Irvin Painter, a historian and the author of The History of White People, walks us through how whiteness has been defined and redefined over time, for a whole host of social and political purposes.  Newsletter continues after sponsor message ON THE POD Bettmann/ Getty Images The U.S. has been deporting people from Cuba in record numbers. That has come as a shock to many Cuban American communities, who had long enjoyed special protections that don't apply to most other immigrant groups. This week on the show we're talking about where this change fits into the trajectory of Cuban immigration to the U.S. We'll hear from Ada Ferrer, a historian at Princeton who shares how her family's divergent paths to the U.S. reverberated through her life. Then, we talk to historian Michael Bustamante of the University of Miami about how U.S.-Cuba immigration policy has evolved since the Cuban Revolution. Listen Here TRY CODE SWITCH+ FOR FREE Support discussions that matter - try a subscription to Code Switch+. Dive deep into the conversation with none of the sponsor interruptions, and know that you’re making this all possible with your support. Learn more at plus.npr.org/codeswitch and start with 30 days free by using the code "freemonth".    Explore NPR+ WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT Your turn: Tell me how you all define culture. What are the markers you look for? What makes a group a group? And what cultures do you identify with? Write to me at CodeSwitch@npr.org with all your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values, rituals, customs, courtesies, roles, manners of interacting, etc. Later gators! (Sorry — appropriation??) -Leah Donnella, senior editor Written by Leah Donnella and edited by Dalia Mortada Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. Subscribe to Code Switch+. Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free episodes. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: codeswitch@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Code Switch emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy