Transcript Slide 1
Intercultural Workshop International Programs Center 203 Foust 336.334.5404 [email protected] Image from: http://www.fcsl.edu/events/diversity/images/multicultural.jpg Update to the study abroad process What is culture? Working with a partner jot down your definition of culture Objective/ Subjective Culture Objective culture: What human beings make, and pass on from generation to generation. Examples: music and art Subjective culture: The learned and shared patterns of beliefs, behaviors, and values of groups of interacting people Source: Bennett 1998: 3. Identifying aspects of Culture Maximizing Study Abroad, Paige et al. 2002: H-31 Popular Saying or Expression What might these sayings suggest about U.S. values and beliefs? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” “Make lemons into lemonade” “Make yourself at home” “Don’t blame me!” “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” “Talk is cheap” “What’s the bottom line?” “What’s up?” Contrasting US Views With the Host Culture Activity Taking action is more important than talking about it “So what do you do” is the first question you ask when meeting someone “I have to work is considered an acceptable excuse not to attend an important social activity like family gatherings or even a wedding or funeral Contrasting US Views With the Host Culture Change and Taking Risks Change is good You can always pick up, move, and start over somewhere else If something is old or broken, it’s OK to buy a new one and donate the old one to charity (or throw it out) Contrasting US Views With the Host Culture Age The ability to be productive is valued more than seniority Youth culture is pervasive in fashion, art and the media Respect is based more upon tangible achievements than on seniority or experience It’s not unusual to for a family to place an aging member into a nursing home where the person receives good care and the family can continue to be somewhat independent. Milton Bennett’s Model: Development of Intercultural Sensitivity Experience of Difference Denial Defense Minimization Ethnocentric Stages Acceptance Adaptation Integration Ethno-relative Stages Source: Bennett & Bennett in Landis et al. 2004: 153. Stages of Intercultural Sensitivity Denial: Does not recognize cultural differences Defense: Recognizes some differences, but sees them as negative Minimization: Unaware of projection of own cultural values; sees own values as superior Acceptance: Shifts perspectives to understand that the same ordinary behavior can have different meanings in different cultures Adaptation: Can evaluate others’ behavior from their frame of reference and can adapt behavior to fit the norms of a different culture Integration: Can shift frame of reference and also deal with resulting identity issues Source: http://www.awesomelibrary.org/multiculturaltoolkit-stages.html Developmental task Denial: Recognize cultural differences that are escaping your notice Defense: Become more tolerant of differences and recognize the basic commonalities among people of different cultures Minimization: Learn more about your own culture and avoid projecting that culture onto other people’s experience Acceptance: Link your knowledge about your own and other cultures to the skill of shifting perspective Adaptation-Cognitive frame-shifting: Link your cognitive ability to other aspects of your behavior, with the goal of generating natural behavior in more than one cultural context Adaptation-Behavioral frame-shifting: Deal with identity issues associated with the chameleon effect that may accompany your cultural flexibility EM: See yourself less as a victim of cultural confusion and more as a conscious constructor of multiple cultural experiences Developmental Model Video Global Citizenship Global citizenship creates conceptual and practical linkages, not divisions. The connections between what happens at home and “over there” become more visible. Commonalities that human beings share become balanced with cultural differences (Green, 2012). Golden Rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” Platinum Rule “Do unto others as they themselves would have done unto them”