CROSSROADS IN CULTURAL STUDIES
Fourth International Conference
June 29 - July 2, 2002, Tampere, Finland
The Culture of "Other": Examining
and Avoiding Stereotypes
Organiser: Mary Hadley
Hadley, Mary (Georgia Southern
University, USA) MUST I BECOME AMERICANIZED? TEACHING CULTURE TO INTERNATIONAL
STUDENTS
Teaching the culture of the host country to international students who are
studying at the university level, is a far cry from teaching survival skills to
adults in different situations. What do international students need to know
about the U.S. if they are to be successful at an American university? Is it
enough to teach them the mores of an American classroom, or do they also need to
have some knowledge about our institutions, our history, our holidays? How
important is fitting in to the social scene, and how can the student achieve
this without losing his or her own ethnic identity? Is there a real danger in
becoming so comfortable in the host culture that the student will become a
misfit back home? These topics will be discussed referring to specific classroom
activities that have been successful in helping students adjust to the United
States without becoming overly Americanized.
Hulsman, John (Rider University, USA)
MINORITY STUDENTS AND 'RUMORS OF INFERIORITY': OVERCOMING STEREOTYPES IN
DEVELOPMENTAL ENGLISH
At Rider University, we have developed a unique eighteen-week Summer-Fall
program in composition and humanities for a group of forty "at risk"
inner-city New Jersey minority students who are recruited for the university's
Educational Opportunity Program. We teach reading and writing in a
"learning community" (with accompanying eighteen-week courses in Logic
and Speech) and at a high level, with strong advising and tutorial support
systems. We blend traditional humanities with important multicultural works, and
each year our students host a major contemporary writer, delivering critical
papers on his or her work. What Bowen and Bok call "the aura of high
expectations," combined with clear evidence of academic success, is the
formula for overcoming, in Claude Steele's phrase, the "rumors of
inferiority" that often beset minority-heavy "remedial" programs,
which are easily marginalized due to institutional neglect, faculty turnover,
academic reductionism, and well-meaning but misguided notions of student needs.
Welford, Theresa (Georgia Southern
University, USA) WELCOMING STUDENTS TO THE "CULTURE" OF WRITERS
Many students, even those who enjoy writing, feel that they don't have a place
in the "culture" of writing and writers. Many feel that they don't
even have what it takes to "join." I must confess that, in my
presentation, I'll be playing fast and loose with definitions of the term
"culture." However, as I discuss my definition, it should become clear
that those of us who write whether we're full-time writers, part-time writers,
or "dabblers" can and do form a culture of sorts, with our own
practices, beliefs, artifacts, value systems, behaviors, customs, rituals. As a
writer, and as a teacher, I show my students that, if they wish, they can at
least come in, take a good look around, and see if the "culture" of
writers is a group they'd like to belong to. In my presentation, I'll focus on
two things: 1) a definition of what I'm calling the "culture" of
writers and 2) a discussion of some of the strategies I use in my ongoing
efforts to make my students feel that they are welcome to join this group.
Welford, Mark (Georgia Southern
University, USA) THE AMERICAN DREAM: WHAT IF YOU'RE NOT INCLUDED?
Teaching World Regional Geography in a rural, Southern university has taught me
that stereotypes of international peoples are alive and well among many
students. One such stereotype is that most non-westerners are poor because they
DESERVE to be poor. Most students equate poverty with laziness, having been told
from birth "if you work hard, you will succeed." This is a major
component of the American Dream. My principal teaching goal for every semester
is to debunk this deep-seated notion. Not surprisingly, it is useless to make
one or two simple responses, for these appear glib and unconvincing. Similarly,
it is useless to offer a few, quick explanations and examples. The approach must
be cumulative, aggressive, and persistent. When I include personal details and
experiences, as well as compelling statistics and portraits of real people, I
can progressively break down the notion that "If you're poor, it's your
fault."
Hughes, Annie (University of York,
United Kingdom) INTEGRATING STUDENTS WITH 'REAL' PEOPLE ON THE STREET
In this session we will consider ways in which students from different countries
and cultures around the world, attending courses at the EFL Unit, University of
York, UK, use the local population as a wonderful authentic interactive resource
during their personal projects. Students gather information on people's opinions
and reactions within these projects that cover a very wide variety of topics.
One of the main by-products of this project interaction and data gathering is
that students talk to a wide range of people of all backgrounds and ages.
Interacting with 'real' people on the street allows our students to consider the
reactions and opinions of individuals who do not all feel or think in the same
way as other interviewees.
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