Cultural Circles Exercise - University of Toronto文化界运动-多伦多大学.docVIP

Learning Points from Cultural Circles Exercise Knowledge of another’s culture its validity Role models in another culture Source of knowledge about role models of that culture Importance of role models for racialized groups Assumption of lower ethnic identity for Whites Learning Points from Exercise Purpose of form of exercise General Goals of exercise Learning Points (Some taken from: Culture circles: A cultural awareness exercise by Gary Coobs Yolanda Sarason in Journal of Management Education, April 1998, Vol 22, Issue 2, p. 218-226) Degree of accuracy of knowledge of other’s cultures --When answering more detailed questions about another’s culture (e.g., role model, source of pride in culture), students realized that their knowledge was very superficial, broad and general (e.g., they knew about a religious holiday but didn’t really know what the meaning behind the holiday was, or what practices were involved during that holiday). People also realized they didn’t know much about the history of groups etc. --Knowledge could be inaccurate based on the source (e.g., media portrayals, movies, novels, friends’ experiences, books about cultural differences). --People seem more confident if their knowledge was gained from direct experiences (e.g., from friends) --Upon talking with people from the chosen culture during the exercise, some students realized that there are many within-culture differences in practices. This made them feel unsure of their knowledge of their chosen culture --Some chose groups not represented in the class so that they wouldn’t be stereotyping the group a class member belonged to --People feel insulated from groups that are different from their own and feel uncomfortable asking questions (or talking) about cultural differences --Representativeness issue --Out-group homogeneity vs. In-group heterogeneity phenomena – --Costs and benefits of these structures Role models for visible minorities or disenfranchised group --There are few posi