Ideas to Infuse Multiculturalism Interviewing a Different Culture
Idea 3: Interviewing Someone from a Different Culture
Interviews are a way for students to get to learn about another individual that they may not know on a very personal level. Creating an assignment regarding an interview gives students incentive to conduct the interview and analyze the information they have gathered in a thoughtful way.
- Instruct students to take their own time to interview someone who was born (and, if possible grew up) in a country different than their own. This person should be a fellow student or member of staff or faculty. Suggest the students find a comfortable place to talk and begin by getting acquainted with the person they are interviewing.
- Then, instruct students to focus their questions on the following topics related to the interviewee:
- Family, cultural, educational, and religious background;
- Community in which (s)he was raised;
- Leisure activities as a child;
- Development of his/her diversity consciousness;
- Other similar areas of interest.
- Once the interview is over, have students think of how they would have answered the questions. Suggest that they compare and contrast their own answers to their interviewee�s.
- Finally, have the students attempt to explain why these similarities and differences may have come about.
- Students have the opportunity make on campus connections with people they may not connect with otherwise.
- Students will learn about a culture that is potentially vastly different than their own through stories and personal experiences rather than a textbook.
- Students will garner cross-cultural communication skills as well as analytical skills through the assignment.
- Reinforces that individuals from other cultures may have a variety of similarities and differences than what they are used to.
Adapted from:
Bucher, R. (2004) Diversity Consciousness: Opening Our Minds to People, Cultures, and Opportunities.