Overview

This assignment will give you an opportunity to learn about another culture by interviewing someone from a different culture or diverse background. Learning about culture and diversity in this way allows us to see how culture affects our worldview and relationships.

Preparation

Your instructor will either assign culture and diversity topics (eg. specific national cultures, physical disabilities, LGBTQ, ...) or ask you to identify a culture or diversity category and to set up an interview with a person who represents that culture or diversity category. You may be asked to interview a student from your class. Schedule 30 to 45 minutes for your interview.

Part 1

Your instructor will ask you some questions about culture which you will discuss with your classmates. Next, create a concept map for the culture that you have selected.

Your concept map should reflect your current ideas and impressions about the target culture. You don't need to do any research to prepare your concept map. It does not need to be overly detailed, and there are no "wrong" answers. Be honest about your beliefs when you create the concept map. You will not show your map to the person that you interview.

Submit your draft concept map

Part 2

During this hour of class, you will prepare for your interview.

Your interview will be semi-structured. That means that you will have questions prepared, but the person you interview should also be encouraged to speak freely about his/her culture.

There are two main goals for the interview:

1. To challenge your beliefs, opinions, and assumptions about the culture
2. To learn more about the culture

Here are some guidelines for your interview questions:

• Examine your concept map and write questions that will allow you an opportunity to challenge your existing ideas about the culture.
• Prepare a list of questions in advance, but during the interview, select the questions that you ask based on the information that your interviewee gives you. Improvise if you can so that your questions respond to what the person says.
• Remember, your main purpose is to confirm or challenge your original concept map. Keep this in mind during the interview.
• Don't show your concept map to the person that you are interviewing - it may influence him/her unintentionally. Also, don't try to create a new concept map during your interview. You will do that afterwards.
• Ask questions about the individual him/herself and not just about the culture. It is important to understand how this person fits into his or her culture. For example, you could find out about the individual's socioeconomic status, gender, geography, religion, education, ethnicity, language, etc.

Requirments: 1. Draft a Cultural Concept Map 2. write out some Interview Questions