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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
3. Cultural Artifacts Exercise: To encourage students to become more aware of their own
cultural backgrounds and to emphasize the “hidden” nature of culture, ask students to bring
4. DIE Perception Exercise: This exercise will help students become familiar with
description, interpretation, and evaluation as important tools for “sense-making” when
confronted with people, behaviors, and events that are unknown. Students also become
aware of how they make value judgments. It can become a wonderful tool for guiding
future class discussions. You will need one or two ambiguous objects. During
it. The way you phrase the question is very important; otherwise, it skews the answers.
You should ask, “Tell me something about this.” (Don’t ask them what they “see” or to
just describe the object.) You can let them touch the object, but keep it moving quickly.
(“What else can you say?”) Spend a couple of minutes on this. You (or a student assistant)
can write on a board in three columns those statements that fit evaluation, interpretation,
Repeat the process with the second object, and ask them first to describe only what they
see. Chart in the “description” column. Correct them if they make any interpretations or
evaluations. Next, have them interpret (attempt to identify what it might be) charting their
responses. Finally, ask them to evaluate it according to the interpretations. Have them give
both a positive and a negative evaluation for each interpretation.
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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
more complex version of this exercise is available at www.intercultural.org.
5. Values Identification Exercise: Use the following worksheet to assist students in
identifying their own values and making the link between what they value and the value
frameworks discussed in the chapter.
Listed below are “traditional American values,” in other words, goals and attitudes that are
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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
• How can I use this course to further clarify my awareness of both my own and
6. Values Exercise II: The goal of this powerful exercise is to enable students to experience
firsthand how deeply we hold certain values. Be aware that this may be upsetting for some
students, particularly immigrants who may have lost something they value. Allow students
to opt out of the process at any time if they find the exercise too disturbing. The exercise
will probably work better with a class that is willing to be self-reflective. First, give
bottom.
• Invite students to throw away (literally into the middle of the room) the value they
think is the least important to them.
• Discuss how it felt to throw away that value, even considering that it was their least
important one.
After the exercise, use the following questions to debrief the exercise:
• How do you feel about the values you have in front of you?
• How did it feel to lose values, and how did it feel to keep values?
• What does this say about the power and the meaning our values have for us?
• Did you feel differently when another person threw away one of your values than
Invite students to retrieve “tossed” values at the conclusion of this exercise.
7. Power and Privilege Exercise—“Stand Up”: This exercise allows students to identify
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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
statement pertains to them. It is designed to make us aware of the types of privilege we all
have, depending on the context. Read each statement to the class, and allow time for
students to “stand up” in response to each one (students need to stand up only if they are
After the exercise, examine each of the statements with the class, and ask students how
being a part of the group identified in the statement would affect their ability to
communicate with people from other groups. Which groups would be most comfortable
communicating with them? Which groups would be least comfortable communicating with
them?
8. Simulation Exercise: One of the most effective ways to help students identify with the
challenges faced by immigrants is to involve them in a simulation in which they must
The following are a few simulations:
• Barnga, created by Sivasailam Thiagarajan, distributed by Intercultural Press. P.O.
Box 700, Yarmouth, ME 04096; (800) 370-2665; fax (207) 846-5181
This is easy and requires only packs of ordinary playing cards. Students are frustrated
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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
This is a simulation that has been used since the 1970s. It is easily adaptable,
requiring 30 to 45 minutes (including the debrief) and minimal supplies. You can use
This is a complex simulation that requires two facilitators: cultural artifacts supplied
in the game and learning a simple language. The cultural exchanges really bring
home feelings of culture shock and the power of cultural values.
• Ecotonos: A Unique Simulation for Working across the Cultural Divide, created by
Diane Hofner Saphiere and Nipporica Associates and distributed by Intercultural
Press. P.O. Box 700, Yarmouth, ME 04096; (800) 370-2665; fax (207) 846-5181
Albatross: Tips for the Facilitators
The Albatross simulation provides an opportunity for participants to experience the process
of observing another culture and learning how we often (mistakenly) judge the behavior of
others based on our own assumptions about the world. During the simulation, participants
observe certain ritualistic behaviors by the members of the Albatross culture. Participants
describe and react to cultural differences without being judgmental.
Number of Participants
• There should be a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 40 participants.
• Participants should be a mixture of males and females.
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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
Materials Needed
• One table and 2 chairs
• Two bowls, two cups, and a bottle or flask
• Peanuts in the shell and Peanut M&M’s
Things you may want to add
Time Needed
• A minimum of 30 minutes is required.
• The simulation of the Albatross culture can be done in as little as 15 minutes. The
discussion (often referred to as debriefing) can take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes.
Albatross Culture
Albatross is a culture in which the earth is most highly revered. As a result, women—who
The culture places great importance on greetings and making visitors feel welcome and
part of the culture. Women greet each other by touching one another’s feet or lower legs to
demonstrate their connections to the earth. Men shake one another’s hands by holding the
other’s hand with both of their own hands to show welcoming and gentleness. They also
indicate disapproval, Albatrossians will make a sustained hissing sound. Alternately,
approval of an action will spur an almost spiritual humming sound. Lastly, a quiet clicking
of the tongue will be used to get another person’s attention.
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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
Because women and men have different status, women will greet men by kneeling next to
him and bowing to the earth in order to allow him to use her as a vehicle to touch the
“mother” by placing his hand on the back of her head.
Process
chair and then seats herself on the floor, and the two quietly meditate for a moment. The
woman clicks quietly, and the man places his hand on her head. She bows all the way to
the ground. She then gets up and walks slowly toward the table. She begins to serve him a
ritual meal, first placing a cloth on his lap and then bringing him food (peanut M&M’s)
and drink. Each time she brings something, she kneels and faces the audience with the item
The woman then goes into the audience, searching for the woman with the largest feet. She
motions for the woman to take her shoes off. She then brings the other woman to the man’s
chair and motions for her to kneel. She then returns to the audience and brings a man from
the audience to sit in the second chair. She motions for the male guest to place his hand on
a female guest’s head and has her bow to the floor. With hisses for correction and
for all of the women to eat their peanuts.
When this is done, she motions the guests to return to the audience, and she and the man
rise and depart.
For all options, there is ABSOLUTELY NO TALKING during the simulation. All
directions are given with humming, clicking, and hissing as signals.
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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
Possible Discussion Questions
The debriefing follows a pattern of Description, Evaluation, and Interpretation.
• Begin by asking for descriptions: “What did you see?” (D)
• Ask participants to think about ways in which what they learned can be adapted to
learning about and interacting successfully with culturally different others.
9. An easy way to demonstrate the frustration involved in intercultural communication is to
ask for two student volunteers from the class. One student will be your collaborator. Take
this student outside the classroom, and explain that, in the exercise, they are from a culture
with only two rules: (1) they can understand English, but they can only say yes or no and
1. Still Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women (Produced by Jean Kilbourne,
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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
The director, Margaret Lazarus, describes the portrayal of women in advertising and the
2. Black Views of Discrimination (Produced by the Educational Film Center for NYT
3. A Class Divided: Then and Now, featuring Jane Elliott (Filmed 15 years after Eye of The
Storm, 60 minutes)
4. Skin Deep: Race and Ethnicity on Campus (California Newsreel (Firm), Films for the
Humanities & Sciences, Films Media Group, New York, 1995, 54 minutes)
5. True Colors (Produced by MTI/Film & Video, NorthBrook, IL, 1991, 19 minutes)
6. Overcoming Prejudice (Distributed by Insight Media, New York, 1996, 59 minutes)
This documentary examines the origins of prejudice, discussing how it can be (a) a result
7. How Beliefs and Values Define a Culture (Distributed by Video Education Australasia,
United Learning [Firm], 1997, 24 minutes)
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Chapter 3: Culture, Communication, Context, and Power
8. The Color of Fear (Distributed by Stir-Fry Productions, Oakland, California, 1994, 90
minutes)
This is a powerful video that reveals the pain and anguish that racism has caused in the
