Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Chapter Exercises
Chapter 8: Religion and Identity
Exercise 1: Countering Stereotypes
Purposes
1. To analyze the origin of contemporary stereotypes associated with Arab Americans
2. To analyze strategies to counter the stereotypes
Instructions
1. Do research on what stereotypes are/have been associated with Arab Americans. The
source material may be from scholarly books, movies, TV programs, and/or personal
interaction with people of Arab heritage.
2. Select two stereotypes from those you collected in your research.
3. First, describe the stereotypes. Then, explain how and why the stereotypes are detrimental
to our interaction with Arab Americans.
4. Discuss how you can possibly fight against such stereotypes. You should draw upon insights
from the psychology of stereotyping.
5. Answer the question in the “Conclusions” section of the exercise.
Conclusions
How can citizens and media representatives counter the negativity of some of the portrayals of
Arabs and Arab Americans?
Exercise 2: Using New Cultural Knowledge: Arab Culture
Purpose
To use knowledge of the Arab culture to examine intercultural communication situations
Instructions
Read and analyze each of the incidents described below. Consider what cultural values are being
reflected (both Saudi and American) and how the incident could have been avoided or handled
differently.
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
1. An instructor gave a test to Saudi students. The test included information from the entire
course. Two of the Saudis did very poorly; in fact, one student completely failed the test.
When the instructor discussed the test results with them, they simply shrugged their
shoulders and said, “Inshallah,” which is an expression that means “It’s in God’s hands.” The
instructor replied, “But God didn’t answer the test. You did!”
2. An Arab student worked as an assistant in a lab on campus. He asked his coworkers if they
wanted to go to lunch with him at the Student Union. They agreed to go with him and said
that it was time to eat. They all chatted together as they went to the Union, where they got
in line at the cafeteria. When they reached the cashier’s station, the Arab student, who was
first in line, paid for all of them. When the group got to their table, his two coworkers
insisted on giving the Arab student the money for their lunches. The Arab refused it, but the
Americans insisted; and the coworker sitting beside him swept the money off the table and
put it into the foreign student’s jacket pocket. Afterward, the Americans were talking
together and said that the Arab student had been unusually quiet and reserved while he ate
his lunch.
Note: Incidents adapted from A Manual of Teaching Techniques for Intercultural Education
(Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1971) and from Paula Barnak, “Critical Incidents
Exercise,” in David S. Hoopes and Paul Ventura (Eds.), Intercultural Sourcebook: Cross-Cultural
Training Methodologies (Chicago: Intercultural Press, 1979), p. 134.
Exercise 3: Arabs and Stereotypes
Purposes
1. To recognize popular stereotypes of Arabs
2. To discover Arab stereotypes of the United States
3. To recognize how those stereotypes affect intercultural communication
If your native country is not the United States, consider the ethnocentric judgments that occur
between the people of your country and the people of the Arab states.
Instructions
1. Whether or not you are a member of the group, identify commonly held stereotypes of
Arabs and stereotypes that Arabs may have of the people of the United States.
2. Give the sources of those stereotypes.
3. Explain how those stereotypes affect intercultural communication.
Example:
Stereotypes about Arabs
Source
Effect
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Religious fanatics devoted to a non-
Western warrior religion
Popular movies
Popular press
Believe they are blind to
reason
Stereotypes about the United
States
Source
Effect
People are sex maniacs; everything
revolves around sex.
Popular movies
Popular television
Distrust
Believe people do not
respect one another
Then, answer the questions in the “Conclusions” section of the exercise.
Conclusions
1. What have been the major sources of the stereotypes?
2. How have the stereotypes affected intercultural communication?
Exercise 4: Arguments Pro and Against Arab Practices
Purpose
To help you increase your understanding of Arab values
Instructions
1. Provide arguments pro and against integration of church and state.
2. Provide arguments pro and against women’s required use of the veil.
3. Answer the questions in the “Conclusions” section of the exercise.
Conclusions
1. What did it feel like to consider the issues from multiple perspectives?
2. How did your biases influence your understanding of these issues?
Exercise 5: Personal Reflection on Religion
Purposes
To examine how your own religious background and religious identify influence your worldview
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Instructions
Reflect upon your religious background and the religion you currently identify with (if any). Consider
how your perceptions of, and opinions on a variety of issues are influenced by your beliefs.
Conclusions
1. In what ways does your religious identify influence your perception of certain issues?
2. Why is it important to consider the role of our own religious affiliation when we are
communicating interculturally?