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In order to complete this paper assignment, students will interview a person of another culture or ethnicity

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In order to complete this paper assignment, students will interview a person of another culture or ethnicity. Ideally the person should be from a cultural or ethnic experience that differs from yours, but in some cases, interviewing an older family member can be illuminating as well. The interview should include the following information on the person interviewed. The idea is to learn new things, and expose yourself to information that you previously did not have experience with. There are two sections to this assignment, your interview and your interpretation of the interview in terms of your experience, in other words data on the person you interviewed, and data on you are the interviewer. Not only should your paper have an Introduction and Conclusion, the Body of your paper should be divided into various subheadings that cover the specific information being discussed for both Section 1 and 2 of your paper.

You may change the name of the person you are interviewing and use an alias if you wish. Please be sure to explain to the person you are interviewing that this is an exercise in learning more about other peoples cultures and experiences as part of the fulfillment of your Cultural Diversity course.

Section 1: On the person being Interviewed

1) Description of ethnic background - Eritrean, Ethiopian, Peruvian, or it may be a mixture, such as African and Spanish, Norwegian and Swedish, German and English.

2) History of coming to the USA. Historic background of how the people your interviewee has ties with came to be in the United States; when and why they came (were they immigrants or refugees, motivated by dreams of a better life, or running from oppression or poverty); the journey to this country, including any circumstances you consider significant. You may focus on a particular circumstance / event or you may choose to cover and discuss the more general circumstances of others of the ethnic group that the person you are interviewing belongs to. This section of your paper is substantial and should contain citations and sources because you are doing background research on history.

3) Reception of the members of the ethnicity by other Americans. To what degree were there immigration policies, restrictive or exclusionary policies which affected the opportunities of the newcomers? To what degree did they encounter discrimination or encouragement in their new communities?

4) Aspects or characteristics of the person’s ethnic background that are salient or important to them and their family; what features, such as the humor, the food, family relations, patterns of communication and childrearing, etc. contribute to the person’s way of thinking and being and those of others of their ethnic background?

5) Strengths. What strengths can the person trace to their ethnic background? (In some cases, these may be best observed through family values).

Section 2: Questions for the Interviewer (you the student)

In addition to the above questions regarding the person you interviewed, please answer the following in regards to your interviewing experience:

1) What were your feelings/emotions as you put yourself in the situation of interviewing the person for this assignment?

2) Reflect on how your group membership, race, and/or other factors influenced the ways you interpreted the experience.

3) Did any common themes about race /ethnicity appear during the course of your completing the assignment? Discuss what you think were the meanings of these themes.

4) If applicable, what were the aspects of white privilege that you did or did not observe or experience during the interview (this could be anything from a story told by the person who you were interviewing, to how you may have been viewed by the person etc.)? If anything came up, in your opinion, what were reasons why these occurred in those situations?

5) What did you learn about society/race/minority status, etc. AND yourself as a result of doing this paper?