2008年7月2日水曜日

Meetings 12, 13, 14: Breaking Down National Stereotypes Discussion

From next week MMCE will hold the Breaking Down National Stereotypes Discussion. The goal of this discussion is to investigate the validity of commonly held stereotypes which we have about different countries. On July 9th and July 16th we will have 5 different guests from the following countires:
1) China
2) France
3) Mexico
4) Russia
5) USA
To prepare for the discussion each of the 5 groups in MMCE conducted a survey in which they asked 30 people to say the first three images they think of when they heard a group's country of concentration. For example, the group studing France asked 30 people to say the first 3 images they thought of when they heard the word "France". The results of each survey are below.
China
France
Mexico
Russia
USA

Today, July 2, each group in MMCE made a mind map based on their country data:



Here is the schedule for July 9 and July 16:

July 9: Day 1
The guests will answer the following questions about their country diagrams and add anything else they want to:
1) Are there any responses that you are proud of?
2) Are there any responses you do no think are true?
3) What else do you think we should know about your country?
The Discussion
10:30 ~ 10:35: Intro by JH
10:35 ~ 10:45 : Ice Breaking
10:45 ~ 10:55: Mind Map Gallery Viewing

10:55 ~ 12:00 Guest Presentations (5 minutes presentation + 5 minutes question and answer)

July 16: Day 2 (Tentative)
The Discussion
We will be working in our CLGs. The plan for July 16 is below.
1. Ice Breaking
2. Mini-discussions:
l Each group will have 10 minutes to talk to a guest. Here is some possible content to discuss.
A) Follow-up on the guest’s presentation
Did you understand all of your guest’s presentation? What parts did you not understand? Are there any words, phrases, or concepts you heard for the first time? Ask your guest questions about his or her speech to clarify what she/he said. You can also confirm your guest’s answers to the below questions.
1) Are there any responses that you are proud of?
2) Are there any responses you do no think are true?
3) What else do you think we should know about your country?
B) Until now, you have talked about how people in your country imagine your guest’s country, why don’t you ask your guest what her/his images of Japan were before she/he came to this country. How accurate were the guest’s images?
C) Talk on Values
If you have the time you might find the “Discussion on Values” activity interesting.

4 件のコメント:

匿名 さんのコメント...

I guess our guests probably will think our images and ideas about each country are superficial and narrow,
what is called "stereo-typed".Some guests may be disappointed with our recognitions to their nations.
Anyway I am looking forward to seeing foreign guests on july 9.

匿名 さんのコメント...

I agree with Yukiko's comment. As for the guest of our
group (from France), I suppose he will say it's regrettable that most Japanese think of France as a country only for sightseeing and that no one mentioned the great philosopher Descartes and French authors such as Maupassant and Sagan. Because he must have seen many of these books translated into Japanese on the shelves of bookstores and the college library.

匿名 さんのコメント...

I think our guests disagree or surprised at our image for their countries. We are't positive to know new things, so we tend to think in stereotype. I expect that tomorrow we will be shocked, in a good meaning!

匿名 さんのコメント...

I think the guest will be surprised and laugh at our images for Russia. Because it will be not true and she don't think them ever.

I think we should know about the issues about the country, not only good things. And we should think them.
So I want her to tell me what you think about our images, what happen in your country and how feel about your country.