- •Think – Pair – Share. Cooperative learning. In groups of four or five agree or disagree with the statements below. Circle “yes” or “no.” Reach consensus before sharing your views with the class.
- •Apply your knowledge of ethnocentrism, stereotypes and attributions to the analysis of stereotype / behavior in the given intercultural situations. The first has been done for you.
- •Definition of stereotypes. Compare alternative definitions of stereotypes given in a table format. Agree or disagree with the statements and give your arguments.
- •Typology of Stereotypes. Match stereotypical verbal expressions in the left column with the type of stereotype in the right column (the first has been done for you).
- •Write down all the types of stereotypes that you know (fill in the boxes).
- •Ethnic stereotypes may be classified into two groups: autorstereotypes (what one group think about themselves) and heterostereotypes (what one group think about the other).Give your examples.
- •Functions of ethnic stereotypes. Think over the functions and give your understanding of their role.
- •16. Summarize everything you have learned about stereotypes so far. Do it in writing at home and send it to the teacher’s e-mail.
- •Language representation
- •Nonverbal representation
- •Representation of stereotypes in creolized texts
- •Salient features of stereotypes
- •Texts for analysis
- •Scan the text to find out if there are generalizations about people. Do you find information about these people limited or wide, accurate or inaccurate?
- •Is s.A. Griest’s comparison of Gypsies and mojados (wetbacks) based on complete or incomplete information about their cultures? Agree or disagree with the author and give your arguments.
- •What are other stereotypical descriptions of the author? Comment on them applying theoretical approaches you know.
- •Is it accurate to presume that African-Americans “are causin' trouble all over”?Give your reasons.
- •Is it reasonable to assume that white Americans are invariably superior over African Americans? Find the statement showing that the old man fails to differentiate among individuals.
- •In his judgments, does the author use broad or narrow categories about people? Illustrate your opinion with citations from the text.
- •What is a proof of one’s love in cultures mentioned in the text? Do you know a proof that is mentioned in the text?
- •Does the author recognize the multidimensional nature of human beings? Give your arguments referring to the text.
- •Don’t Let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgments
- •Assignments to the text
Texts for analysis
Read the texts below and do assignments following them
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Kazanskii Station is the hub for trains from the southern Caucasus. While the first two stations had a largely white clientele, the bulk of the vendors being babushki peddling moonshine and guys in Nike tracksuits hawking gold chains, Kazanskii attracted a far more colorful crew, namely nomadic Romani families (aka5 Tsiganie, or Gypsies) whose women wore floral head scarves and patchwork skirts and strapped olive-skinned babies to their backs. Many Russians looked upon these people the way certain Texans did mojados (or “wetbacks”), claiming they did nothing but beg, cheat, and steal.
S.A. Griest. Around the Block. My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana. New York: Villard, 2004, 54 – 55
Scan the text to find out if there are generalizations about people. Do you find information about these people limited or wide, accurate or inaccurate?
Is s.A. Griest’s comparison of Gypsies and mojados (wetbacks) based on complete or incomplete information about their cultures? Agree or disagree with the author and give your arguments.
What are other stereotypical descriptions of the author? Comment on them applying theoretical approaches you know.
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[In the context of double murder, a detective is interrogating a witness – an old man who unexpectedly announces the murder (who was not the one)]:
"Niggeres!" the old man stated fiercely. "They are causin' trouble all over."
"What?"
"It's these niggers moved in down the street. I wouldn't be surprised if they did it," he snorted. "I keep my doors locked now – not like the old days – why I can remember when you didn't hafta have locks."
"They should stay on South Street where they belong", muttered the old man ominously. "Coming to live among decent folk. It ain't right, there should be a law…"
Collins, J. Hollywood Wives. London: Pan Books, 1983. – p. 27-28
Is it accurate to presume that African-Americans “are causin' trouble all over”?Give your reasons.
Find the statement in the text that discloses the old man’s attitude towards the whole group of African-Americans. Is his information first-hand or second-hand? Support your point of view with the arguments
Is it reasonable to assume that white Americans are invariably superior over African Americans? Find the statement showing that the old man fails to differentiate among individuals.
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There was no question that Veronika was an intelligent girl. She was also beautiful and she knew it all too well. Unfortunately though, to complete the trio, there was no doubt she was completely insane. We had known each other for only two weeks when she announced we had to get married. She was after all a twenty-four year old Ukrainian girl and if she wasn’t married by the time she was twenty-five, then life was not worth living. A strange take on the subject of relationships, but that wasn’t the insane part. The insane part was promising to send me fingers as proof of her love when I refused to accept her proposal. That was definitely the insane part.
I suppose her unstable temperament should have been a lesson to me. The Ukraine, Russia, Georgia… these were countries not known for political or sociable stability and were home to some rather unpredictable characters to say the very least, or so I’d been told by the Western Media. With that in mind it might have been a good idea to stay away from that part of the world… Russia was an “All or Nothing” culture and Veronika had illustrated this to me quite clearly.
Francis, Matthew. Ruskie. Beers, Bears & Babushkas. (2009). Author House, Central Milton Keynes, UK. p. 1-2.