Past Programs > Spring Break 2008
Journeys with Indigenous Cultures: Psychological
Program Title: Journeys with Indigenous Cultures: Psychological Processes and Self-Awareness
Academic Credits: 1 – 3 in Psychology
Location: Navajo Nation
Instructor: Daniel W. McNeil
Dates: March 22 – March 29, 2008
Tuition: 1 credit course = $1,720 / $1,470*
3 credit course = $2,070 / $1,820*
Focusing on the richness and complexities of interactions across cultures, this course centers on psychological and social processes that are evoked when visiting, working, or otherwise living with a cultural group different from one’s own experience. Personal comfort and effectiveness in interacting across cultures is a focal point, as is one’s adaptability in moving across cultural groups. Self-assessment of one’s knowledge, attitudes, and experiences in this course is intended to lead to greater understanding of one’s own culturally-based values and expectations. This educative process is based in a Navajo community, which has an integral role in planning for and contributing to students’ learning processes.
Common psychological processes inherent in cross-cultural interactions will be explored, including anxiety about lack of knowledge and information, hope for acceptance by others, worry about violating social norms, desire to learn cultural rules, need to help, and concern about a “chameleon complex.” Individual and group reactions by the host culture to “outsiders” will be identified, as will common pitfalls in trying to bridge cultural divides. Ways to evaluate and enhance communication across cultural groups will be exemplified, both in terms of verbal and nonverbal messages. This course seeks to promote students’ sense of self as cultural beings, and awareness of their own values, in relation to similarities and differences across cultures.
This course involves a one-week immersion in Navajo culture in a journey to the Navajo Nation in Arizona and/or New Mexico. Students will interact with local Navajo people in a service-learning context. The teaching team will include a WVU professor, a local site director, and an advanced WVU student facilitator. There will be opportunities to see majestic natural vistas and other sites on the Navajo reservation, allowing a fuller understanding of the role of the natural world in Navajo culture, and its integral role in shaping social and psychological processes. Students will have opportunities to learn more about Navajo history and spirituality, current social issues, and vision of the future from local individuals and local perspectives.
This experience is flexible in terms of its academic curriculum, and can be arranged as a 1, 2, or 3 credit hour course. While this course will be especially relevant to students with interests in Psychology, Social Work, and Native American Studies, it is open to students from any major, at any level. The 3 hour version can count as a Psychology Capstone course or writing course. Keeping a journal, group discussions with fellow students and faculty, readings, and cross-cultural interactions through service learning are the key components to a course that should create memories that will last a lifetime.
* Tuition Discount: Students who are accepted and hold their place with a $500 deposit by December 31, 2007 receive a $250 program tuition discount.