Write down all the types of stereotypes that you know (fill in the boxes).

Scratch a stereotype and you will find propaganda, prejudice, and ignorance

(found in a blog)

Before we get started (KWL table). Fill in the two columns on the left responding to the titles of the columns. Leave the column on the right blank. When you finish the whole module be ready to fill in the column.

K What I Know	W What I Want to Know	L What I Learned

PREVIEW

1. 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.

YES/NO	Going abroad people should leave their customs behind to adapt to a new environment as soon as possible.
YES/NO	The foreigners are unable to understand Russian soul.
YES/NO	The Peoples of Central Asia are not civilized enough to form democratic states.
YES/NO	The Chukchi are on a lower cultural development level that is why there are so many jokes about them.
YES/NO	The leadership of the USSR (the Soviet Union) in space exploration certifies the superiority of Soviet science.
YES/NO	Minority people should adjust to the customs and traditions of the majority of population.
YES/NO	The Russians surpass the Americans and the British in the way of hospitality.
YES/NO	To understand each other better the Americans coming to Russia should learn to behave as the Russians do.

2. Group discussion “what is wrong with these statements?” In the same groups answer the question, come to an agreement and share your views with the class.

3. What is ethnocentrism? Write your understanding of the term.

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Is it good or bad for intercultural communication? Circle YES or NO box below and give your reasons:

YES / NO

4. Compare scholarly definition of ethnocentrism with yours:

Ethnocentrism literally means “centrality of culture,” the assumption that one’s own culture is superior over other cultures. This is the belief that one particular race or nationality of people is superior to all others. This is the tendency to regard other cultures through the norms and conventions of one’s own culture.

5. Connect “ethnocentric” words in the left column with their definitions in the right column. The first has been done for you.

“Ethnocentric” words		Definitions
discrimination		Unwillingness to recognize and respect differences in opinions, rejecting or opposing to the inclusion or participation of those different from oneself, especially those of a different racial, ethnic, or social background
generalization		To form an opinion about someone or something before knowing or examining all the facts
prejudge		Inference or formation of a general opinion, conclusion, etc. from meager or insufficient facts or information
intolerance		The practice of treating one person or group of people less fairly or less well than other people or groups based on race, religion, physical appearance, age, etc.
prejudice		A tendency to be in favor of or against something or someone without knowing enough to be able to judge fairly
racism		Unreasonable fear and dislike of strange or foreign people, customs, etc.
bias		An unfair and often unfavorable feeling or opinion formed without thinking deeply and clearly or without enough knowledge, and sometimes resulting from fear or distrust of ideas different from one’s own
preconception		An opinion formed in advance, without actual knowledge
xenophobia		The belief that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others

6. How is ethnocentrism connected with stereotypes? What do you think of this connection? Have you ever observed behaviors that were different from yours? Have you ever tried to explain these behaviors? Have you ever thought about the causes of such “strange” behaviors asking WHY, WHO, WHAT, HOW questions? Circle YES or NO boxes:

YES / NO

If you have done this, it means you’ve been looking for attributions that are judgments about the causes of behavior (R. Brislin, 1993, 40). In other words, you’ve been trying to find connection between ethnocentric perception of others and stereotypes (ethnocentric perception is based on ‘units’ which are called stereotypes).

7. 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.

Stereotype / Behavior	Attributions	Interpretation in the context of that culture
A Russian man standing in a line behind an American woman offered her a chocolate bar several times; each time she politely refused.	1. An American woman’s attribution: the man is so meddling (Stereotype – Russian man are annoyingly persistent). 2. A Russian man’s attribution: the woman is impolite.	Attributions concerning their behavior do not coincide. Their judgments about the causes of respective behavior were different. In the context of Russian culture, the behavior when a person offers something at least three times is normal. In the context of American culture, this behavior is strange: you offer something only time; direct answer should immediately follow.
A Russian professor was hosted by an American counterpart at their home. Offering a glass of wine an American professor said, “Sorry, we don’t have vodka”
My best friend Alexander was invited to dinner at a nice restaurant by an American friend and his wife. At the end the waiter brought the check and put it in the middle of the table. Alexander was dumbfounded, when his friend offered to split the check three ways (Alexander, his friend and friend’s wife).
A welcoming party in honor of a group of forty American students and teachers was held in one of the best restaurants. There were speeches, exchange of ideas along with good food, beverage, etc. At the end of the dinner most Americans started taking out what was left from the food. The Russian teachers were shocked; the waiters could not disguise their astonishment at greedy Americans.

8. Definition of stereotypes. Compare alternative definitions of stereotypes given in a table format. Agree or disagree with the statements and give your arguments.

Positive	Negative
Stereotypes are not always wrong. Some of them contain too much truth for comfort. The problem with stereotypes, really, is that they prevent us from getting to the richer reality which lies beyond them (Kohls, 1984, 6).	Stereotypes are generalizations that ignore subtle differences among members of groups, individuals in a society. (Stewart and Bennett, 1991, 163-164).
Stereotypes help reflect the perceived reality with relative authenticity (Hermann Bausinger)	Are dangerous (provoke racial prejudice)
Stereotypes are not necessarily a bad thing. Because sometimes and quite often, they can be true. Stereotypes can offer someone unfamiliar with a culture hints on how to act around certain people, what to and not to say. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060809215102AAymMJG	Stereotyping is putting a label on someone or a group who is different in a way that society looks down upon, Like looks, beliefs, and a persons background. the other kids are doing. http://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=101343
It is the individual’s natural defense in confronting cultural difference (Stewart and Bennett, 1991, 163).	Are based on half-truths, distortions, and often untrue premises. (Porter et al.p.246)
Contain a certain amount of truth	Fail to specify individual characteristics (Porter et al. p.246)
Harmless sorts of jokes we tell about other nationalities	Stereotypes keep us from being successful as communicators because they are oversimplified, and/or exaggerated. (Porter et al. p.246)
Stereotypes are rubbish	Stereotypes tend to impede intercultural communication in that they repeat and reinforce beliefs until they often become taken for “truth.” (Porter et al. p.246)
Human beings have a psychological need to categorize and classify (Porter et al. p.246)	Stereotypes develop through limited personal contact (data) (Porter et al. p.246)
They are mental structures, which simplify the complex stimuli from one's environment and facilitate their comprehension	They are the products of limited, lazy, and misguided perceptions
They are mental structures, which simplify the complex stimuli from one's environment and facilitate their comprehension.	As such, stereotypes are not bad or good, but they can influence intercultural interactions in different ways.
Stereotypes tend to change	Stereotypes are often resistant to change.
Eliminating stereotypes is not possible, or, if it were done, it would be detrimental to human cognition.	stereotypes are understood to be detrimental to intercultural communication and the elimination of stereotypes was believed to be a prerequisite for any successful intercultural exchange (Johnston & Macrae 1994).
A stereotype must have a grain of truth because it is a stereotype.	To believe a stereotype has a grain of truth is as mindless and infantile as to believe that all advertising claims are true, because they are adverts.

Read about the properties of stereotypes below and, in groups of three, discuss the properties of a well-known stereotype of Russians. Give your arguments if you agree with this or that specific property of your chosen stereotype or not. Share your opinion with the group.

· Relative stability

· High degree congruence of assumptions among members of a stereotyping group

· Simplification

· Generalization

10. 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).

1) Stressed-out New Yorker		Territorial / geographic
2) Redneck		Professional
3) All worried about their little children being forced to go to schools with little nigger kids.		Gender
4) Ed Thomas had a wonderful voice, of course; he was one of those Welshmen who would sing all day on his farm tractor, sing while he was milking or bathing in the tub, sing harmony with Ruth as they drove along the road...		Social
5) It was strange knowing a woman had written it. She got inside a man's head. She put down thoughts and feelings that he had imagined only men knew about.		Racial
6) tight-mouthed, tight-fisted New Englanders		Gender
7) The Pink		Ethnic / ethno-cultural
8) Americans are loud		Political
9) Czar (V. Putin)		Cultural
The literal interpretation of the word Babushka into English is Grandmother. But it was very clear that Grandmothers in the West are not made in quite the same way as the Russian Babushkas. The Russian version has apparently spent about forty years of her life carrying 50kg or more of vegetables around the streets each day, selling them on street corners in order to learn money to live. (M. Francis, p. 18)		Based on age

Write down all the types of stereotypes that you know (fill in the boxes).

12. 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.

13. Functions of ethnic stereotypes. Think over the functions and give your understanding of their role.

(1) From sociological viewpoint, ethnic stereotypes have two functions:

· Ideological (formation and maintenance of group ideology that explains the group’s behavior).

· Identifying (creation and maintenance of a positive image “WE” that is actualized through rituals and nonverbal signs).

(2) From cognitive viewpoint, ethnic stereotypes have three functions:

· Social environment orientation.

· Reflection of perceived reality with relative authenticity.

· Creation of a certain reality.

(3) In naïve world view, functions of stereotypes are the following:

· Create fear.

· Create distrust.

· Continue the circle of prejudice.

· Widen the distance between people.

· Make it harder for people to work together to solve the world’s problems...

· Serve no function except to set up groups of people for ridicule.

14. Think over the evaluative aspect of stereotypes given below and rank them on your own on the scale of “positive,” “neutral,” and “negative.” (The first has been done for you). Which evaluative aspect prevails and why? Give your reasons.

“positive”	“neutral”	“negative”
		Stereotypes are generalizations that ignore subtle differences among members of groups, individuals in a society
		·

· Stereotypes are generalizations that ignore subtle differences among members of groups, individuals in a society (Stewart and Bennett, 1991, 163-164).

· As such, stereotypes are not bad or good.

· Stereotypes are understood to be a threat to human cognition.

· Stereotypes are understood to be a threat to intercultural communication.

· In cognitive terms, stereotypes help us orient in the social environment.

· Stereotypes are dangerous because they provoke racial prejudice.

· Stereotypes form a kind of individual’s natural defense in confronting cultural difference (M. Bennett, 1999).

· Stereotypes are based on half-truths, distortions, and often untrue premises. (Porter..p.246)

· Stereotypes are harmless sorts of jokes we tell about other nationalities.

· Stereotypes tend to impede intercultural communication in that they repeat and reinforce beliefs until they often become taken for “truth” (Porter et al.p.246).

· Stereotypes are essential life tools, are accurate much more often than not, and that we do not use them as much as, from cold practical considerations, we should (Derbyshire. http://www.olimu.com/webjournalism/texts/commentary/Stereotypes.htm)

Send the results in a table format to the teacher’s e-mail ([e-mail]).

Comment on alternative theoretical views of teaching about stereotypes. Using these statements as a reference discuss the controversy of stereotypes in groups of four or five and report the outcome of your discussion to the class giving your arguments.

Stereotypes should NOT be taught because…	Stereotypes should be taught because…
the teachers spread and reinforce them	students become aware of them and would not stereotype any more
stereotypes are abusive and false	stereotypes are true to life
they are generalizations that ignore subtle differences among individuals in a society	they are the individual’s natural defense in confronting cultural differences
they are the products of limited and lazy perceptions	as mental structures they simplify and facilitate our understanding

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.

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