Our third cultural workshop was focused on stereotypes and
generalizations and the difference between them. It was a little bit amusing to
talk about the more ridiculous stereotypes people often hold about foreign
cultures, but it also led to more serious discussions about why these
stereotypes can be harmful. Hassan and Ankita both had some initial difficulty
understanding the difference between stereotypes (assuming something—usually negative—applies
to everyone from a certain culture) and generalizations (simply the observation
of common trends without applying them to everyone). A lot of this had to do
with understanding specific phrasing, i.e. “All Americans do this” vs. “Many of
the Americans I’ve met do this.” We spent a good portion of the workshop time
coming up with stereotypes that we ourselves hold as well as talking about
stereotypes that others have about our countries and cultures. Hassan was quick
to point out that not all Saudi Arabians are rich and not all Muslims are
fundamental extremists, both of which are assumptions that he has had to deal
with while in the US.
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