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Cross Cultural Experiences

Central College offers a unique opportunity to engage in and develop cross-cultural experiences as a core requirement for graduation. Students are required to complete the following cultural awareness requirements:

3 semester hours in "n" courses which study minority, indigenous, or non-Western cultures (e.g., Native American, African-American, and Hispanic American topics or those that study the history, art, literature, economics and social structures of Asia, Africa or the Middle East).
6 semester hours in "c" courses which meet the general Cultural Awareness criteria. Up to 6 semester hours of language study at a college or university may be counted toward the fulfillment of this part of the requirement.
2 semester hours in experiential "x" courses involving significant contact with a minority, subculture, residential community or international group.
Demonstrate minimum foreign language proficiency by achieving the equivalent of the intermediate-low level on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages scale.

Listed below are ways in which the cultural awareness experiential requirement (x) can be met:

Study abroad or participate in approved programs in another location (Chicago Metropolitan Program, Washington Center)
Satisfactory complete x courses listed in the catalog, for example:
– BMGT 350Px Managing and Valuing Cultural Diversity
– CRCL 220x Topics: The Immigrant Experience
– EDUC 215Px Human Relations (Education majors only)
– PSYC 270 Pcxn Culture and Psychology: Focus on Latinos in Iowa
– PSYC 283PIx Service-Learning in Psychology (1 credit-must complete 2 for requirement)
– ANTH Pxcs Ethnic Encounter
Satisfactorily complete x option in courses*
– ENGL 344 Writing for Nonprofit organizations
– EXSC 212P Adapted Physical Education
– PSYC 382Ps Child and Adolescent Development
– PSYC 382Ps Child and Adolescent Development
– SOC 234Ps Urban Sociology
– SOC 236Pns Minority Groups
– SOC 242Ps Sociology of the Family
– SPAN 222Pc Intermediate Spanish II
– COMM 236c Intercultural Communication

*Note that in these courses only those students who choose PLACES-approved sites will meet their x requirement. These courses do not necessarily offer an x option each time the class is taught. Other courses not listed here may offer an x option from time to time. Questions about x option courses may be directed to the director of PLACES.

Why include cultural awareness?

Tremendous personal growth occurs in situations where students must process and feel, often for the first time ever, constructive marginality in their interactions with a well-defined culture or community. Constructive marginality involves the experience of feeling marginalized by stepping out of a comfort zone in order to directly interact in communities where the students are the minority in a way that gives the students feedback for understanding.

Direct interaction with individuals from well-defined ethnic or international groups includes one-on-one action and appreciation, not just observation. It should be a meeting of equals.

If during the course of obtaining x credit services are provided by Central students, such as tutoring, it should be noted that they will also need to engage in other one-on-one interactions (e.g., conversing, eating meals together, worshiping together, playing sports together, working together) and should be able to articulate how they have been served through these interactions.

What is meant by culture?

A culture is defined as a way of life in which members are aware of their cultural identity and have distinctive institutions, beliefs, values and rituals aimed at preserving and transmitting that culture (e.g., Native American settlement, ethnic neighborhood).

What is meant by community?

A community is defined as residents of a structured setting designed for people brought together because of shared circumstances including mental and physical disabilities, poverty or incarceration (e.g., COC, homeless shelter, Knoxville VA Hospital, Correctional Release Center, nursing home).

What is meant by a well-defined ethnic group?

Well-defined ethnic groups in the U.S. are those groups that have a common set of traditions and heritage (e.g., African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Native Americans). This category also includes interaction with members from well-established communities in which there is a conscious effort to perpetuate heritage (e.g., Decorah, with its adult education classes in Norwegian language, craft traditions, etc.).

Direct interaction with individuals from other countries (e.g., recent refugees, international visitors) also qualifies.

For more information, please call Cheri Doane, director of community-based learning, at 641-628-5332 or e-mail her at doanec@central.edu.

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