English Club on 'Culture and Conflict'

Topic: Culture and Conflict

Fun Fact of the Day: “One out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards” (theeconomiccollapseblog.com).

Topic:

1.What is “culture” and how does it help form our characters and affect our daily lives? Are you proud of your cultural heritage? How important is culture in shaping national pride and in forming relationships with friends and colleagues?

2. What important factors contribute to the development of interpersonal relationships with other members of your own culture? Do you feel an immediate closeness with members of your own culture, as opposed to foreigners? Can other people from your culture feel like foreigners to you? If so, how?

3. Have you ever had a conflict with someone from another culture, perhaps someone who lives in your native country? How did the conflict develop? What strategies might be useful for managing and solving this situation?

4. How do you or other members of your culture cope with and adapt to unfamiliar cultural environments, at home or abroad? Is it ever challenging to communicate with people from other cultures? Do they have different approaches to basic interactions? What factors can increase our effectiveness in communicating across cultures?  

5. While becoming acclimated into another culture or getting to know foreigners, what do you think are some of the biggest offenses you may have accidentally made? Do you think it is easy to inadvertently offend someone from another culture? How can you try to avoid such situations?

6. Have you noticed any changes in yourself as a consequence of your experiences abroad or relationships with individuals from another culture? How can we all become more intercultural as a result of cross-cultural relations? Can new and maybe even improved “cross-cultural communities” develop?

Schedule: Please put topic ideas in the Suggestion Box!

Thursday, 22 November at 5:30- Happy Thanksgiving Party! If you would like to contribute, please bring a small food or drink item to club. We will share our spread and learn about the history of this great holiday!

Saturday, 24 November at 10:30