Cultural immersion through ethnography: the lived experience and group process.

Abstract

A baccalaureate nursing class studying community/public health is a rich setting in which to initiate change in ethnocentric perspectives and foster an understanding of diverse cultures. This teaching strategy requires students to randomly select one of seven ethnographies to read, and then to write an analysis based on required guidelines. The results of the ethnographic analyses show that students immerse themselves within the culture of their respective texts. Ultimately, in-class learning groups are formed for each ethnography, and participants discuss their respective analyses. After exploring their commonalities and differences, students present the results to the entire class. This activity affords everyone a multicultural experience by sharing the different ethnographies and each student's perspective. This critical thinking activity serves to awaken one's ethnocentricity and paves the way to insightful changes and beliefs about diverse cultures.