The next Globalist Coffeehouse will be on Thursday, August 19th, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in a “virtual zoom” format due to the situation with the Delta -Variant.
See below for the details.
The topic will be: Foreigners: How do we perceive them?
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all ones lifetime.”– Samuel Clements
Travel takes time and money, something many Americans don’t have, consequently what we know about the world – its geography and cultures – comes from the media. At best it is a National Geographic special. Unfortunately, too often most countries are not covered at all and when they are mentioned it is in the negative context of civil war, coups d’états, drought, and famine. And this was before the pandemic. As a result, Americans tend to form negative stereotypes that reinforce prejudices about a country and its people.
What can we do to help overcome this trend? Supporting more international cultural exchanges? Encouraging the mainstream media to focus more on what is “unique” about a country as opposed to “strange” or “backward and primitive?” What about your own experiences living or traveling abroad which may have reinforced your pre-conceived perceptions or changed them for better or worse? Even in this country, has a personal encounter with someone from another culture impacted your perception of that society?
Please join us for what will be a very lively discussion.
For further information please contact:
Ellen Murry, WAC Advisory Board
ellen.murry@yahoo.com
Polina Anastassieva, WAC management team
polina@wacaustin.org
