CROSSING BORDERS Arnd Wächter

1. CROSSING BORDERSArnd Wächter http://www.isp.msu.edu/cbe/ DOCUMENTARY FACILITATION RESOURCE Prepared by Safoi Babana-Hampton Associate Professor of French Romance and Classical Studies, Michigan State University (2012)

2. Table of Contents • Previewing Activities - Strategies to Successful Intercultural Communication: • Thinking in Context • Complex Thinking • Cultural Self-awareness • Discerning between Fact and Fiction: Morocco Between Myth and Reality • Postviewing Activities – Strategies to Successful Assessment of What we Learned: • Consider all the experiences and views that make Moroccan and American students in the documentary different. • Consider all the experiences and views that Moroccan and American students in the documentary share in common. • Consider all the obstacles to successful intercultural communication, encountered by both groups . • Consider the ways in which the encounter of both groups changed their perceptions of each other and enriched their understanding of each other’s cultures.

3. Strategies to SuccessfulIntercultural Communication: 1. Thinking in Context Whatdoesitmean to know Morocco in context? To know Moroccoin relation to differentspaces, societies and cultures itis in contact with. To understandMoroccofrommultiple perspectives. To recognizethatits culture is the sum of all these relations, thatits culture isnot homogenous. Activity: Observe the mapsbelow, and discuss how theyillustrate the ideasabove. C Morocco in NorthMorocco in AfricanMorocco in the World Africa Continent

4. Strategies to SuccessfulIntercultural Communication: 2. ComplexThinking Definition of « complex »: A whole made up of complicated or interrelatedparts. Definition of « thinking »: Judgment, opinion; the action of using one'smind to producethoughts. Q. From the abovedefinitions, how canwedefine « complexthinking »? Activity: • With a partner, describe the contents of the brown bag below: Discusswhether the items contained in this bag share something in common or not. • Can youdescribe the contents of this bag by using one single wordor criterion? What are the advantages but also the challenges of doingso? • How canyoudescribe the contents of thissame bag using one criterion, if youalsoadd to ityourcell phone, yourflu medicine, house cleaningproducts, yard tools, a basketball, your desk lamp and a baseball bat? Are these items usually grouped or storedtogetherin the same bag? Comment on thisidea.

5. Strategies to SuccessfulIntercultural Communication: 2. ComplexThinking (continued) How canwe use complexthinking in order to understandouridentities, our histories and those of others? Activity: • With a partner, discuss the differencesbetween a blanket and a quilt. • Use the pictures of a « blanket » and a « quilt » below as visualmetaphors in order to developyourownview of the following: • Is our cultural identity (whowe are as a society) a blanket or a quilt? Explain how and justifyyourviewwithexamplesand arguments. • Is ourhistory (our collective heritage and our collective past) a blanket or a quilt? Explain how and justifyyour viewwithexamples and arguments.

6. Strategies to SuccessfulIntercultural Communication: 3. Cultural Self-Awareness • Moroccoisconsidered as an Arab and Muslim country. Reflect on how Arab and MuslimAmericans are typicallyperceived in American society, by observing the first row of images below. • The pictures on the bottomrowrepresentdifferent American public personalitieswith an Arabheritage. How do those images contradict clichés and dominant stereotypes of Arabs. What do theyconfirm about ourownidentity as an American society and culture.

7. Strategies to SuccessfulIntercultural Communication: 3. Cultural Self-Awareness (continued) Watch the documentarybelowproduced by Jack Shaheen, an Arab-American Professor, in whichhe examines images of Arabs in Hollywood films. Video of DocumentaryReel Bad Arabs - How Hollywood Vilifies a People http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmVoSZk_fvo Activity: • Make a list of the dominant clichés and stereotypesidentified by Jack Shaheen and compare them to the reactions and observations you made in the previousactivityregarding images of real Arab-Americans. • Discuss how stereotypessuch as thosepresented in this documentarycanobstructintercultural communication and obscure ourunderstanding of other cultures. • Reflect on how thisdocumentary challenges us to rethink ourassumptions about ourselves and the world.

8. Strategies to SuccessfulIntercultural Communication: 4. DiscerningbetweenFact and Fiction: MoroccobetweenMyth and Reality • The classic Hollywood film Casablanca has for a long time evoked a mostly vague and mythical picture of Morocco. Though considered generally today as an Arab and Muslim cCountry, Morocco is a richly diverse society: • Religious diversity: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. • Linguistic diversity: Arabic, Berber, French. • Ethnic diversity: Arab, Berber, African. • Geographical diversity: Atlas mountains, Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, the Sahara desert. • Complex history: Phoenician, Roman, Arab and French civilizations and conquests. • Observe the images below and how they relate to the above points. • Why is it important to recognize these facts?

9. Strategies to Successful Assessment of What We Learned: Crossing Borders • Consider all experiences and views that make Moroccan and American students in the documentary Crossing Borders different: • Think of examplesillustratingeachgroup’sawareness of perceptions held about theirownculture by others: What do American students know about the perceptions formed about theirown culture by others. How doesthis cultural self-awarenesspreparethem to engage in a constructive dialogue about whotheyreally are? • How do American studentsperceive and express their cultural difference to theirMoroccanpeers? • How do Moroccanstudentsperceive and express their cultural difference to their American peers.

10. Strategies to Successful Assessment of What We Learned: Crossing Borders • Consider all the obstacles to successful intercultural communication, encountered by both groups in the documentary Crossing Borders: • Cite the examplesthateachsidegives in order to express whatcontributes to the failure of interculturalcommunication, interculturalmisunderstanding, and to creating more barriersamong cultures. Whatis the main source of these obstacles? • Whatspecificchoices and personal attitudes do variousmembers of each group adopt in order to successfully and thoughtfully face the dilemmas and challenges to intercultural communication?

11. Strategies to Successful Assessment of What We Learned: Crossing Borders • Consider all the experiences and views that Moroccan and American students in the documentary Crossing Bordersshare in common: • How does living and traveling together in Moroccohighlight the experiences and beliefsthatboth American and Moroccanstudentsshare in common? • Whatpersonaladjustments do variousmembers of each group make in order to open up to the other and engage in a constructive dialogue and recognizetheircommonalities. 3. In yourview, how has thisexperience of living and traveling togethertransformed the students on bothsides? How do youthinkthis new experiencewillshapetheirlives and their thinkingmovingforward? 4. How has thisdocumentaryexpanded or contributed to what youalready know?