Cultural interview

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HMSV 346 – Diversity Issues in Human Services; Spring 2021

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Cultural Interview – Instructions

Purpose: To have you empathically experience newness in the form of a different culture, so that you can

gain greater self-awareness of your own values and beliefs, and learn about differences between and within

groups. Emphasis is on emotional responses and self-reflections.

Procedure

I. First, choose an interviewee from one of the groups listed below subject to the following four criteria:
1. You must not be a member of this group.
2. You must know very little about or have generally negative views of this group.
3. Family members, relatives, friends, co-workers, or anyone you know well are not appropriate.
4. The interviewee must currently live (so, study, work, volunteer, etc.; not a tourist) in the U.S.

Choose a group from the list below. Students are strongly encouraged to select groups listed in red

font subject to meeting the four criteria listed above.

– Subgroups of African Americans (ex: 1st generation immigrants from Africa)
– American Indians
– Latinos/Hispanics American subgroups (ex: Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans)
– Middle Easterners or North Africans (Ex: Egyptians)
– Asians (ex: Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Koreans) or Pacific Islanders
– Incarcerated African American males or those released from jail or prison
– Persons from Appalachia
– Followers of African religions
– Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Buddhists, Mormons, Sikhs, or other religions
– Minimum or low-wage workers
– Homeless individuals
– Refugees
– Sex offenders
– Sex workers or similar
– Non-violent offenders
– Current or past users of crack cocaine or non-opioid and OTC medications
– Transgendered persons
– Individuals with intellectual and/or physical disabilities
– KKK, Tea Party, or NRA members or sympathizers
– Individuals not identifying or affiliated with either of the two major parties
– Individuals in arranged or consanguineous marriages
– Others (with instructor approval)

II. Second, get approval from the instructor about the choice of your group.
III. Do some reading about the group of your choice from at least two sources (e.g., journal articles;

assigned readings, book chapters in Ethnicity and Family Therapy; A Different Mirror, etc.). Your

sources must be credible and not chosen simply for convenience.

IV. Conduct an interview either online (using Zoom, etc.) or telephonic (using video feature) with the
person from the group of your choice using the Interview Guidelines on page 2.

V. Submit your findings in the form of a paper and recorded presentation. The paper should be between
4-8 double spaced pages and the informal (verbal only) presentation should be between 8-10 minutes.

Instructions for the paper and presentation are on page 3. Don’t disclose the interviewee’s name in these

submissions.

VI. View and comment upon the recorded presentations of at least 3 classmates. Bonus points will be
given for viewing & commenting upon between 4-6 recorded presentations.

HMSV 346 – Diversity Issues in Human Services; Spring 2021

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Interview Guidelines

The content of the interview must include the following, but you can ask more questions based on the

information shared by the interviewee or observed by you during the interview.

Be very tactful while asking the questions below!

1. Start by asking about:
• Race/ethnicity

• Nationality

• Immigrant/legal status

• Gender

• Age

• Religion

• Class/SES (Education & occupation)

• Ability status

• Criminal record

• Political ideology

• Sexual orientation

• Relationship/marital status including type

(love, arranged, etc.)

• Parental/family status

• Housing status (Rent, own, etc.)

• (Relationship with) other occupants in

residence

Some of the above characteristics may be noticeable or shared spontaneously during the interview, and

may not need to be asked. Do make a note of:

• Attire

• English and other language fluency

• Mannerisms/non-verbal communication, etc.

Then focus on that aspect of their identity for which they were selected or the interview.

2. What are some important aspects, values, customs, etc., of the interviewee’s group (say, of South Korean
descent) that we should know about?

3. Are there any less desirable aspects, values, customs, etc., of their group? An alternate question could be:
Are there any aspects, values, customs, etc., that could be misunderstood, disparaged, or difficult to

understand by non-group members?

4. How important is membership in the group to the interviewee? Report the interviewee’s response, but
also arrive at your own conclusion about this question. So if you find out that the interviewee does not

associate with or avoids others of South Korean descent, then group membership may not be that

important to the interviewee.

5. Is there anything that makes the interviewee unique or substantially different from (majority of) others in
their group?

6. How does membership in this group currently (and negatively) impact:
a. Social life with other members (ex: others of South Korean descent) of this group?
b. Social life with those who are not members of this group (ex: a friend who is not of South Korean

descent)?

c. Interactions with:
i. Government employees (ex: police, immigration officials, DMV staff, etc.);

ii. Strangers/staff in public places such as grocery stores, malls, restaurants, and other businesses?
iii. Professionals (including doctors, social workers, etc.) and community service organizations (such

as food banks, Salvation Army, etc.)?

d. Education?
e. Employment/Career?
f. Housing?
g. Other aspects of life in America not mentioned here.

7. What are some other challenges or hardships experienced in the U.S. by this group?
8. What else would the interviewee want human service professionals to know about the group and its

members?

HMSV 346 – Diversity Issues in Human Services; Spring 2021

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Paper Instructions

The paper should cover the following:

A. Based on the information gathered under item (1) of the Interview Guidelines, provide a biographical
sketch of the interviewee.

B. Similarities & Differences
Explicitly compare the readings used in Step III (under Procedure) with your findings from the interview

to describe if and how the interviewee:

a. Fit the generalizations and/or stereotypes of this group based on the readings
b. Did not fit the generalizations and/or stereotypes of this group based on the readings used in Step III

(under Procedure).

C. Critical Analysis
a. (1) Elaborate upon if this interview has helped develop an understanding of the degree of adherence

of individual group members to cultural values, norms, traditions, stereotypes, etc., that are

typically associated with their group. Hint: Question 5 from the Interview Guidelines may be

particularly helpful in answering this and the question (d) below.

(2) What are the implications of this understanding in your efforts to work competently with all

clients (and not just members of the interviewee’s group).

b. Discuss ALL aspects of marginalization and intersectionality that may be relevant to the interviewee
and may have to be addressed if the interviewee were to ever receive services in a human service

practice setting. (e.g., Interviewee is a recent immigrant from South Korea with no college degree

and lacking fluency in English. So explicitly discuss how the combination of these four identities

could pose as barriers to service goal achievement. Discuss what you would do to help overcome

these barriers.

i. Refer to the interviewee’s answers (and/or your observations) to the questions in the Interview
Guidelines to identify potential aspects of marginalization and/or discrimination

ii. If none could be identified through the interview, then use course readings and material from other
credible sources to identify aspects of marginalization and intersectionality.

c. Discuss either (1) or (2) below as may apply to you.
(1) Discuss your own attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions as related to this group before starting work

on this assignment. Share reasons for why these attitudes, assumptions, etc., may have developed

in you about this group.

(2) If you knew little or nothing about this group before starting work on this assignment, then share

the reasons for this.

(3) Elaborate upon if this interview has helped:

i. Changed those pre-interview attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions, or lack of knowledge.
ii. Developed a new understanding of the need to be self-aware and/or knowledgeable with

respect to all client

groups (and not just members of the interviewee’s group).

Presentation Instructions

The 8-10 minutes presentation (submitted on a Discussion Board forum) must meet the following guidelines:

A. A very brief description of the interviewee (similar to section “A” of the paper).
B. If you identified any attributes of the interviewee that were different from other group members as may

have been mentioned in the assigned or additional readings, or observed by or reported to you by the

interviewee or others? Elaborate upon the implications of this finding on your future efforts to work

competently with all clients (and not just members of the interviewee’s group).

C. What has this experience taught you about the importance of understanding and addressing
intersectionality of oppression (Similar to item (b) under Critical Analysis of the paper).

D. How the overall experience enhanced your knowledge of the group and/or dispelled any myths,
stereotypes, or biases including, but not only, your own. Elaborate upon the implications of this new

knowledge & experience on the need to be self-aware and/or knowledgeable with respect to all client

groups (and not just members of the interviewee’s group).